Twenty-second Sunday After Pentecost

“[Jesus said], But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

+In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 
 
In the movie, “A Man for All Seasons” John Hurt plays Richard Rich, an ambitious young man who comes to Sir Thomas More seeking a political appointment. More refuses him, instead offering him a job as a teacher. Later, when Thomas More gets in political trouble with King Henry, the King’s associate, Thomas Cromwell, offers Richard Rich the political appointment he covets if he provides any damaging information about More. Soon after, Richard Rich betrays More to King Henry’s men and is eventually named Attorney General for Wales. Ultimately, Thomas More is executed for refusing to endorse both Parliament’s declaration making King Henry the Supreme Governor of the Church of England and the King’s marriage to Anne Boleyn.
           
At the epilogue of the film, the narrator mentions the untimely deaths of the major figures of this episode, apart of Richard Rich, who he says, “Became Chancellor of England, and died in his bed.”
           
One of the reasons why we are so disgusted with our politics and so mistrustful of politicians is because we see so few Thomas Mores, who are ready to sacrifice all for the sake of principle, and are instead governed by thousands of Richard Richs, who have no principle at all, except for a desire for position and power, and the prestige and honor that go with it.
           
This desire for position and prestige, to be a part of the “Inner Ring” as C. S. Lewis called it, was a temptation even faced by Jesus’ disciples. In today’s Gospel lesson from St. Mark, we see this ambition among the disciples break out into the open. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, or as Jesus called them, “the sons of thunder” approach Jesus and ask him on the spot if He will place them on His right hand and on His left. It was a bold request. Essentially, what James and John were asking Jesus for was to be promoted from the Twelve to be the top two. After all, it was well understood in those days that if you sat on the right hand or the left hand of the ruler, that meant you were one of the ruler’s closest advisors, and your power was great, second only to the ruler himself.
           
Jesus’ replay to this audacious request is to say, “You don’t know what you’re asking.” Here again, as we have seen so many times in the Gospels, Jesus rejects the premise of the question. James and John are asking the question based on a false understanding of who the Messiah is. James and John believe, like many of the disciples, that the Messiah is to be a King like King David—a great military and political ruler who will drive out the Romans and reestablish the Kingdom of Israel. And when Jesus establishes His Kingdom, they want to be senior members of His new government. They want to be a part of the new ruling elite. Like Richard Rich, they want an appointment at the royal court.
           
Those of us who have been watching the current season of The Chosen on Wednesday evenings have noticed that the series speculates that James and John decided to make this request to Jesus as a result of Jesus’ declaration to Simon that, because of Simon’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah, Simon is now called “Peter” the Rock upon which Jesus will build His Church. And James and John are put off by what appears to be Jesus’ elevation of Simon to a special status. Meanwhile, when James and John’s mother hears about what happened, she admonishes them for not standing up and asking Jesus for what they want. This draws upon Matthew’s treatment of this incident, where his account states that it is James and John’s mother who makes the request of Jesus, thus suggesting that it is her ambition for them, not that of James and John.
           
Nevertheless, James and John’s request is very misguided and reveals that the ambition and rivalry among the disciples is rooted in a profound misunderstanding of Jesus’ ministry and their place as followers of Jesus. Jesus explains this when He asks them, “Are you prepared to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” What Jesus is pointing out to them is that if they are going to reign with Him, then they must be prepared to endure and do the things that Jesus does. To “drink the cup” is an expression of enduring suffering and pain. To “be baptized” means to be fully immersed in something. Jesus is saying in effect, “If you want to stand with me, you must be prepared to suffer and die with Me.”
           
James and John bravely respond that they can drink the cup and be baptized in this. Yet, Jesus then tells them that He has no authority to grant their request, that only the Father can and will determine such positions of honor.
           
James and John’s request sparks anger and resentment among the other disciples, who perceive it to be an effort to gain status, and they are jealous of it. All this is clear evidence that they do not understand yet Jesus’ call to discipleship.
           
Jesus then explains it to them. He tells them that the call to follow Him is not a call to lordship, but a call to humble service. Jesus says, “But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Once again, Jesus redefines the ministry of the Messiah and the meaning of true leadership and discipleship. It’s not about status. It’s about serving.
           
Jesus is a King who has come to liberate and to rule. But He will not do it through armies and conquest. He will do it as the Servant King, who rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, not a great horse or chariot. Although He is Lord, He will wash His disciples’ feet. And He will conquer by going to the Cross and dying a painful and shameful death for the salvation of the world. As Jesus laid down His life for us, He bids us to follow Him by laying down our life and taking up our Cross.

+In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.