+Points to ponder

1. Compare and contrast what it means to be first/last in the world’s eyes vs. God’s Kingdom
2. How do we foster a culture of serving each other and our neighbors outside our church community?
3. What do you make of Luther’s idea: “a Christian is the servant of all and made subject to all. Insofar as he is free, he does no works, but insofar as he is a servant, he does all kinds of works.”?

+Sermon Transcript

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto each of you from God our Father and our Lord and King, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Let us pray: Holy Father, who sent Your only Son Jesus Christ to be crucified for our sins, have mercy upon us. May we follow in His example, leading and loving in great humility. Help us to be humble and gracious in every interaction, patient, loving and kind. Help us to serve our neighbor as Christ has served us. Amen.

In today’s Gospel Jesus has some stark and shocking teaching for His disciples. And beloved, it is for our ears today. May it be, in a way different than the disciples, alarming for us as well.

Jesus, as He had spoken before, in chapter eight, tells His disciples: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And when He is killed, after three days He will rise.”

But the disciples were apparently baffled; they did not understand what He was teaching them. What is worse, Mark shares, is that they ‘were afraid to ask Him.’

Maybe they recalled the previous teaching and thought that they should know what He was talking about, and they were embarrassed that they did not understand; or maybe, they just did not want to wrestle with the idea of Jesus dying, especially considering His miracles that they witnessed while traveling with Him.

As they continued walking along, Jesus observed that they were debating about something among themselves. “And they came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, ‘What were you discussing on the way?’” Of course, Jesus was not asking because He needed to be brought ‘up to speed.’ Instead, His question opens an opportunity for Him to teach and to clarify just what His coming passion and His kingdom is truly about.

He asks and their response is (….) A sort of awkward silence. Mark tells us: “But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.” How ironic is it that ‘after the transfiguration and Jesus’ Passion prediction, [and their failure to heal the demon possessed boy], the disciples debated which of them was greatest.’ So, maybe their awkward silence was born from being ashamed of their conversation considering their recent history.

I would bet that their ‘discussion’ of greatness was robust. I have no doubt that each made a case for themselves listing their admirable qualities and highlighting their accomplishments. Their obliviousness, I can imagine was being heightened by at least one of them proclaiming his manifest humility as his greatest strength. I am the greatest because I am the humblest of the group.

I am reminded of when I was a kid watching the Mac Davis show with my parents. Maybe you remember his signature song (or at least the chorus):

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble
When you're perfect in every way
I can't wait to look in the mirror
Cause I get better looking each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord It's hard to be humble,
But I'm doing the best that I can

We chuckle at this because we know this to be the anthem of many, even though you cannot be humble and at the same time proud of it. Also, you cannot be proud and not hear the admonition, and perhaps the condemnation of God. Humility is the quality most often extolled by Jesus. Not only does He praise humility, but He also actually demonstrated it in His life and mission. Paul characterized Jesus' entire life, and most especially His death on the cross in terms of humility, saying that Christ, “who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be held on to, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

When Jesus met you in the waters of your baptism, you were set off down a path to put away your sinful pride and to learn humility. The Apostle Paul described that journey in terms of death and resurrection: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

In Dr. Luther’s Large Catechism, we hear: “Imagine there was a doctor somewhere who understood the art of saving people from death or, even though they died, could restore them quickly to life so that they would afterward live forever. Oh, how the world would pour in money like snow and rain. No one could find access to him because of the throng of the rich! But here in Baptism there is freely brought to everyone’s door such a treasure and medicine that it utterly destroys death and preserves all people alive”

There is new life in Christ. Now, there are some who say, ‘I know I am a Christian because I do not drink any more, I do not smoke anymore and I do not curse anymore,’ as if such trivial things were the essence of what it means to die with Jesus and to be raised with Him to newness of life.

The effect of Jesus coming to you in your baptism is much more radical than the taming of vices, or, the curbing of destructive behaviors, although those things are important too. You, beloved, were bought with a price, the lifeblood of the Son of God. Jesus has laid claim to your life effecting a complete transformation, turning your world, so-to-speak upside down.

Consequently, those things you thought were the most valuable in your life you begin to find are really nothing compared to the joy of knowing Jesus. Paul puts it this way: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

The suffering we once despised, even to the point of questioning God, we can now see as a touch of our Lord’s hand, effecting a deeper and a stronger faith in each of us. Peter, describing our renewed outlook on suffering and the crosses we are called to bear says: “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith – more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire – may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Jesus says, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

From the citadel of one of the most boring sports in the world – my apologies to NASCAR fans everywhere – the famous driver, Dale Earnhardt popularized the saying, “Second place is just the first-place loser.” Our culture lauds the winner and quickly forgets everyone else. The winner is put upon a pedestal as if he were some sort of superhero.

While competition and winning is not inherently wrong, greatness in the kingdom of God is judged by a vastly different standard. Remember, when Jesus encountered you through your baptism, He turned your world upside down. Thus, to be last is to be first. To win, in terms of greater and stronger faith, is to sometimes suffer great indignities and losses. To find yourself is to deny yourself. To experience joy is to take up your cross and follow Jesus. To be the greatest is to be the servant of all.

Jesus, of course, is the epitome of this kingdom greatness. ‘He emptied Himself; He was rich and for our sake became poor; He was a king born not in a palace but in a stable – other historical figures are lifted up and lauded, Jesus and those who follow Him, are often ridiculed and mocked.

Your world, beloved, has been turned upside down. As much as you may want to serve Jesus and even lay claim to the title of the greatest in the Kingdom, Jesus came to serve you that you might serve others.

In his treatise, On Christian Liberty, Martin Luther wrote: “a Christian is the servant of all and made subject to all. Insofar as he is free, he does no works, but insofar as he is a servant, he does all kinds of works.”

Fellow servants of Christ, let us rejoice in the gifts God has given us; and in our Christian freedom, labor together and encourage each other in the outworking of the faith and hope we have in the One who is truly the greatest in the kingdom – even Jesus. Amen.

**“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” **