10/18/20 Mark 10:35-45 “Are You To the Right or To the Left?”

16 Oct 10/18/20 Mark 10:35-45 “Are You To the Right or To the Left?”

10/18/20   Mark 10:35-45    “Are You To the Right or To the Left?”

This was one of those weeks where I have had a real hard time to get the sermon started.  Sometimes I wish I had a can of ether like we used to have in the old days on the farm.  One shot of that stuff and the tractor would start right up.  Well, I guess that wouldn’t be a practical thing for me to use or anyone else for that matter.  So, this is what I did to get started.  I just sat down and wrote.  Some of this is what I wrote and some of it has been revised several times.  This always seems to work for me.  The reason for this is that I really have nothing to say on my own but Jesus has a lot to say through me, my fingers and my mouth.  So, when I have to start like this, and it has happened before, then the Holy Spirit will take over.  The last thing that I am looking for whenever I am preaching or giving pastoral care to someone is accolades for me.  I feel that I am getting too old for that type of thing and I am also not upwardly mobile.  These are traits that we shouldn’t have as followers of Jesus Christ.  In today’s reading, we find a couple of the disciples who want to get a little farther ahead of the others.  Let’s see if this is the kind of thinking we should be doing.

Jack Russell tells the story of a dangerous sea coast that he had read about in a devotional.  This is one of my favorite stories.  There had been many shipwrecks in this area so a small life-saving station was built.  It had only one small boat but the people faithfully manned it and they saved many lives.  The place became well known for saving lives and soon many more people began to give their time and money.  Then they erected a nice new building.

Later on, there was a large shipwreck and the survivors were brought to the nice new building which had become more of a social center.  There were many people there and the place became rather dirty and soiled because these people had just come from a ship wreck.  At the next meeting the members decided that the life-saving activities had become a hindrance to the activities of the social club so they decided to discontinue life-saving.  Members who disagreed were told to leave and build their own life saving station.  They did this and it wasn’t too many years later that history repeated itself and there was another social club.  Then there was another.  It wasn’t too many years before the seacoast was dotted with social clubs.  This story is a parable.  We, as a church, must be careful never to lose sight of our mission as a life-saving station filled with disciples of Jesus Christ.  Many denominations, including the UMC, have become nothing more than social clubs.  They could just as well serve drinks and lunch.

As we begin reading in today’s Scripture, we have Jesus on his final trip to Jerusalem.  The disciples and Jesus had been traveling and Jesus had been teaching the disciples.  But it was a funny thing about those disciples.  It seemed that no matter how much Jesus taught them, they still weren’t getting it.  So, what we have here is James and John coming to Jesus to ask a special favor.  They want to be seated on his right and left hand for eternity.  After all, Jesus had been granting people’s requests right and left.  So why not do this for his favorite disciples?  That way they could have a special place for eternity.  What they don’t understand is where they are right now but we will get to this in a minute.

The people of those days loved to have fame.  The Romans would show this in their authority over the Jewish people.  They made sure that the Jews knew who was ruling over them.  It started high up in the Roman authority and went right on down to the lowest soldier.  Even the lowest soldier had authority over the Jewish people.  And this was not limited to the Romans.  The Jewish rabbis loved to flaunt their power as did the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  Everyone wanted power over other people.

Today, we have politicians who want to have power over us and they will do just about anything to achieve it as can be seen in this election.  If you asked people who their heroes would be today, you wouldn’t find many politicians on the list.  Most of our heroes are sports or music figures.  But we should really take a close look at these because of all the drug scandals that have been happening along with all the greed that is in the industry.  Of course, we rationalize this by saying that these heroes are just plain folks like everyone else.  So, then we look to Hollywood for our heroes.  We have found that there is really very little moral fiber there either.  So, a lot of times we end up with heroes from the cartoon or fantasy world where their behavior can be a made up to be wholesome.  It is no wonder we have such a tough time in this world when we have no actual heroes.

So, I would like to make a suggestion here.  Why don’t you look to the only hero that you will ever need?  He is standing right in front of you at all times.  He will make life as exciting as it can get.  He will keep you busy with a life style that is very, very satisfying.  Let Jesus Christ be your hero.  Many people feel that us Christians are really boring people but this is far from true.  Jesus can and will lead you in a very exciting life for if you just ask.

This was probably what these disciples were thinking.  Jesus will do anything I ask as long as I ask it in a way that is pleasing to Him.  So, they asked and there was a problem.  This was not pleasing to Jesus because it displayed greed and selfish desire.  This was the ancient desire to be first in everything.  This was the desire that they had to be the rock and roll stars of their age.

This is one of the hardest desires to curb.  I sometimes don’t like standing in front people and doing a good job.  They will tell me when I do a good job and there is nothing wrong with that and I appreciate it.  However, I have to be on continual guard so that I don’t take this to mean that I am good at anything.  I have to remind myself that I am not good.  All I have to do is look back on my life to see this.  I have done hundreds and thousands of things wrong.  I have to remind myself that it is Jesus who works through me that is doing all of the good.  All that I can ever hope to be is a messenger.   The only good that I can do is because what Jesus Christ has done in my life.

I think that we all struggle with battles like this.  Some of us are very good at what we do.  Some of us strive to do the best that we can.  But is this really necessary?  Does it really matter if we get our picture in the paper in regards to doing a job well?  What should matter to us is that the job gets done well and not that we get glory for it.  This is very hard to do in our world because everywhere we look, we seem to have a contest to be number one.  But it can be done.

I think that farming is probably one of the most humbling occupations that there can be.  Every spring they go out and plant and fertilize so that they can get the best crop possible.  Then they pretty much go into a waiting period.  I know that there is spraying and haying and all kinds of other things going on but you really can only wait until the crops ripen.  Farmers are at the mercy of the weather all during this time.  There is nothing that anyone can do about this so that farmers really cannot take too much credit for the crop.  This is ok.  This is being humble.  Right now, farmers are working extra hard to get the crops in due to the fall season and we all pray for their safety.  I know that if you ask just about any farmer, he will tell you that all his crops are due to the mercy of God and the weather.  And I think that even then, many farmers don’t know what they have.  We will get back to this in a minute just as we will get back to where the disciples were.

Now Jesus knows what you, and these disciples, are thinking so He asks if they or you can drink from his cup or be baptized with his baptism.  He is referring to the torture and death that he will have to endure.  He knows that all of them will go through their agonies because they will be following Him.  Then He tells them that it is not for him to make that decision but it will be made by the Father.  Now it seems that so far, so good.

Of course, this conversation takes place when all the disciples have gathered.  The others hear what is taking place and they understandably get upset.  We must realize that there can only be one on the immediate right of Jesus and one on the left.  There is not room for 3 or 4 or 6 people sitting on his right or left.  So, the others have been left out.  They are upset with John and James because they didn’t think of it first.  They all wanted to be on the immediate right or left of Jesus in eternity.  This would probably be a good place for all of us.  I would just about guess that unless Jesus does something here, these human disciples will probably riot on him.

So, Jesus stops and gathers them.  He tells them that they know that the Romans lord over them.  He tells them that most people lord over them.  They are really on the short end of the feeding chain as far as power goes in this world.  Everyone lords over them.  But this is not important.

Greatness is not important to Jesus.  Service is important.  Service is important today also.  This is what following Jesus means.  Many churches do a good job in this area. They do a good job of being a service to others.  I know that when I drive up to a place where there is a benefit for someone or a fundraiser for someone, I will find some good people leading the way.  It is great to be a part of a Jesus oriented community.  There are some churches that do this very well.

But we have to be careful with this just the way I have to be careful of compliments.  It is always good to get positive reinforcement.  It is good to hear that we might be doing things right.  But Jesus is telling us here that we are not to stop.  When we celebrate harvest festival, it is ok to invite someone who doesn’t have a church.  All churches should have monthly potlucks and it is ok to invite new people to come.  It is ok to invite people who have become alienated from their own church due to big policy changes.  It is ok to invite the person who has absolutely no money.  It is good to invite these people so that they get a chance to know Jesus Christ, the real Jesus of the Bible and not one that we have created.

Even in our personal lives, it is ok to know that you are doing a good job.  You need this to be able to keep going at times.  But you cannot quit there either.  You need to be on a constant vigil against the enemy.  You need to be in constant check that you don’t use language that Jesus would not approve.  You need to be in constant alert that you aren’t doing things for our own fame or glory.

All in all, we need to be careful that we do not become a chain of social clubs like we found in our opening story.  This can happen and it does happen, often.  Denominations have become country clubs.  As soon as you deny the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ, then you might as well hang up a sign, start serving drinks and meals at your new social club because it will have nothing to do with what you are supposed to be doing.

I would like to go back to where the disciples are at the time of this reading.  What the disciples don’t know is that they are at the right and left of Jesus Christ as they speak.  They are in an honored place and they will be there for eternity.  Jesus, God, does not play favorites.  We always like to think of Jesus in earthly terms so that we can understand Him.  But Jesus is not earthly; His ways are not our ways.  He is totally beyond our understanding in this world.  We cannot understand his power or his ability to be in all places at the same time through the Holy Spirit.  They cannot understand that we will all be on the right and left of Jesus in eternity.  We all have this special place.  People who don’t know Jesus have little chance of understanding this and many times we don’t do much better.  It is hard for us because all that we know is this world.  We need to have faith in Jesus that He has a better place for us. Jesus does this because of His love for us.

I mentioned that farmers sometimes do not know what they have and this extends to all of us.  You have Jesus right now.  He is here with you.  This whole passage has this for a bottom line.  Oh, it tells us about greed and envy.  It tells us that Jesus and the disciples and we will suffer.  It tells us that our main job is to serve.  But underneath all of this, it is telling us that Jesus is right beside you right now and He will be for eternity.  So, the next time that something bad happens remember this.  When the machinery breaks down, Jesus is near.  When the weather is bad, Jesus is close by.  When you have trouble in your marriage, He is only a prayer away.  When you are suffering, He is right there with you.  Jesus loves you so much that He will never, never go away.

So, remember this as you go about life this next week.  Jesus is there and He will get you through the tough times.  You have to get in the habit of asking, of praying.  When things go wrong, take a break.  Take 10 seconds, take 10 minutes and talk to Jesus.  Give the problem to Him who has the answers for all things.  You will not be giving up your independence, you will be gaining independence.  When you are in communication with Jesus, then He will be communicating right back to you.  He loves to talk to you so ask Him.

We talked a few weeks back in James about how God doesn’t play favorites.  He doesn’t have to do this.  He is everywhere and we are all his favorites.  If you know Jesus, then you have no worries about where you will be in heaven.  He has taken all of our worries out of our lives.  Our job is to be serving Him while we are here.  His blessings will pour for over you if quit thinking about yourselves and start living for Jesus.  This is the love, the tremendous love, which He has for us.  Bask in it and love Him back through obedience.  And thank you Jesus for first loving us.  Let’s pray.