Greatness

Mark 9:30-37

Context
At the end of chapter 8, Peter identified Jesus as the Christ, but failed to understand what that entailed. Jesus predicted his crucifixion and told his disciples they must be willing to follow him.
At the beginning of chapter 9, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain, where he is transfigured and God again identifies him as God's son. He then casts a demon out of a boy.

Listening to the writer
Revealing that Jesus' destiny is to go suffer in Jerusalem does not change his identity. Mark reminds us that Jesus is God's son, and still has power over evil - and then says it again: the Son of Man will be betrayed and killed.
What makes for greatness? The disciples reveal that they still do not understand. For Mark, it is not Jesus' coercive power that makes him great. In God's realm, greatness is measured by the willingness to serve and to welcome those that society counts as worthless. Jesus' greatness is not measured by his ability to cast out demons, but by his willingness to be crucified if that's what it takes to identify with the lowly.

Listening to God
Pray for wisdom and listen to God as you think through these questions:
Do you normally view yourself as "great" in God's eyes? If yes, why? If no, why not? (In light of today's reading, obviously the "right answer" involves serving others. But I find most of us don't live by that in practice - we tend to view other moral qualities as more important.)
In what areas of your life are you striving to become greater?
In what ways did Jesus serve others? (Note that "serving" and "being last" for Jesus did not include being servile or having a low opinion of himself.)
In what ways do you serve your roommates, classmates, professors, family?
In what ways do you allow others to serve you? (Or do you always insist on being greatest? )

Miscellaneous Meanderings
The lectionary skips over the beginning of chapter 9, not because it's unimportant, but because the story of the Transfiguration is read each year on the last Sunday before Lent. It works well in the church year, but is unfortunate at this point as its placement is an important part of Mark's message.

I spent the first 25 of my years being a good little boy, and felt very close to God. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was 4 years old - it's one of my earliest memories. Aside from some explosions of a nasty temper, I was very good at following rules, and at being graceful to those who didn't follow them nearly as well. But looking back, somehow the "servant" message didn't get through. I wasn't especially selfish - but I definitely didn't go out of my way to do for others.

As I've gotten older, my ability to follow rules seems to have diminished quite a bit. I now view the speed limit as a "speed suggestion." My language - at least my interior language, and sometimes my exterior as well - involves many colorful metaphors that I didn't use very often as a child (and some that I didn't KNOW as a child). My sensibilities in many areas have grown less refined, not more. In my 20s, I refused to watch The Simpsons, because I thought it was childish and encouraged bad behavior. I now enjoy South Park.
Sometimes I find this frightening, and perhaps I should. I'm sure the Wisdom Woman and James would not be pleased. But I think I'm learning to serve people much more than I did when I was younger. Perhaps God is pleased, at least in this department.

One of my greatest joys at Wesley is the ability to share these less "pastoral" parts of myself (even the language, during those rare moments when it's appropriate). Not all students enjoy South Park, but they don't mind when I use it in sermon illustrations. We show R-rated movies at Wesley without the walls falling down. Non-Christians frequent our building and no one seems to mind. I don't have to hide the (well-stocked, and appropriately used) liquor cabinet in the parsonage. I've never been chastised for having a non-orthodox opinion here. Students know that I take anti-depressants, and no one asks what I did to deserve it - nor do they try and cure my depression with the latest book on positive thinking. Some of the students do hold me accountable when I do wrong - and they do so in a way that lets me know they care about me and about Wesley.
In short, I'm welcome here. All of me, not just the part that fits the typical pastor model. There have always been individuals at my churches that accepted me as I am (thank you all, you helped me survive!), but to have the community accept you as you are is a great feeling - and it makes it a lot easier to behave as a great human being.

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