Cost of Discipleship – Will We Do Whatever He Asks?

Who will you serve? For some of us, the reality of the question is: What will we serve? As we continue with our message series this month, we are focusing on the Cost of Discipleship, this week we are thinking about, Will We Do Whatever He Asks?

As a culture, surely, we tend to prize freedom … and accomplishment … and autonomy … and self-determination … and … And the list could go on and on ... which is why, if we slow down and take the question seriously, we’ll recognize how much it grates against our deeply held belief and culturally formed sensibilities.

Yet, perhaps one of the most harmful illusions of our culture is that we are, indeed, free and autonomous beings who can live independent of all bonds of loyalty, devotion, and service. In fact, I shudder to think how much time and energy we entertain the idea that we don’t have to serve anyone.

This assertion – that we will always serve something or someone whether we know it or not – is at the very heart of not simply today’s Gospel passage but much of Mark’s Gospel.

In chapter 10, Jesus speaks of his death once again, for the third time, as he said in the previous two chapters – that he is going to Jerusalem to die. And here again, the disciples still don’t get it.

First, James and John ask for special places of honor and then the rest of the disciples resent their self-interested pushiness. Jesus’ words still haven’t sunk in and taken hold yet, so he says as plainly and clearly as possible that to be great is to serve others and that to be first is to be last.

Mark tells the story because he knows that Jesus’ words – indeed, his whole life – run contrary to our natural tendency to think about power, leadership, and all of life according to the terms of the world and therefore … like the disciples … the message takes time to sink in.

In today’s reading, James and John think greatness comes from status and power. And in response Jesus points out that there is no escaping service. You will either willingly, even joyfully, serve others, or you will become a slave to your illusions that you can be free and secure your future through status and power or, in our day, wealth or youth or fame or possessions, and so on.

So, let’s pause and listen again: Who will you serve? Who will we serve?

The voices of the culture that say that we can be free – indeed, must be free – on our own and at any cost, or the voice of Jesus that calls us to find our freedom and, indeed, our true self, through service to neighbor.

You may remember that last week we read the Genesis narrative in relation to Jesus’ words about marriage, but I wonder if they aren’t more about our inherently relational and social nature as those made in the image of the triune God. We are made to be in relationship and we discover our wholeness only as we join ourselves to the fortunes of those around us. It seems to me that we discover our true identity as whole people when we see ourselves inextricably linked – “bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh” – with those around us.

So here at St Teresa’s I am proud of the many successes that we have accomplished for service … in our midst and beyond … I’m thinking about the Loaves and Fishes Ministry, the many ways that the Christ Child Society serves, The Blood Drives, the Diaper and Wipe Collections, the Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets, the Scouts and Students who pitch in on calls for help … and even those who support our Mexico Mission. But I believe that “to those who have given much … much will be expected” … so I know that we can do more, with regularity and planning.

And it cannot be just the same old people who give, attend, bring things, donate, and serve … I’m calling you … and challenging each of you … and myself too … how do you serve?

And to help us, we are seeking to hire a part time Service Coordinator for our parish to help all of us better embrace the challenge of the Gospel.

On Monday, Pope Francis has launched a two-year consultation of all the world's Catholics, an ambitious project to prepare the agenda for the next meeting of the Synod of Bishops in 2023. Referring to the passage in Scripture, he said:

In these days, Jesus calls us, as he did the rich man in the Gospel, to empty ourselves, to free ourselves from all that is worldly, including our inward-looking and outworn pastoral models …”

One of the outworn pastoral models that we need to free ourselves from is that we just come to Church, once in a while, for less than one hour, and remain safe and disengaged …

We are called to more! … and as your pastor its my job to challenge us to succeed in that regard.

So, this week … lets take the words of Isaiah the prophet and just like Jesus, our suffering servant, find new way, to the degree that we can, to give some time in our life offering and sacrifice and service for others, because then and only then will we see the light of Jesus in fullness and allow the will of the Lord to be accomplished through us. In that mode, I have every confidence that we will discover a depth and quality of life we’d never experienced before.

RSM##

Jesus the Servant

In any culture, children are vulnerable; they are dependent on others for their survival and well-being. In the ancient world, their vulnerability was magnified by the fact that they had no legal protection. A child had no status, no rights. A child certainly had nothing to offer anyone in terms of honor or status. But it is precisely these little ones with whom Jesus identifies.

Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me (Mark 9:37). Christian theology has attempted to provide explanations for the “why,” and certain of these explanations have been read back into the Gospel texts. But the fact is that Jesus does not explain the “why”. We can only deduce it in reading the Gospels. Throughout his ministry, Jesus associates with the last and the least in society — Gentile women, bleeding women, lepers, raging demoniacs, tax collectors and other notorious “sinners”. He even welcomes and makes time for little children, much to the disciples’ consternation. For all of this, he is condemned as an outlaw and blasphemer by the religious authorities, who decide that he is too dangerous and must be eliminated. Jesus does not die in order for God to be gracious and to forgive sins. - Jesus dies because he declares the forgiveness of sins. - Jesus dies because he associates with the impure and the worst of sinners. - Jesus dies because the religious establishment cannot tolerate the radical grace of God that Jesus proclaims and lives.

The radical grace of God that Jesus proclaims and lives completely obliterates the world’s notions of greatness based on status, wealth, achievement, etc. Perhaps that is one reason we resist grace so much. It is much more appealing to be great on the world’s terms than on Jesus’ terms. Greatness on Jesus’ terms means being humble, lowly, and vulnerable as a child. Greatness on Jesus’ terms is risky; it can even get a person killed. But as Jesus teaches repeatedly, his way of greatness is the path of life. The definition of greatness Jesus offers seems crazy initially because it is so completely, utterly counter-cultural. He calls us to imagine that true greatness lies in service by actually taking care of those who are most vulnerable – those with little influence or power, those the culture is most likely to ignore, or even worse. This insight to Jesus the Servant, without a doubt offers, us as a congregation, a Catholic parish, a vision for our common life. But it also applies to each of us more personally.

- How are we doing, that is, with measuring our success, our greatness, not by what we take in, but by what we give away? - Not by the influence we wield, but by the service we offer? - Not by accumulating more, but by sharing what we already have? - Not by being first, but by being eager to work hard in order to see others move ahead? Make no mistake. This is hard stuff, absolutely and totally different than what the culture – whether in the first century or the twenty-first – tells us. And so, as it was hard for the disciples so now it’s also hard for us.

They didn’t understand what Jesus meant, and so they fell into the trap of putting themselves ahead of everyone else. We will often do the same: 1. Looking out for ourselves rather than others; 2. Trusting less in God for our security than we do our wealth; 3. Shutting others out rather than inviting them in; 4. Seeking our welfare rather than that of those around us. But here’s the thing: the road the disciples are traveling with Jesus when they fall into their petty arguments about who is the greatest … is the road to Jerusalem. And the last steps bring them to the cross. Even while his disciples misunderstand, don’t believe, or just plain ignore what he is saying, Jesus is walking the road to Jerusalem and to the cross … willingly … in order to sacrifice everything for them … and for us. So, what are we going to do about it? How are we going to try to be more like Jesus the Servant? While there are many, many different ways … I’m inviting you to join us on a new journey of service … to help us with launching a free legal clinic here in Union County … for the poor, vulnerable … for those like the children in Jesus’ time who had no status, and only trampled rights … I’m proud to have been a part of the foundation of The Waterfront Project and I invite Rebeccah Symes the Executive Director forward to speak to us about it now … Rebeccah …

RSM##

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Jesus the Teacher

As you know, for the month of September, our message series is focusing on: Who is Jesus? Today we look at Jesus the Teacher.

I bet that everyone here remembers their favorite teacher … whether it was kindergarten, because s/he was so kind to us, or grammar school, because were the teacher’s pet, or high school because we seemed to catch on to the lessons given a dynamic teaching style or college/graduate school professor because we really felt connected and finally at the threshold of being a professional. My favorite teacher was from Seton Hall law school … Kathleen Boozang … who is now the dean there. She was my favorite because she kicked my butt and really challenged me in doing research and disciplined writing. I can still hear her say, You have to think and write like a lawyer! She taught me not to be lazy … to read the next article, to write, review and then re-write. She was and is my favorite because she challenged me, and even today, continues to challenge me to be the best version of myself … and sometimes that’s just not easy. Isn’t that the same with Jesus? “Who do you say that I am?” is a much harder question than we think it is. We already know that the New Testament does not paint a uniform portrait of Jesus Christ.

• Not only do we have four very different Gospels o each remarkably unique in their individual understandings of the meaning of Jesus’ ministry. But here’s an amazing fact … of the 90 times Jesus was addressed directly in the gospels, 60 times he was called Teacher.

• There are twenty-three additional books that articulate varying views and teachings of Jesus.

• Even the thirteen letters attributed to Paul adapt the function and significance of Jesus Christ depending on the circumstances that need to be addressed in our lives.

And surely, discrepancies exist. Although he never entered a classroom as we know a classroom and he never had a degree as we understand an educational degree, yet all the world was his classroom. Today, as we think about Jesus as Teacher, we can and should spend some time thinking about how we would respond to Jesus’ inquiry, considering what our answer might be. But there’s even more that Jesus is asking in this seemingly straightforward question, and perhaps it’s this “more” that is the most challenging, the most demanding, the “more” we wish we could avoid. Because “Who do you say that I am?” is at the same time, “who will you say that you are?” That’s the rub of this question, the heart of its difficulty. If it we only had to provide an answer to Jesus’ question of his identity, that would be one thing. However, answering the question of Jesus’ identity is also having to give voice to our own. When we think about Jesus as Teacher, we can’t answer Jesus’ inquiry without revealing who we are … because it’s not about getting the answer right. It’s the moment when we come face-to-face with our own commitment, our own discipleship, our own identity. It’s the moment when we have to admit to what it is that we have learned from Jesus, and how we are putting that knowledge to work in our lives and in our world. In John’s Gospel, we read: For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. How do we emulate his example? … of listening … of responding to those in need … of healing … of telling the truth, even when its hard … of healing … of doing good works … of taking up our cross How do we, his students, his disciples, follow him … today, here and now, and forever? “Who do you say that I am?” is also a question we should ask of others, of ourselves. Who, indeed, will people say we are? Are we willing to ask the question? Or do we stay silent, afraid of what people might say, perhaps worried about what truth might get uttered? Avoiding the question altogether so as to feign a kind of confidence we don’t really have? Jesus knows it’s one of the hardest questions to ask — which is why he asks it in the first place, and why he has to ask it first. Perhaps this week, in your family, in your home, with your work colleagues, with your friends, we can ask the question, Who do you say that I am? Not only of Jesus, but of ourselves. Undoubtedly the answers will be interesting, perhaps even challenging, but they may also be life-giving! Jesus challenges us to be the best version of ourselves, are we up for the challenge?

Blessings!

RSM