21 October 2012
Mark 10:35-45
The front
page of Thursday’s Brainerd Dispatch announced that Gary Walters is Brainerd's
Outstanding Citizen of the Year. If you don't know the name, you probably know
the stunts: this is the guy who camped out at the top of the old landmark water
tower to raise money (and mentors) for Kinship Partners. Every year he picks a
new outrageous adventure to draw attention to Kinship partners, like swimming
across Lake Mille Lacs, walking the length of Minnesota, or cycling the
Mississippi River Road to New Orleans. But his response to the award:
"Walters said he gets so much more out of life by doing the adventures for
Kinship Partners. He said youths and Kinship are not the only ones who
benefit."
Doesn’t the
Citizen of the Year, the Volunteer of the Month, or the Human Rights Award
honoree always say something like that? That is what service teaches us.
Jesus said,
"Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever
wishes to be first among you must be a slave of all." (Mark 10:43-44) He
said this to all his disciples, according to the story, and of course, that
includes us.
Jesus had
just told his disciples, for the third time, what was going to happen when they
reached their destination. They were on the road to Jerusalem. We know what’s
coming, we have heard the rest of the story, we know what will happen to Jesus
in Jerusalem. Those who were following Jesus had some idea, he had told them
twice before what awaits him in Jerusalem.
See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.
But you know how it is when you hear bad news, especially
about someone you love. Surely not. No, couldn’t be. There will be a reprieve,
surely, some miracle. James and John seem to have focused on only the last part
of the message, the part about rising. And they asked Jesus if they could be right
there with him when that rising part happens, when Jesus comes into his glory.
And the other disciples heard about what James and John had done they were
angry, perhaps because they didn’t think of it first. They were angry, maybe
because they were afraid there wouldn’t be enough glory to go around. But God
always provides more than enough glory to go around, and always enough serving
to do. "Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and
whoever wishes to be first among you must be a slave of all."
We have
been thinking, all this month, about how we treasure our church. Often times we
think of what we treasure in terms of what we get: fabulous pot luck suppers,
the overwhelming support of the congregation in times of crisis, the awe-inspiring
beauty of candlelight on Christmas Eve.
But
Brainerd’s Citizen of the Year reminds us that the most valuable
treasures are the opportunities to serve others. Because we really to get more
than we give. We give time and effort, but we get to be servants, like Jesus.
We get to be like Jesus when we serve.
We have this treasure in our
church. It is the treasured opportunity to serve meals at the Sharing Bread
Soup Kitchen. It is the treasured opportunity to make life a little bit better
for a stranger. It is the opportunity to read stories to a very young guest
when we host the Interfaith Hospitality Network in our Rainbow Center and
Fellowship Hall. It is the opportunity to drive to Pine Ridge, to insulate a
home against the cold winds of a Northern Plains winter and the scorching heat
of a South Dakota summer.
As you continue to think about this
treasure we have, think about our treasured opportunities for service.
