Do You Want To Be First? (Mark 9: 30--37)

Who is the greatest athlete of all time? How about the greatest entertainer? What is the greatest movie ever made? The greatest person you ever met? It’s a human pastime to come up with our list of “greatests,” and there’s nothing inherently wrong with doing so, as long as we understand that God’s definition of what makes a person great is far, far different than ours.
Jesus’ disciples found that out in an embarrassing way in today’s gospel. Jesus had been teaching them about himself; telling them in plain language about his rescue mission. Jesus said: “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And after he is killed, He will rise on the third day.” To you and me, this is dangerously close to “old news.” To the disciples, it didn’t make sense, and they were afraid to ask questions. Instead, as they walk along the road to their next destination, the conversation shifts, and has nothing to do with what Jesus was talking about. Instead, they start opining about who of them was the greatest disciple! Some translations say they were disputing this issue. When they get to the house where they were staying, Jesus asks them, “What were you talking about on the way?” You probably could’ve heard the proverbial pin drop in the silence that followed, as the disciples thought it over. Jesus had just told them he was going to be betrayed and executed, and they had responded by cutting him out of the conversation and debating who is the greatest among us. What an uncomfortable silence that must have been. How patient of our Lord Jesus to keep teaching these guys who couldn’t seem to see past themselves. We might as well say the same thing about ourselves. How patient Jesus is with us, who so desire worldly greatness, recognition, and status. He never stops instructing us through his Word.
To understand God’s definition of greatness, we have to understand God. By nature, the almighty God of heaven and earth is a servant. He created Adam and Eve so that He might care for them. He created them in His image to serve one another and to take care of what God had made. When they sinned, He did not respond with raw power, instead, he promised to serve them again by sending a Savior who would crush the serpent’s head, decisively defeating death and hell. That’s the plan Jesus is talking about in today’s gospel—a plan to serve. That’s God’s nature. Therefore, when God measures greatness, he measures it in terms of serving. In God’s eyes, the one who is great is the one who serves others.
Sinful humankind measures greatness in exactly the opposite way. Our culture says greatness is when you have so much power that you are served by others. Greatness in our culture means you have some talent or quality that sets you apart and make you worthy of being admired, glorified, and yes, even worshipped by others. That’s why movie stars, musicians and professional athletes are idolized. Think about it: the word “idolized” says it all. Natural man looks at wealth, publicity, and power and says, “that’s what life is all about.” But lest we point the finger too easily at Hollywood or Washington D.C. or your local sports arena, we also need to look in the mirror, and ask: “in what ways have I been seduced by a need to be thought of as great? In what ways have I craved recognition or power or control? What has my need to be number one caused me to do? Even Jesus’ own disciples couldn’t help jostling for the number one spot. It is an almost constant human temptation.
And that creates some tension, to say the least. Jesus says, “In service to the people of the world, I’m going to suffer and die to buy back what is already mine.” This is the greatest service of all. By their discussion, the disciples said, in so many words, “Suffering and dying isn’t great. Rising up to be powerful is great. So which one of us will be the greatest of Jesus’ disciples? Which one will have the power and authority?” By their discussion, the disciples betray how far away they are from thinking God’s way.
What follows is what educators call a “teachable moment.” He sits the twelve down in response to their embarrassed silence and says, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” This would have been a startling statement to the disciples, and in truth, it is still startling to the sinful nature. Greatness is found in service? Being best is a matter of being last? What is that supposed to mean? To God, it makes perfect sense, because he is the servant who created us to serve; to man, it sounds ludicrous.
The “teachable moment” continues. A child toddling by is scooped up in Jesus’ arms as He says, “Whoever receives one of these little children in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but Him who sent me.” This, too, would’ve been so far away from the disciples’ conventional wisdom: the lines were clearly drawn, childcare was for the womenfolk, men did manly stuff like catch fish and fight wars. Yet Jesus declares that service to children is great service. He has come to save all people, children included. But this goes way, way past Jesus telling his disciples to serve the cute little boys and girls because they’re so doggone adorable. Jesus is saying: to be great means to serve those who can’t serve you back. Serve those who might not say thank you. Serve those who are in no position to reward you. You can almost see the disciples casting sideways glances at each other, with a mixture of shame and confusion in their eyes. They didn’t get it yet. But they would, after Jesus had made good on his promise to serve by suffering dying, and rising on the third day, and the Holy Spirit filled them on Pentecost. That means there is hope for us, too, as we grapple with God’s definition of greatness.
There is wonderful clarity in this idea; The Lord remains the Servant. He went to the cross and died for the sins of all people in service to all; and he still comes here to serve us by his means of grace, his Word and Sacraments. The Lord is a servant who sets you free from sin to be a servant. The Lord has placed you where you are to be a servant in that place. Parents; children; husbands; wives; employers; workers; retired; just getting started; teachers; students; wherever you are, God has placed you there to serve. The Lord may give you skills, assets, and wealth; should he do so, rejoice that t the Lord has entrusted these things to you so that you can serve others. On the other hand, if you have little in the way of resources, rejoice that the Lord has put you where you are, to serve with what you have, even if that’s just your two hands. This is the life of a Christian: Set free from sin by Jesus, the Servant who suffered on the cross for us, then conquered death by rising on Easter, we are set free to serve wherever the Lord has put us.
There is a special aspect of servanthood that Jesus brings to our attention in the Gospel lesson, and that is service to children. Obviously, Jesus places a great premium on “receiving the little children” in his Name.
Parents, this starts with you at home. In giving you children, the Lord has called you into the vocation of fatherhood or motherhood, and that means you have a multitude of opportunities to serve your children; and that includes serving your child’s spiritual needs. Read Bible stories at home. Look at the Small Catechism together. Pray together. Talk about the Gospel each day, and live it out as you provide both discipline and forgiveness in your home. Bring your children to church and Sunday School, but know that it is not enough. I hope you wouldn’t say, “Since the school hot lunch program feeds my child, I don’t have to provide food at home.” And so I also hope you wouldn’t say “Since my child gets a Bible story a week at church, that’s enough.”
The greatest service and the greatest gift you can give your child is to teach them God’s Word and to show them what Christian faith looks like, lived out day to day.
Receiving the little children is also played out here on Sundays at Sunday School. Sunday School is an overlooked treasure, too frequently thought of as a place to park the kids while the adults are doing something else. It’s far more than that. It’s a chance for children to be put in touch with their loving Savior through His Word. I want to take this opportunity to thank and encourage our Sunday School teachers. They are the unsung servants among us who are at the forefront of our efforts to receive little children in Jesus’ name. May we serve these teachers with thanks and support for their efforts.
And there are even more opportunities to receive little ones in Jesus name—our church has answered the call by supporting not one but two Lutheran Schools—St. Paul’s Preschool and Our Shepherd Lutheran School. In economically challenging times, it is easy to dwell on the expense of operating a parochial school. Let’s never forget why we should support and sacrifice for the good of our Christian schools: they are places where Jesus Christ is welcomed and present! Disciples are made as children learn the truth of God’s Word by heart. Future leaders, musicians, workers and pastors of the Church are being trained right now in our schools! I would like to recognize and offer thanks to the teachers of Our Shepherd who serve the children and families. Let’s serve those families also by continuing to strongly support Lutheran education in our community.
We are able to serve because the Lord Jesus has set us free to do so. Wherever He has placed you in life, make it your goal to serve as Jesus would serve, and do so knowing that you are fully and freely forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.