By definition, an oxymoron is when contradictory terms are next to each other; it’s two ideas that don’t belong together. Examples of oxymorons are Microsoft Works, Jumbo Shrimp, Old News, Bittersweet, Plastic Silverware, or Express Mail.
In today’s Mark reading, we have two concepts that don’t seem to fit. It’s the idea of being “great” placed side by side with being a “servant”. But not the way Jesus demonstrates it. Because Jesus is a Prestigious Servant.
Like James and John, we too are quick to assume that following Christ leads to success, power, and glory. Like James and John, we ask for what we know and think we want—and we know that this world rewards success, power, and glory with even more of the same, and we want it! What’s in it for me? Are my desires being met? Am I getting the applause and recognition I deserve? “Pay attention to me!” each one of us thinks. We must confess that we are no better than those self-serving, glory-seeking disciples.
Jesus turns our lust for success, power, and glory on its head. Jesus greatness is in his humility, his strength is in his weakness, and his whole life is given a ransom for our sake. Isaiah reminds us that “The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous.” Those who end up sitting at his right and left hand in his glory will not be the privileged and powerful, or even the disciples, who shrink back from sharing in his cup of suffering. Those at Jesus’ right and left hand will be condemned criminals, crucified alongside him as he offers himself as a ransom for many. Likewise, those who will be great among us will be servants, finding Christ’s strength in their weakness and giving of themselves fully, following their Lord through failure, weakness, and shame into true and eternal glory. “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all,” Jesus says. This servant leadership that finds power in self-giving is to be a hallmark of the Christian community.
A Prestigious Servant is an oxymoron that to be prestigious in the eyes of those in power and authority, to be honored, to be in the inner circle, to be held in high regard or glorified we learn in this scripture passage must be servants to all. To be great is to serve. And that’s a radically different definition of greatness. In a world where wielding power over others is what makes you great, when we pray “your kingdom come” we are praying for an end to tyranny and oppression. Gathered around the cross, a sign of great shame transformed into a sign of great honor and service. It’s not about amassing power and controlling people. It’s not about getting your way and getting what you want. Rather, greatness is about service. It’s about what you can do for others. How can I be a blessing to those who God has entrusted to my care? How can I be a channel of blessing to the people I meet and deal with every day?
It’s a challenge to find and then do the work of serving others. It turns out though that helping others is good for us. Studies show that a couple grows closer and resolves conflicts by finding ways to serve others together. Those in 12-step recovery programs find a key part of their journey to be of service. According to Google: serving others brings happiness, health, and well-being by creating a sense of purpose, reducing stress, fostering social connection, improving self-esteem, providing perspective on your own life, releasing “feel-good” hormones like dopamine and oxytocin.
Good to know, right? And our serving is done in small and big ways throughout our lives. We each have experienced moments, I’m sure, when we have put someone else’s needs first–not because we wanted to please them or wanted something in return, but from the sheer delight of serving. Each of us has volunteered, helped out a friend, taught, led a project at church, encouraged someone down in the dumps, mentored as in parenting or grand parenting or lent a hand to someone in need, and when we did we experienced the joy of giving ourselves to another. Think of a time when you have given yourself to another and found that vulnerability rewarded not simply by the gratitude of the recipient, but by your own increased sense of purpose, fulfillment, and courage.
While I was in school in Chicago, I loved attending the annual white coat ceremony at the University of Chicago Medical School where medical students were given the privilege of wearing their white doctor’s coats for the first time, and a practitioner of medicine would speak every year how the coat was a badge of service and honor like an apron, rancher’s boots, postal or police uniform, a clerical collar or judge’s robes are a call to service and responsibility.
In his 1968 sermon titled “The Drum Major Instinct” Martin Luther King Jr., said: “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”
As we put on Christ in our baptism, our calling is to the greatness and honor of being fully in God’s Kingdom where we care for others and the world God made, and work for justice and peace in all the earth. To be servants to all in need. To love one another. To stand up to injustices in the world. To stand beside those who are hurting and seeking healing. To work with those who are working for racial reconciliation. To hold accountable those who abuse domestic partners or children. To hold those who are sick, dying, or grieving. To honor the beautiful creation God has entrusted to us. This is the service to which we have been called.
Some hymnals call the hour of Sunday worship, the “Divine Service” where we become and are sent as Christ.
We can be assured that God is with us, is faithful, and will not fail us. That means we don’t have to worry about where we sit. Our glory is found in giving, our strength in service, and our hope in Jesus.
