WHAT IS GREATNESS?
ames 4:1-17; Mark 9:30-37
4th Sunday of the Season of Creation, September 22, 2024
Rev. Dr. Ritva H. Williams
Last Sunday we met Jesus in an heated exchange with his disciples. Jesus asks what they are saying about him? Peter responds, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus rebukes the disciples, warning them not to talk about him like that. As the “Son of Man” (child of humanity) he is destined to be rejected by the religious authorities, killed, and rise again. Peter rebukes Jesus — such a fate is not fit for the Messiah. Jesus again rebukes Peter: “Get behind me Satan? You are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Peter, like many other Jews of his time, imagines the Messiah as a great military-political leader who will conquer Israel’s enemies. Jesus is having none of it.
This morning, we meet Jesus and his disciples on the road in Galilee. Jesus is again teaching the disciples he is the Son of Man (child of humanity) who will be betrayed into human hands, killed, and three days later rise again. The disciples don’t understand and are afraid to ask questions. Instead they argue among themselves. Interpreters tend to presume that the argument among the disciples is about which one of them is the greatest, but the Greek phrase tis meizon can mean either “who is greatest” or “what is greatness.” Perhaps the disciples are debating how a suffering-dying-rising Son of Man could possibly be greater than a conquering Messiah?
So far, the disciples have experienced Jesus as a teaching, preaching, feeding, healing, exorcising, prophetic dude who does things they can’t do. In other words, the disciples have been spectators of Jesus’ ministry. When they tell people about Jesus, they are like fans promoting a star attraction. Greatness for the disciples is all about the honor and status that derives from being close to the Messiah, sharing his table, and eventually securing positions of power in his coming kingdom/government.
Jesus consistently and repeatedly repudiates the image of conquering Messiah, the use of violence, or even coercion to advance God’s reign on earth. Here he says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” To illustrate what he means, Jesus takes a little child, sets her in their midst, embraces her, and says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
For Jesus, greatness is not about being above or over others. It is not about climbing the social ladder, or being seen in the company of the rich and famous. For Jesus, greatness is welcoming the vulnerable, nurturing and nourishing them into flourishing, protecting and guiding the most dependent ones, treating the most marginalized with care and respect. The point Jesus wants his disciples to get is something along the lines of “you will be great when you stop being spectators and fans of an imaginary Messiah, and become participants and co-workers in God’s mission of caring for the least, the last, and the lost.
In today’s reading from James, he tackles the issue of conflicts and disputes. In the years since Jesus’ death and resurrection, James has acquired some personal experience dealing with such matters. He begins by asking, “Where do these conflicts and disputes among you come from?” The answer is, they come from cravings within us. Humans covet things, and when they cannot obtain them, they engage in disputes, conflicts, and even war.
As James explained in chapter 1, our inner desires entice and deceive us into sin, i.e. putting our faith and trust in things that are not God. (1:14-15). We live out of a worldly wisdom that feeds on bitter envy and self ambition, encourages boasting and lying, favoritism and hypocrisy, and results in disorder and wickedness of every kind (3:14-16). Thankfully this is not the whole picture. Alongside this worldly wisdom we have access to spiritual wisdom from above that is peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits. This spiritual wisdom produces a harvest of righteousness, manifest as fairness and equity, generosity and gratitude, health and wholeness for all (4:17-18).
If we resist the devil, James insists, the devil will flee from us. There is a legend about Martin Luther throwing an inkwell at the devil to make him go away. The real story behind the legend is this: Luther suffered from depression and mood swings which he attributed to the devil. While secluded at Wartburg Castle, Luther reported that he drove ''the devil away with ink.” Immersing himself in the work of translating the Bible into German improved his mental health. Luther also recommended singing hymns, prayer and worship as means of chasing away the devil.
But the best news advice comes from Professor Rolf Jacobson, who describes the devil as
the multinational corporate head of evil; a.k.a. … the father of lies … who makes promises but never keeps them. Know this: the devil, if there be such a one, has no power over you. Jesus Christ has claimed you, and nothing can separate you from his love.
James lifts up one other source of conflict in communities: speaking evil against one another and judging one another. By doing so we are usurping God’s role as lawgiver and judge of all. Earlier in the letter, James urged us to speak and act as people who will be judged by the law of liberty (2:12) which is none other than the royal law “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (2:8). Here again James is on the same page as his big brother Jesus, who teaches us,
Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned, Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be the measure you get back (Luke 6:37-38).
Today’s scriptures highlight the challenges we face every day. They stem from what James calls our “double-mindedness.” We are creatures of the world, formed and shaped by the times and places we live in. Like the disciples, we lean toward cultural conformity, uncritically accepting ideologies of greatness that focus on status, power, wealth, and control. Too many of humans live selfishly, speaking and acting without regard for anyone else. Yet the truth is that we are first and foremost human beings created in God’s image, named and claimed by Christ, and uniquely gifted by the Holy Spirit. With God’s help we can choose to live peacefully and humbly, responsibly and reliably, generously, and graciously for the sake of others and for the common good. With God’s help we can change how we think, speak, and act.
Please pray with me this prayer called “Tough Transformation” by John van de Laar (sacredise.com)
It’s not that we don’t want to change, God, it’s just that change is really hard.
The challenges of the world threaten to overwhelm us,
the struggles of living each day come close to being too much,
and so we are tempted to grab the quick-fix, the easy solution, and inevitably, we are disappointed.
So we pray, reach into our hearts with courage and hope, to embrace the tough transformations,
to make the real and lasting changes, to seek the truly good answers, for the sake of our families and communities, our countries and our continents, our people and our planet, for the sake of our very selves.
May we find together and alone, the strength to climb the mountain and see your glory;
and then to walk to the cross, through the pain, until we know the joy and glory of resurrection.
Amen.
