September 1, 2024
Mark 9:33-37
Introduction
“On the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest.”
How do you imagine that argument went? Today’s Gospel doesn’t tell us what the Disciples said but it’s not difficult to imagine. We need only recall the times we’ve argued about and striven to be the greatest—or even just better than someone else.
Maybe Simon or Andrew started by claiming one of them is the greatest because they were the first Disciples called (Mark 1:16-17) and seniority matters.
Maybe Peter argued it should be him because he’s the only who correctly answered to Jesus, “You are the Messiah.” (Mark 8:29) Having the right answers should count for something, right? But maybe the others countered saying, “No way, Peter. Jesus rebuked you and called you Satan. That’s not so great.” (Mark 8:33)
But then maybe Peter countered the whole “Satan” name-calling argument by reminding the others he must be the greatest because he walked on water. (Matthew 14:28-30) But we can imagine the Disciples rolling their eyes, saying, “Yeah, and you sunk like ‘the rock’ that you are Peter.” (Mathew 14:30) After all, the greatest is only as good as his or her last accomplishment.
Maybe Peter, John, and James claimed greater greatness because they got to go up the mountain and witness the Transfiguration. (Mark 9:2) Not to mention, those left behind couldn’t even cast out a demon from a young boy (Mark 9:18). Shouldn’t the greatest be successful?
And I’ll bet it was an eleven to one vote against Judas. They all knew he was a thief (John 12:6). Morals are important to greatness. (At least we say they are.)
It’s lucky for Peter and Judas that when this argument took place they had not yet denied or betrayed Jesus because disloyalty and betrayal are never marks of greatness.
*******
It’s really not hard to imagine each Disciple making an argument for his own greatness and an argument against the greatness of others. It’s been an innate part of human beings for all of time. And because it has, arguing with one another about who is the greatest never leads us to understanding what greatness is really about.
Move 1
Striving for levels of greatness is all around us. And such pursuits are good. But when our desire for greatness comes with actions that put others down, that’s not greatness, that’s establishing pecking orders of greatness. And this has become a dominant way of life. Look around and we see pecking orders everywhere in our world and country today. We live with and participate in them even if we did not create them, even if we are unaware of them.
And because we are unaware of these pecking orders, so many people today believe… Citizens are greater than resident aliens, but resident aliens are greater than illegal aliens. The educated are greater than the under or uneducated. The rich are greater than the poor. The employed are greater than the unemployed. English speakers are greater than non-English speakers. Men are greater than women and straight people are greater than those who are gay or lesbian. White people are greater than dark skinned people. The gifted and talented student is greater than the student in shop class. Christians are greater than Jews, but Jews are greater than Muslims. And the list could go on and on.
What are the pecking orders that govern your life today? Who are the winners and who are the losers in those pecking orders? It’s crucial we consider these questions and then ask ourselves in what ways am I striving for greatness? What arguments or conversations about who is greatest am I having with others? What arguments or conversations about who is greatest am I having with myself?
*******
I don’t know what the Disciples said or how their argument about greatness really went, but I’m convinced it did not bring out the best in them. Striving to be, and arguing about, who is the greatest rarely, if ever, brings out the best in us. And because this is so true, arguing about who is the greatest is, I think, among the greatest humanitarian crises in our world today. We strive to be the greatest human being—or even just seen as the greatest human being— instead of striving to bring out the best in our humanity. And because I believe our society today has a hyperfocus on being the greatest, or being among the greatest, I have come to truly believe we completely misunderstand what greatness is really about.
Move 2
Every year when we celebrate the birth of Christ—born a king but birthed in a barn; the announcement of his birth made not to a royal court, but to a group of lowly shepherds—we are reminded that Jesus came to change everything, to turn the world upside down. I know we hear this message every year because I am intentional to say it every year because we need to be reminded of this truth because we forget this truth—Jesus came to change everything and turn the world upside down. And we are reminded of this truth again in our text for today where we see and hear Jesus reversing everything we thought we knew, or had been told, about greatness.
“Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” That’s how Jesus understands greatness. Last place. But the Disciples then, and us Disciples today, we are still saying, “Really Jesus?” And we say this because none of us have ever thought, or ever argued, or ever striven to be in last place. After all, last place is last place, and last place is the last place I want to be. And I suspect that’s true for you too. And this is why I believe we have completely misunderstood what greatness is really about.
Greatness in Jesus’ mind and heart is not about how much we have or what we have accomplished. Greatness in Jesus’ mind and heart is about what we’ve offered and done for others. Greatness in Jesus’ mind and heart is not about the position or place we occupy. Greatness in Jesus’ mind and heart is about the space and place we offer others.
So if we understand what greatness is in Jesus’ heart and mind, what do you think would happen, or change, if we understood greatness as Jesus does? What do you think would happen if we stopped arguing about, and striving to be, the greatest, and we sought to discover or recover and bring out what Jesus showed us to be greatness in ourselves and each other? What would that look like in our society today? What would that look like in your life today?
Move 3
Wondering what Jesus’ greatness would be like in our society today is important to deepening our faith. So here’s another way of getting at what greatness is all about… Who is the best person you’ve ever met? I am not asking about the greatest or most famous our most successful. Who is the best you’ve ever known? Why are they the best person you’ve ever known? What qualities, what characteristics, make her or him the best? Probably not an indifference to the well-being of others. Probably not because of the position they held. Probably not because they praised you and told you what you wanted to hear. Probably not because they were rich and powerful.
I’m betting you chose your person because of her or his authenticity, honesty, integrity, and the core values they lived from. I’m certain you chose your person because you could count on them. They had your back. They were there when you needed them. They respected you, listened to you, and they saw you—warts and all—and still loved you. They took your life as seriously as, and sometimes more seriously, than their own. They spoke the truth even when it was tough for you to hear. They saw more in you than you saw in yourself. They believed in you and committed themselves to you. They offered wisdom and insight into your life that was more than just telling you what to do. They made a difference for you and in you. They enlarged your life and world. They inspired you. They were your strength, hope, and faith when you were weak, discouraged, and wanted to give up. They made a place for you in their life. They made you feel important and that you mattered to them. They didn’t judge or compare you to others. They forgave you. They freed you from the pecking orders of life. They brought out the best in you.
Your best person in your life called you into your better self. They helped you recognize the way you want to be and live, and if you already knew this they helped you remember when you had forgotten.
*******
So now that we have our best person in our life in mind, we have to ask ourselves… What about me? What are others saying about me? Am I the best person someone has ever met? Or am I still just arguing about greatness?
Conclusion
Jesus asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. He sat down, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’
Jesus is always guiding us to bring out the best in us by teaching us what greatness is really about—serving others, putting others ahead of ourselves. So for God’s sake, for the sake of the world, for the sake of ourselves and one another, we have to stop arguing about who is the greatest and live like the greatest.
*******
So think again of your best person. Then choose how you can be and become such to someone else. How are you going to become such, and live such? What parts of your life need strengthening in order to live and exude such to others? What parts of you need changing in order to become that?
What would it take today to offer another the very best of yourself? What would it take for you to help someone understand what greatness is really about? Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, September 1, 2024
God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, we know the greatness of your presence, you light, your creation, and your love. We know your gentleness confounds the power we would claim in this world. We know you call the first to be last and last to be first, calling servants to be leader, and ruler to be subordinate.
And we know of your greatness through your Son, who you sent to be the greatest among us and show us what greatness truly is. Jesus challenged what it means to pursue greatness, and what greatness entails, showing us through his life and actions that greatness comes when we show meekness, humility, compassion, and putting others ahead of ourselves—pursuits and characteristics that are counter to what the world would tell us. Undoubtedly, Jesus turned the world upside down with his teachings and life, always showing us a better and more faithful way to greatness.
And yet, Jesus never condemned the idea of being great, never leading us to think greatness is the opposite of meekness, humility, compassion, and putting others ahead of ourselves. Instead, Jesus radically redefined greatness to become a deep and faithful expression of true humility and meekness, of seeing others as your children who are all worthy recipients of love and compassion.
So remind us, we pray, of that redefinition of greatness. Remind us then redirect the ways we pursue greatness in our lives O God. Show us again the greatness that came into lives when Jesus reached out to those who had been cast out and trampled upon. Show us again how his invitation to all to come and receive the Good News brought forth the greatness within by revealing how they are your children.
Help us Lord to not only know of your greatness, but to pursue, find, live, and share your greatness by helping us to be like Jesus, turning the world upside down by showing a better way of achieving greatness.
We ask that you would listen now Lord, to the prayers of our hearts, as we lift them to your heart in this time of Holy Silence.
All of this we pray in the great and glorious name of our Savior, Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, “Our…”