You May Not Like This

Scripture: Mark 9: 30-37

The Right to remain silent is enshrined in the laws of many countries and has been upheld by many courts. That law protects a person’s right against self incrimination – essentially the right not to say anything that can get you in trouble with the law.

But long before that right to remain silent was enshrined in law, and when it was, often before persons knew that such a right exists, many would choose silence over saying anything that might get them in trouble, and that inclination starts from a very young age. I recall many times when our children were very young; they would be caught in the act of doing something that they knew they should not be doing, and when asked about it, they would look at us in silence with a blank stare on their faces, as if to say, “what are you talking about?” I suppose remaining silent is a better option to lying or getting in trouble.

On their way to Capernaum, Jesus observed his disciples having a private discussion. There was something about it that caught his attention. It must have been different from the usual chit chat and friendly bantering that they would normally have - it was quite intense.

When they arrived at the house, he asked them what was the subject of their conversation. What were you talking about along the way?

In asking that question, Jesus was not simply being inquisitive - it was a serious question. It is a question that probes what it is that occupies our mind. Because the things that occupy our minds are often the things that dominate our conversations.

The disciples, on being asked by Jesus what they were talking about, chose to remain silent. Why? Because we are told that they were talking about who was the greatest among them. That was the subject of their conversation; that was the matter that was occupying their minds. Who was the greatest!

When I read about the twelve disciples - those men who were a part of Jesus’ inner circle, as it were, I am always intrigued at how very much like us they were. For which one of us, at some point in our lives, did not entertain thoughts of greatness? Of being important, outstanding, accomplished, recognized.

When Jesus asked the disciples what they were talking about, his question was met with silence, but he nonetheless suspected what they were talking about, and he brought it into the open and put it into perspective, saying to them: "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." (v. 35)

The issue here was not whether it was right or not to strive for greatness, it was about something more basic; it was about personal ambition. That was the underlying and immediate preoccupation of the disciples.

Jesus had said to them: “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again."  (Mark 9: 31, 32)             

They did not understand what he was saying, and they were afraid to ask, but that did not stop them from attaching their own meaning to what he said.

The disciples heard Jesus say that "The Son of Man will be killed and three days after, he will rise again.”, and they very likely took that to mean that The Kingdom of God is about to come, and when the Kingdom comes, those who are closest to Jesus, will have special places in the Kingdom. That is what they were talking about back there. No wonder they were ashamed to answer Jesus’ question because it would have exposed their hidden ambitions.

Now ambition, in itself, is not a bad thing. In fact, I believe that our world would be a better place if a lot more people were a lot more ambitious, a lot more purposeful and focussed, a lot more determined to succeed and willing to strive for excellence. Too many, too often, are too satisfied to barely get by, to settle for the barest minimum, when they have it within them to achieve more. I don’t think that God is pleased with that, because it is a waste of the gifts that God has given us.

So, the problem is not with being ambitious – ambition, in itself, is neutral, it is neither good nor bad. However, ambition becomes a problem when it is selfish. When our ambition becomes self serving, it can blind us to what is really important in life. As New Testament scholar William Barclay says, “Being ambitious for greatness for one's own sake, or just for the sake of being great, can be destructive of the best within us, for then it becomes, a matter of "How can I shine?" rather than "How can I serve?"

Jesus took the concepts of "ambition" and "greatness" and put them into the framework of service, and he shows us that it is ambition to serve rather than ambition to shine, that produces the type of greatness that is healthy; that contributes meaningfully to the common good and reflects the love of God.

This passage makes that abundantly clear. It tells us that the needs of others must always be a primary consideration in all that we do.

We live in a society that says, there is nothing more important than getting ahead and getting to the top, and many would do almost anything to get there, including ignoring the needs of those people around them - even those people who are the closest to them.

Our Christian faith stands over and against such thinking, and it says, if your ambition blinds you to the needs of other people, then it is wrong - plain wrong. Jesus offers us an alternative way of living, he says, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all, and whoever wants to be great must servant of all."

We read that Jesus took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking the child in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

What did Jesus expect them to see in a child? Quite a lot.

Unlike what is the case in our society today, Children, at the time of Jesus, were not considered as important, they had no rights whatsoever.

Back then, children were considered to be second-class citizens. They ranked last; they were treated as property. As nice as they were - they were seen as unproductive, as burdensome, as simply another mouth to feed. In times of shortages of food, children were often the last to be fed.

It is in this light that Jesus’ words about greatness and welcoming a child have to be understood. Jesus embraced a small child and said, "Whoever receives one such child receives me and the one who sent me." Many people would overlook a child, but not Jesus. Many people would overlook the least among us, but not Jesus.

You may not like this, but being number one in God's kingdom is not about being better that everyone else or outperforming another; it's about reaching out to those who need you most.

Greatness in the eyes of Jesus is found in the willingness to reach out to those we would be inclined to overlook.

Who are the persons that we consider to be less than ourselves? Who are the people to whom we feel superior? Who do we turn away because of some real, or imagined difference or offense?

Jesus came among us not as a boss, expecting special privileges, but as a servant. He came to touch, to embrace, to heal, to forgive, to help, to love all persons regardless of their position in life. And he calls us to do likewise.

Our prayer should not be "Lord make me someone important", rather it should be “Lord, make others important to me.” Make their needs, their pain, and their struggles important to me; important enough for me to stop, to listen, to understand and to respond.

The road to greatness demands that we walk the path of service and humility. In the words of William Ward, (18th century English pioneer and Baptist Missionary) “Greatness is not found in possessions, power, position or prestige. It is discovered in goodness, humility, service and character.” You might not like it, but that’s how it is with God.

Amen.