Erl Purnell Sermon

b20Pentecost 16 ~ September 24, 2006 ~ A sermon preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT

Wisdom 1.16-2.22; Psalm 54; James 3.16-4.6; Mark 9.30-37

As Jesus was talking, one of the children of the house, a toddler, wandered in, thumb securely in his mouth. Jesus reached out and tickled the boy under the arms. He wiggled. Jesus quickly swooped him off his feet and pulled him onto his lap. The child giggled and took hold of Jesus’ beard. Jesus smooshed his face into the boy’s pudgy belly, and the youngster laughed, letting go of the whiskers.

Still hugging the boy, Jesus returned his attention to the adults. “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”^†

Although I show Jesus being light hearted and playful with the toddler in Through Mark’s Eyes, this is a serious moment. Jesus and his band of followers have just returned from a long journey to Tyre, Sidon and then Caesarea Philippi in the Decapolis. They are back at a house in Capernaum. Along the way, as we learned in last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” The answer, blurted out by Peter, is “You are the Messiah.”

We’ve known that ill-kept secret since the opening of Mark’s Gospel: The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And, the demons have known it. The demoniac at Gerasene bellows, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” The forces of nature have known Jesus’ power, too: “‘Peace, be still.’ And just like that, the wind stopped. The Sea of Galilee was as calm as could be.”^† But, those closest to Jesus—the disciples, apostles, and his other followers—seem oblivious to who Jesus is and what he is about. Granted, they’re mightily impressed with his healings and miracles. But really, they’re clueless about the true meaning of Jesus’ Kingdom of God program.

Jesus has just told his gang that “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they still don’t get it. Instead, walking the last miles into Capernaum, they argue about who among them is the greatest. From the happy perspective of these two thousand years, I want to say, ‘Yeah, well, which one of you is the greatest bone-head!?’

Try as he may, Jesus can’t seem to penetrate the disciples’ fixity—their ordinary, every day, run-of-the-mill attitudes toward life and each other. Neither the experience in the countryside in teams of two, nor witnessing Jesus’ extraordinary equal treatment of all people, nor his open commensality—sharing food with everybody—is enough to knock them off their rocks.

In that house in Capernaum, with a toddler on his lap, Jesus tries one more time with the twelve: “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” This, the paradox of Jesus’ Kingdom of God. In God’s domain, unlike the world dominated by rulers and lorded over by the elite, those who are the greatest are servants, the ones who care for others so that the whole community thrives instead of just the few at the top. Jesus’ answer to the question, “Who is the greatest?” is that the greatest is the one who serves, the one who gives graciously and generously.

Perhaps you’ve noticed the parallel questions: Who do you say that I am? and Who is greatest? For those with Jesus, wouldn’t you think the greatest would be those most closely in sync with the Jesus’ program? Those who are paying attention—the ones with ears to listen—would understand that the first will be last—the greatest will be the servant of all.

But no, the disciples, and especially the twelve, fail.

Mark’s Gospel has several themes. One is that Jesus is the Son of God. Another is that Jesus proposes a counter-intuitive kingdom—the Kingdom of God as opposed to the kingdom of Caesar or any other domination system, like the Temple. In God’s Kingdom, according to Jesus, ALL participate equally, ALL are included, ALL provide for the wellbeing and welfare of ALL. This was a radical idea in Jesus’ day and it’s a radical idea now! It’s hard for we modern folk to appreciate this call to action and even harder for us to act accordingly.

A third theme in Mark is for disciples of Jesus will follow The Way, as it became known. And, Mark makes very clear what it means to follow The Way. First, he illustrates The Way by following Jesus himself through weeks and months of travel in Galilee and the north country. This, Mark is saying, is how to learn about Jesus and his program. Pay attention to who Jesus is and what he does. That’s the start of discipleship.

Then, Mark follows Jesus to Jerusalem where Jesus expects his disciples to stand with him over against the domination system. In other words, Mark’s Jesus insists that discipleship means dieing to old ways and being resurrected into a new way of Being even as Jesus literally dies, only to be resurrected to new Life. That new Way, once again, is a Kingdom in which God rules and not the powers of humankind; a Kingdom in which the greatest serve, care for others, and give generously; a Kingdom in which the paradox of being child-like erases prejudice and materialism and greed and domination in favor of welcoming God into your heart.

It’s this third theme—discipleship—in which Mark speaks most profoundly to his community. For, in this wonderful, powerful, delightful Gospel about Jesus’ ministry and message, the disciples fail and fail consistently and miserably. The Gospel of Mark, you might say, is a handbook for how not to follow Jesus.

And, it’s just as much for us as it was for Mark’s friends. Mark fairly shouts: Don’t be like the twelve and many of the others who don’t get it about the Kingdom of God and how to follow The Way of Jesus. Don’t be one who plans on being top dog here and now or at the front of the queue at Heaven’s Gate. And, especially, don’t be one who abandons Jesus—the Kingdom of God—in favor of a false security based on domination and materialism. Phew! A powerful message.

The Gospel of Mark is not for the faint of heart. It’s not for those without courage and conviction. This Gospel is a call to action; a call to follow The Way selflessly, with generosity and generosity of spirit, with an unflinching commitment to serve.

So, perhaps this week you’ll think about just who is the greatest and what it means to be the greatest? Think too about how it is you follow The Way, about your own generosity, and your commitment to serve Christ here at OSA and in the world. To paraphrase Bishop Curry, Who do you say you are?

Amen.

^† Through Mark’s Eyes, Puck Purnell, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 2006