DO YOU WANT TO BE GREAT?
Introduction: Recently, a pastor
friend of mine suggested I must watch "The Two Popes." It is about
the beautiful and authentic friendship between Pope Benedict and the Cardinal
Bergoglio of Argentina. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked as a
bouncer and a janitor as a young man before training to be a chemist and
working as a technician in a food science laboratory. After recovering from an illness,
he joined the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). [1]
When he was appointed cardinal in
2001, he had his predecessor's robes altered rather than buying new ones and
refused to have meals prepared for him. The people of the slums of Buenos Aires knew
him simply as Bergoglio or Father Jorge.
He spent much of his time in
shantytowns where he would wash the feet of the poor, give confessions and hold
communion. "He was close to this community and always present. People
appreciated it very much," says Father Sebastian Risso, a parish priest.
A church where priests would
actively engage marginalized communities has been part of Bergoglio's
missionary vision. After being appointed as the Bishop of Rome in 2013, his
objectives remained the same."[2] These are the marks of a servant
leader that led Bergoglio to the highest place of honor in the Roman Catholic
Church. Bergoglio now is Pope Francis.
The first measures that Pope Francis
took as a leader involved restructuring the financial handling of the Vatican. As
pope, Francis still repudiates using limousines and the papal residence in the
Apostolic Palace instead; he lives in a simple two-bedroom Vatican apartment. We have been following Jesus on his
journey to Jerusalem. Last week we learned that Jesus suffers and walks with us
on our road marked with suffering. Today we will pick up some principles of
what makes someone truly great in the Kingdom of God. Mark 10:35-45
Background: After predicting
his death and its manner for the third time, Jesus kept up His Journey to
Jerusalem. (Mk 8:31, 9:31,10:32). His disciples could not understand the
purpose and the intensity of Jesus' predictions. Their mind was more focused on
earthly concerns than Kingdom concerns. On top of that, two of his disciples
came to Jesus with an outlandish request.
I.
Outlandish Request of James and John (35-39)
Matthew 20:20
reads the mother of James and John came with the request. In Mark 10:35, we
read that John and James came to Jesus with a strange request. It was all
within the family and was an outlandish request. (According to tradition,
Salome, the mother of James and John, was an aunt of Jesus). So, undoubtedly
these three hoped to capitalize on the family ties.
When Jesus sat on His glorious
throne, James and John wanted to sit in places of honor next to Jesus, one on
His right and the other on His left hand. What do we know about James and John?
They were the sons of Zebedee who followed Jesus, leaving their father in the
boat.
They were obsessed with Power and
authority. Remember when a Samaritan town refused entry for Jesus it was John
and James who wanted to call down fire from heaven to burn that town. Jesus
rebuked them (You don't realize what your hearts are like) Lk 9:57. Jesus gave
them a nickname, the Sons of Thunder. Here they came up with an insensitive request.
As if Jesus wanted to test them, He said,
in Vs. 38, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from
the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized
with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?"
The two disciples
did not know what they were asking. The way to a privileged position in God's
Kingdom is not by grabbing for Power but by relinquishing it through suffering.
Jesus explained it by using the analogies of the cup and baptism. The cup
symbolizes trouble and suffering, Eze 23:31-34. Baptism symbolizes a deluge of problems
(Ps18:16; 69:1-2).
Without blinking an eye, they
replied, "Oh yes, we are able. Jesus affirmed them by saying that you will
indeed drink from the cup of suffering and be baptized with the baptism of
suffering. Church history tells us that both James and John were Martyred for
their faith.
Jesus clarified who gets to sit in
those places of honor and privilege in God's Kingdom. Vs. 40, "But I have
no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those
places for the ones he has chosen." By saying granting them the privileged
positions in God's kingdom was not within his authority, Jesus refused to usurp
the authority of his father.
When the ten other disciples heard this
outlandish request of James and John, they were indignant as if they were
entirely innocent and had no such desire of grabbing Power. Were they? Earlier,
for the second time, Jesus predicted that He was going to be betrayed at the
hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but he will rise from the dead three
days later.
The disciples did not understand
what he was saying, but no one dared to ask him for clarity. Why? Perhaps all
of them were secretly eyeing a top leadership position once Jesus was passed
on. But Jesus knowing what was going on in their hearts, asked them, "What
were you discussing on the road? They were caught in their wicked thinking, so
no one answered Jesus. Because they were indeed had been arguing about which of
them was the greatest. (Mk 9:33-35).
To be the greatest was not only the
disciple's problem; it is a human problem. Whether we admit it or not, we all
have a hidden desire for greatness. The Narcissists boldly announce their
intentions and do anything to become great. While others secretly desire
greatness.
Why do we struggle with this innate
desire to be famous and great? Jesus is fully aware of the intentions of all
the twelve disciples. Yet did not rebuke them for having such ambitions.
Instead, he showed them how the rulers of this world were abusing leadership.
Then laid out a different pathway to greatness and encouraged them to live
differently than the rest of the world.
II.
Abuse of Leadership (42-43)
Vs.42-43,
"So Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers in
this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over
those under them. But among you, it will be different." Have you ever been
under abusive leadership? I have! It can be suffocating and demoralizing. We
see this abuse of leadership happening all the time.
Lord Acton (1834-1902) said, "Power
tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." In a letter to
Bishop Mandell Creighton, he wrote about how historians should judge the abuse
of Power by past rulers, especially popes."[3] There is some truth in it.
During Jesus' time, the religious
leaders were lording over people. They were flaunting their authority over
those under them. Seeing that corrupt trend and the abuse of leadership, Jesus
warned His disciples. In other words, he spared them from being corrupted. He said the world leaders abuse
their leadership, but you, my disciples, should be different. How so?
III.
Do you want to be great? (43b-45)
43b. "But among you, it will
be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44,
and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."
This is the heart of the gospel of Mark. Let me unpack it for us.
Let the rest of the world run amok,
but Jesus' disciples must emulate the example of Jesus in all aspects of life,
especially when it comes to leadership. Must a leader be a servant? And the one
who wants to be first a slave of everyone? Tell that to those aspiring to be
great leaders in the Congress or corporate world. It would not go well with
them, yet that is what authentic leadership is all about. Jesus modeled a countercultural
leadership style.
How did Jesus model servant
leadership during his ministry? Unlike the religious leaders of his time, Jesus
identified with the poor and the marginalized in society. He chose the uneducated
fishermen to be His disciples. Here we see the servant leader in action. John
13:3-14.
"Jesus knew that the father had
given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would
return to God. So, he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel
around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the
disciples' feet, drying them with the towel he had around him…
After washing their feet, he put on his robe
again and sat down, and asked, "Do you understand what I was doing? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and you
are right because that's what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought
to wash each other's feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you." Do you want
to be Great? Pick up the towel, tie it around, and be ready to serve as Jesus
did.
Some of us have a wrong
understanding of leadership and Christian ministry. We think it is commanding others
and telling them what to do. If you want to be great, you must realize that the
road to greatness is filled with small steps of service. I told my pastor I
wanted to serve God as a twelve-year-old kid. He gave me the job of putting and
picking up the hymnals each Sunday.
Do you want to be a great leader? Do
you want to do great ministry? We have plenty of opportunities for you here at
Hope Church. You could help clean the bathrooms for the next several months,
assist in the media and worship team, pray and read scriptures, serve as an
usher, weed the garden, deliver a meal to a sick member, and give a ride to the
hospital, etc.
I close with the words of the
Apostle Paul, Col 3:23-24, "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though
you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord
will give you an inheritance as your reward and that the Master you are serving
is Christ." Amen!
