St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, IL – 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 53:4-12 ; Psalm 91:9-16; Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45
35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” 41When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
A Different Kind of Lord
Back in the days when I was on pews, and about this time of the year in Mark’s Gospel, I remember turning to my wife and asking her: haven’t we gone through this passage already? Ana has way more attention to detail than I do, so she would say: yeah we kind of did, but no, it’s not the same passage. The first time this happened, I remember rolling my eyes and murmuring something about things starting to sound too repetitive or something on those lines.
If the same kind of thought is ringing on the back of your head, it’s because, well, Jesus repeats himself quite a bit in this stretch of Mark’s narrative. Since we heard Peter’s recognition of Jesus as the promised Messiah earlier in our summer (Mark 8:29) he has said that at those who will lose their lives for the sake of his gospel would gain it (8:35), and that those who would leave things and even loved ones behind to follow him would be rewarded (10:31). They are not exactly the same statement, but they pretty much mean the same thing, give away to receive.
Twice we heard, counting today, that the great among us should be servants of all (9:36; 10:43-45).
Two times Jesus also repeated that grown-ups should become as vulnerable as little children to receive his kingdom (9:37; 10:14)
Three times Jesus repeated that he, the promised Messiah, would be rejected, tortured, and killed.
Furthermore, the Christ has revealed to us last week the crown jewel to this repetitive proclamation when he declared that many who are first will be last, and the last will first (10:31). Put together, those sayings begin to form an image that shows Jesus persistently preparing his followers for the grand reversal to come. The time when all things as we understand will completely turn upside down. The situation was becoming stressful to Jesus’ closest and more faithful disciples. In the past weeks, we heard their confusion, their angst, and their arguments. Today we are told that anger – and maybe even distrust – is brewing among them. These things that Jesus was saying were disturbing back then, and I am sure they are still disturbing for us today.
However, fellow and beloved children of God, remember, things are different on the way to cross. What the disciples did not know at that point, but we do today, is that the climax of Jesus’ ministry on earth was about to change everything. The cross was about to demand a completely different kind of lord.
…
If you are a fan of shows like “Game of Thrones”, with all the my-lord this, my-lady that and my king this, my queen that, you are at least somewhat acquainted with the extent by which human beings would go to either obtain power or stay in power.
Great, great, show.
Art imitates life when James and his brother John approach Jesus angling for places of honor when his kingship comes. All the way back to the first chapter of Mark (verses 16-20), when Jesus is walking through the shorelines of the sea of Galilee fishing for people who would help him fish for more people, is when we first hear from the sons of Zebedee.
Unlike Peter and his brother Andrew – who may very well not even owned a boat, since the text does not say they did – Zebedee not only owned at least one boat but also had hired people to work for him. Therefore, it is not out of the realm of possibility that among the twelve, James and John would be the ones with the resources to evoke the good old patronage system, in an attempt to secure some influence in the kingdom come. That is how things worked in the real world of Rome-occupied Palestine in the first century. Power and privilege came either with an army or with a line of people obliged to a lord, or both. Fear, bondage, and tyranny were the standards set by the Roman Emperor-King, and that is not to be so among us.
James and John did not know what they were asking because they could not fathom what would happen first at the cross and then at the empty tomb. They also had no way to know that Jesus’ baptism and cup were indeed coming their way in the form of death for the sake of the gospel.
What a gift it is the good news of faith, forgiveness, salvation, and joy that we receive and share today in our font and in our table.
What a free gift of hope, love, solidarity, and grace that Jesus gave to all of us when he used all his power, all his privilege, all his influence, all his glory, all his holiness, to die in our place and secure our freedom from the evils of this world. Thanks be to Christ for wide open and abundant life waiting for us. Thanks be to James, to John, and to all the saints, and thanks be to God! Amen.
Bridging Faith 