Sermon for September 19, 2021 Pentecost 17 B House of Prayer Lutheran Church
Mark 9:30-37; Romans 3:21-24, 5:1-8, 6:3-4 Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
About 14 or 15 years ago there was a big debate among baseball fans: who was the better shortstop, Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod)? Some would make the case that “the statistics don’t lie”. A-Rod hit more home runs, had more runs batted in, and more runs scored. He also had better defensive range and a stronger arm. Sure, Derek Jeter had a higher batting average and more hits, but based on the overall statistics, A-Rod was better.
We know now that there’s more to the story. A-Rod took steroids for part of his career, even though he didn’t need them to still be a great player, so that contributed to his better stats. But despite what the statistics told you, when the Yankees made the big trade to bring him to their team, A-Rod was the guy who had to switch positions and learn how to play third base. Derek Jeter, with his lesser range and weaker arm, got to stay at shortstop.
Why? Well, for many who watched Jeter play with their own eyes, they’d say “he passed the eye test”. Meaning, by watching him play they could see that he had the “intangibles”. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time to make the big play when it counted the most. He also had leadership skills that did not show up in the statistics, but that made everybody else on his team better. Derek Jeter was inducted into the Hall of Fame last week, and only one voter out of 397 didn’t vote for him. During his acceptance speech, Jeter emphasized that playing baseball was about more than just playing for yourself. The game is bigger than any one person, he said, and it includes not just the players but also the fans. To become a major leaguer and a hall of famer means that you are part of something bigger than yourself.
Now, I have no idea about Derek Jeter’s religious beliefs or faith, but his speech seems to “rhyme” a bit with the point Jesus was trying to teach his disciples in today’s gospel. The disciples had been arguing amongst themselves about “who was the greatest”. I wonder which statistics they used for each one to make his case against the others? Who had the most healings? Most demons cast out? Most prayers? Most sermons? Most new people met, or farthest traveled to share the good news of God’s kingdom? And besides all that, who of the 12 disciples did Jesus like best, anyway? When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, all they could do was be silent in shame, because they were looking at being a follower of Jesus as simply a way to raise their personal status and reputation.
When Jesus taught them things, the disciples had a habit of missing the point. So Jesus reminds them what the point is: by following him, you are part of something bigger than yourself, and that means we get to reverse the regular order of things. Reverse the perspective of the world that the disciples had embraced and just couldn’t bring themselves to let go of.
“Whoever wants to be first,” Jesus said “must be last of all and servant of all.” In other words, don’t worry about how great you are, or how your personal status stacks up next to others. Be concerned about how you can elevate others; how you can lift up others who are down or having a hard time, or who have a low status in the eyes of the world. Be concerned about how Jesus comes to meet you, in your own lowliness when you need help. Look to Jesus, who became a servant to do for us what we could not do for ourselves, by going to the cross for our forgiveness and salvation. Follow him by seeking to be a servant of all. With the presence of Christ in your life, he can lift you up to new life, and your presence can help bring out the best in the people around you, and especially those who are regarded by the world as being lowliest or most vulnerable.
This is why Jesus takes a child in his arms. Children in the ancient world were the people who had the lowest status. In the “statistics” kept by society back then of who had earned the most honor and respect, children came in last place. So Jesus makes the point: if you welcome a child, you are welcoming Jesus. When you welcome and embrace those whom the world, or even yourself, regards as lowly, then you are welcoming and embracing Christ--and he will lead you to true and fulfilling life, in this world and for eternity.
Christ promises you will find that in the “game of life” you really are playing for more than just yourself; true life is bigger than any one person. When you follow the way of Jesus, and seek to surrender the worldly measuring stick of getting the highest status by seeking to live as a servant to all, you do become part of something bigger than yourself. By God’s grace, you become blessed to be a blessing to others , through the mysterious ways of God at work in the world.
And so, in this counter-intuitive yet life-giving way, Jesus redefines what it means to be great, what it means to be successful. It’s not about simply having the best statistics or status; it is about “becoming the person God calls you to become, and doing what God calls you to do--in his way, and according to his timetable”, as it was so well put by the pastor and writer Pete Scazzero (page 74, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship ). Being great and successful means “becoming the person God calls you to become, and doing what God calls you to do--in his way, and according to his timetable.”
Kal and Benjamin--you already became part of something bigger than yourself when you were baptized about 14 or 15 years ago. We call it “the Body of Christ'' and it includes every person who puts their faith in Jesus. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul teaches us that being a member of the Body of Christ means that when you were baptized into Christ Jesus, you were baptized into his death. Yet death does not have the last word. Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of God the Father, and he now lives a new life where he has defeated the power of sin and death forever. Because you have been joined to this crucified and risen Christ in baptism, he has poured the Holy Spirit into your hearts--and into all of our hearts--so that we, too, might walk in newness of life.
Confirmation is “the affirmation of baptism”--it means saying “Yes!” to the gift of baptism. Kal and Benjamin, when you confirm your faith today, you will be saying “Yes!” to your baptism and to all the gifts of grace that God has given you. You will be saying “Yes!” to taking responsibility for the promises your parents once made on your behalf. “Yes!” I am a child of God. “Yes!” I am part of something bigger than myself! “Yes!” I am connected to Christ and his people forever! “Yes!” I can become great by being a servant, because I know Christ will be pouring the Holy Spirit into my heart to help me, to forgive me, to encourage me, to meet me when I’m at my lowest and walk with me and in time to raise me up and give me faith, and--in God’s way, according to God’s timetable--to become the person God created me to be. Amen.