15th Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 20
Mark 9:30-37
"The High Price of Godly Living"
30 ¶ They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it;
31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise."
32 But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him.
33 And they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?"
34 But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest.
35 And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."
36 And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them,
37 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."
Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ.
A woman we’ll call Mary had worked for many years in a large downtown business office. Many different things were said about Mary, hut there was one thing all of her colleagues agreed on: Mary was a very unlike able, hateful person.
No one ever managed to get close enough to her to know her very well. Mary had a way of quickly turning: off anyone who tried to get close to her. No one ever managed to get to know her well. She was a loner, a crab, very disagreeable and when eve a new employee was hired, the warning went out very quickly : "Stay away from Mary!!!" This situation went on for many years, until a new employee named Sally arrived on the scene. ’Belly disregarded all of the warnings about Mary and she made a very special effort to let her know there was someone in the office who really cared about her. Slowly Mary came out of her shell, relaxed began communicate and even developed one or two friendships.
Then early one morning, the whole office was shocked to learn that Sally had died suddenly in her sleep. When Mary heard the news, she cried and cried and said over and over again, " SHE WAS THE ONLY CHRIST I EVER KNEW!!!!"
Isn’t that a powerful statement, "She was the only Christ I ever knew!!!" What did she mean by that? What was Mary trying to say about this special person, Sally???
Our gospel lesson this morning gives a clue to this powerful statement of Mary’s. Jesus told his disciples a second time what was going to happen to him went he arrived at Jerusalem. He told them he would be delivered into the hands of men, and they would kill him and then after three days he would rise again. But unlike the he first time he said this, the disciples didn’t understand what he was saying. Instead they were working on their own agenda. They were discussing who would be first in this new kingdom that Jesus was going to begin. They were wondering who would be the ones who would sit on Jesus’ right and left hands, the places of power and authority. If we would think in terms of our modern government, they were wondering who was going to be vice-president and who was going to be sec. of state with Jesus being the president.
Jesus having sensed they didn’t understand at all about this new kingdom calls the disciples together and explains that the places of honor in this kingdom were not the places of power, fame and wealth as in other kingdoms, no, the place of honor in this kingdom who would be place of servant hood, the last place in line. Jesus was explaining to the disciples that one would sacrifice himself for the sake of the other in this new kingdom.
Then Jesus asks a child to come forward and he says that one must be as innocent, as trusting, as naive, as as this child as he serves in God’s kingdom.
Jesus was telling the disciples that one must be willing to serve out of the same kind of love that a child has for its parents, a love that is trusting, a love that is simple, a love that is accepting.
Now if we would think back to our story about Mary and Sally, we can see why Mary called Sally the only Christ I ever knew, Sally was willing to give of herself, she wasn’t willing to see only the bad side of Mary, but knew that Mary had a good side and she was going to bring it out. I imagine that at the beginning, Sally took a lot of abuse from Mary, because Mary probably didn’t understand what was going on. But the more Sally treated Mary with love, mercy and compassion, the more Mary responded, the more she came to trust, love and accept this person who was willing to risk herself to help this very unloving person. Yes, indeed, Sally was Christ for Mary. Sally was willing to give of herself so that Mary would find peace, contentment, happiness and love in her life.
This kind of living for others, living for even those people whom we a difficult time liking is not easy. But living a live of sacrifice was never suppose to be easy. It is a difficult life, it is a hard way to live, but it is the way of the cross, it is the way of Jesus. Jesus life was not easy, but he was willing to love the unlovable of his day. He was willing even to forgive those who killed him. Jesus was willing to live a life of sacrifice for others, and he asks us to follow in his footsteps.
There is a story about a man in a apartment house who had a very difficult time with one of his neighbors. It seemed his neighbor liked to play his radio very loud and at all times of the day and night. Todd couldn’t get any sleep. As a matter of fact he got to the point where he actually hated his neighbor, and they always had unkind words whenever they meet, but the radio never got turned down. One day Todd went to see one of the older neighbors in the building. This older neighbor was a kind old man who listen very carefully to Todd’s complaints concerning the men with the radio.
The old man said, "You really have to love people in order to put up with them."
"You mean to say," said Todd, "I have to love a fellow who turns up his radio full volume at all hours of the day and night."
Where upon the old man replied, "Well it’s no stick at all to love someone who has no radio, at all."
Yes, it is not easy to love those who seem unlovable, but that is the task you and I are called to do for Jesus. We are called by him to love even the unlovable, to give of ourselves even when that giving hurts, even when it is difficult, even when it seems others don’t appreciate but self-sacrificing love.
God calls you and I to such a role in life also. We are called to be servants to others, and servant to God. We are called to sacrifice our wants, our desires, our position in order to serve God and our neighbor God is galling us to make our lives a sign of his power in this world. God is calling us to serve him with our entire lives, to be the Christ in this world’ to be the light of hope, to be the instruments of justice, love and mercy in this world. God is calling us to servant hood, to give of our selves.
There is a story about a Grandmother who died several years ago. She lived to a ripe old age and it could be said of her,"To live is Christ to die is gain." She lived her live as a testimony to the faith and spirit that was inside of her. Her loved ones wanted her funeral to be a witness to the kind of life that she lived. One of the grandchildren suggested that Grandma always carried a bible in her hand a wore a cross around her neck. She what ever seen without a bible or a cross. That was it, They would place in her hand’s that which was most precious to her in life. As granny lay in repose. there was a Bible her tattered worn Bible- folded in one trend an her pectoral cross in the other. All agreed!!! That was Grandma!!!!
All of us are called to live such a life of service to God. All of us are called to live a life filled with that kind of spirit, with that kind of commitment to God. What will they place in your hands as you lay in repose to be depicted in death that which was most precious to you in life?? Will it be a bible and a cross, or a TV knob, a golf club, a telephone, a stock market sheet, a bottle, a stitching needle, a pillow, a knife of hatred or just plan nothing as the sign of the indifference you had for life. What will it be????
So far this morning we have seen that Jesus calls us to a life of self sacrifice, a life where we are called upon to serve God and our neighbor.
A closing story sums this up well:
The pastor asked one of the church council people to pray, but the council person paused for a moment in embarrassment and said, "Pastor, before I pray I first need to clear something up. I have been trying to knife one of our elders in the back for a wrong l thought he did to me I must ask for his forgiveness before I can pray.?
He stepped over and took the other man by the hand. To his surprise the other man said, "And I want to say that I have been trying to put the skids under you. It was an unchristian thing to do, and I want to quit trying to be vengeful. Each man gripped the other’s hand and then there was a time of prayer.
Other council people responded in kind, there were confessions all around the table. At the close of the council meeting the secretary asked the pastor what should be recorded in the minutes sicne very little official business was done that evening.
The pastor replied, "Never was more entered on the records of this council than tonight. Put down "They loved each other!"
These people found the wisdom of Cod in their lives, they found the peace and comfort of God and then change came. Hatred turned to love, disrespect turned to respect, wrongs were righted. They loved each other.
I hope we can say that about our relationships as we come to together today to God’s table to share in his supper.
I hope we can forgive another’s wrong, I hope we can learn to love each other as we gather as the family of Christ. Yes, when our priorities are right, when our wisdom is on that that is from above, then we can say about our relationships as that pastor did, They loved each other.
Amen
Written by Pastor Tim Zingale
