Greatness of Service

GREATNESS OF SERVICE

Mark 10.35-45

One of the joys of being retired is that I am no longer caught up in the rat race.

Oh, yes, I am sorry to say that there are some very ambitious clergy who jockey with one another for positions of power and influence.

No longer do I have to sit and listen to the same old windbags, pontificating upon every subject at Deanery, Diocesan or General Synod, in order to be seen by those who matter.

No longer do I have to be reminded about those who serve on endless committees - which keep minutes but waste hours - so that it looks good on their CV. (I once knew a clergyman who proudly boasted about being on 32 committees, in addition to having the largest parish in the diocese. He was trying to persuade me to vote him on to General Synod.)

No longer do I have to suffer clergy sitting on the fence, until the rust enters into their soul, so as not to be seen to rock the boat, when I am needing direction.

No longer do I have to witness some clergy presenting endless numbers of young people for Confirmation - often ill prepared - in order to impress the Bishop.

And no longer do I have to risk being overlooked by those who spend their ministry networking, whereby they are always seeking to make themselves known to those who can influence their future career. (I recently asked a priest, who had just conducted a three day Retreat for those to be ordained how many candidates there were and what was the gender ratio, and he could not answer me!)

Yes, like any organisation, there are some very ambitious people in the church. Clergy anxious about becoming a Rural Dean, a Canon or Prebendary, Archdeacon or Bishop. Clergy who enjoy the use of titles, such as Canon, Venerable, Very Reverend, Right Reverend and Most Reverend.

What is even worse, is the fact that this is positively encouraged by the pay and pension differential which seeks to suggest that some clergy are more important than others. This is a practice seldom seen overseas where clergy are paid according to need rather than status. For instance a friend of mine was paid more than his bachelor Bishop in Papua New Guinea, because he had a wife and two children - that's the meaning of a stipend as opposed to salary.

Alas the spirit of James and John, in Mark 10.35-45, still lives on.

But before we condemn the ambition of James and John, who sought for favoured positions in the Kingdom, let us just ask ourselves whether or not they were being that unreasonable?

After all, they were among the earliest disciples to respond to the call of Jesus.

Furthermore, of all the disciples, they had probably sacrificed the most, insofar as they came from a wealthy background where they had domestic servants.

They were also related to Jesus. They were cousins since their mother was the sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Finally, on more than one occasion, Jesus appears to have shown them special favours. He shared with them, together with Peter, significant moments of his life, such as being with him on the Mount of Transfiguration and in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Bearing all that in mind, it was perhaps not unreasonable for them to expect some special recognition, even though the others might object.

However, Jesus was not impressed by their duration of discipleship, nor by their financial sacrifice, nor by their family connection, nor by the fact that they had shared special moments with him.

As far as he was concerned, such blatant ambition for power and status may well be encouraged and accepted by the secular world, but it had no place within the Christian community. "You know," says Jesus, “that among the Gentiles, those who they recognise as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you”.

But as far as Jesus was concerned, “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the slave of all”.

So Jesus turns the world's criteria for greatness upside down.

Now a slave was the lowest of the low in the social pecking order. He had no power. He had no influence. His job was to carry out his master's wishes.

And if you want to see what that could mean in action, we need look no further than at Jesus of Nazareth, and in particular at the Last Supper in the upper room. There he deliberately chose to take upon himself the role of an ordinary domestic slave as he began to wash the disciple's feet. Do note, he chose voluntarily the role of a slave, unlike Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt who had no choice.

Such a reversal of the world's idea of greatness is hard to accept and understand. Hence Peter protested. The father of Francis of Assisi protested when his son gave away the comforts of home life in order to serve the poor. And the friends of Albert Schweitzer protested when he gave away a brilliant career as a theologian and organist in Europe, in order to serve as a doctor amongst the poor of Africa.

Fortunately, not all clergy are ambitious. There have been countless priests who have given of themselves without any thought of reward.

I think for instance of someone like William Vanstone, who died in 1999. His Obituary in the Daily Telegraph described him as "perhaps the most brilliant Anglican clergyman of his generation." He took a Double First in Mods and Greats at Oxford and a First in Theology at Cambridge, where Professor Charlie Moule described him as the most gifted pupil he had ever taught.

However, Vanstone refused all offers of academic posts preferring to work for 21 years on a new housing estate in Rochdale. There he kept open house at the Vicarage, the door of which was never locked, and spent long hours walking the streets of the parish, getting to know those whom he met. Even when he was made an honorary Canon of Manchester Cathedral in 1965, he never told anyone in the parish about his canonry, preferring to remain, Mr Vanstone.

After a severe heart attack, he was persuaded to leave the parish. However, after short rest, he asked to be allowed to become Vicar of Hattersby, another large housing estate, which no one else would accept. Sadly, his health was not strong enough and after twelve months he became a Residentiary Canon of Chester Cathedral. It was here he was to write three books, Loves Endeavour, Loves Expense, The Stature of Waiting and Fare Well in Christ, which have become spiritual classics. The books combine deep theological insights with homely illustrations from pastoral experience.

Vanstone had little time for bishops or church dignitaries, once likening the church to "a swimming pool in which all the noise comes from the shallow end."

As far as Jesus was concerned, true greatness is to be found in service and not in status. And this, I would suggest, is the yardstick which we should use today in the church which is often tempted to adopt the secular viewpoint.