Power And Servanthood In Christian Leaders: "the First Will Be Last"
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
Can a balance between power and servanthood be found? Paul Bresnahan is going to use this week's text (James 3:13--4:3, 7-8a and Mark 9:30-37) to write about how we might pray for the will of God to be most important in our lives. We need hope for government and religion to come together and do what's best for everyone. Most important is that we should demonstrate the type of servant leadership that Christ calls us to. Steve McCutchan is calling us to "bloom where we are planted." Also included in this week's The Immediate Word are illustrations, a liturgy, and a children's sermon.
Power And Servanthood In Christian Leaders: "The First Will Be Last!"
In the past few years Jim Wallis and Jimmy Carter have written books inviting the American public to think twice about the direction our public life is taking us. We seem to be moving down the road of blending public policy and religion in a way that makes many feel uncomfortable. They write from a center/left position and both are Democrats. Now comes news of another book soon to be published by Senator Danforth, but this time from a good old-fashioned Republican. He too has many concerns about our nation's swing to the extreme evangelical right.
What is it about this whole church/state matter that makes us so uncomfortable and is so divisive in the body politic of the United States? It didn't just start with clergy and laity marching in the days of Vietnam and Civil Rights. It didn't even begin with the framers of the Constitution who wanted to be certain that we would not go down the road of theocracy as the Massachusetts Bay Colony did in the early days of the American experience. There's a whole pattern of uneasiness between power and faith that goes all the way back to Pharaoh and Moses in their famous set of confrontations in the biblical narrative.
Is it possible to find a balance between power and servanthood in such a manner that gives us hope rather than generating fear? Perhaps there's a way. Lets see if we can pray our way through that one ...
THE WORLD
We've all met them. Many of us have lived with them. We have often worked for them. There are always a few in the congregation. They shout and dominate and bluster their way to power. If you write that dynamic larger, there are nations and imperial powers that are quick to use military might and are impatient with diplomacy. They make sport of the weak and the gentle. And the notion of being first and last and turning the cheek seems to smack so much of the milquetoast variety of Christianity. It becomes a caricature of what Jesus meant versus what he actually said. The world is full of power and those who love to use it.
Then there are those indomitable spirits who rise early to make something special for the family. The table is set and the sun seems to shine whenever they are with us. Without complaint and without much ado they are abuzz with good cheer and good work. They are constant in their service to their families, to their colleagues at work, and all too rarely they take the reins of power and become a servant leader "par excellence."
Most of humanity is hung between the two polarities and live out life as it seems best to them, mixing the two without much thought. Today Jesus asks us to think these matters through a bit.
THE WORD
In the midst of today's gospel lesson and in the midst of an argument over who will be greatest in the kingdom of God, Jesus, declares that those who wish to be first in the kingdom of God must also be willing to be the last and the servant of all (Mark 9:35). James notes that the "wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace" (James 3:17).
Further, he who many consider to be brother to our Lord continues, "Submit yourselves therefore to God" (James 3:7). It appears therefore that somehow there is an awareness in the New Covenant that we are to serve one another. Jesus elsewhere underscores his intent by saying, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave" (Matthew 20:25-27). The same theme occurs with some regularity throughout this New Covenantal relationship we have with God in the Person of Jesus.
Peter, for instance says, "Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3). Somehow there are so many who are so insecure over the question of power that this entire gospel imperative goes entirely unnoticed. In the Wisdom passage for today the righteous are put to the test by those who want to see just how gentle they really are (Wisdom 2:19). And Jeremiah laments that his own place on the stage of the Divine Drama puts him in the role of a gentle lamb being led to the slaughter. That very language becomes a presage to the view we have of Jesus' sacrificial place on the altar of God. Thus Jesus is The Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the World.
All that being the case, there are those men and women of God who have left a lasting memorial and as gentle as they might at first appeared to be, their power comes from that very gentleness and they have changed the world forever!
CRAFTING THE SERMON
There are three important people that I have watched during my life that leaves me in awe. They are Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and Mother Teresa. To me they seemed to get it right. They taught non-violence, and yet they were no shrinking violets. They stood tall in their time and we took notice. Sometimes they made many uncomfortable and sometimes many wished that they did not press their cases so hard. But doggedly each in their own way pressed very hard for change, very hard for justice, and clung closely to the love of God. It became impossible to fault their goals but many often fought their means for getting there.
We have watched the development of urban guerilla warfare at the same time roughly as we watched the practitioners of non-violent social change develop their art. The Irish Republican Army and al Quaida use methods to effect social change that are not only inherently violent but frankly less effective in the effort to bring justice to fruition. Their use of innocents as a pawn in the raw use of power is a shameless affront to the God of the Bible and of the Koran. In Palestine, the growth of terror as a method for social change has left thousands upon thousands dead and the streets stained with the blood of the innocent.
And in reprisal we have sent our armies, and we have supplied the armies of many nations to fight the curse of terror and as we have done so, the prospect of terror only seems to increase. Further the question of whether Israel or we have acted in reprisal to terror or whether terrorists act in reprisal to the occupation of Arab lands in Palestine and throughout the Middle East, is a valid question. In the endless cycle of violence as it begets itself, the question of whose reprisal seems more pristine than the other seems futile.
And as we find ourselves in the downward spiral of violence we also find ourselves buying into the trap of plucking out eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. That ancient ethic as fair and as just as it once my have seemed in the Old Dispensation, merely leaves the whole world blind and toothless as the "Great Soul" Mahatma Gandhi so succinctly put it.
Thus the wisdom of several new statesmen in our time: Jim Wallis, Jimmy Carter, and Senator Danforth rightly point out the danger of fundamentalism. It is inherently violent. More dangerously still it uses the authority of God to excuse its exercise.
Fundamentalism uses the authority of God to permit us to kill. Whether it comes from Islam, or Judaism, or Christianity it is the same grand delusion. And the ones who pay the price for the delusion are the men, women, and children who have been captured in its tentacles as well as those who have not. So God speaks to George Bush and God speaks to Osama bin Laden. And may God have mercy on us all. Politics and religion have found themselves an alliance now that leaves many people dead and dying, and civilizations piled high with rubble from New York City to Kabul and Baghdad. And there's more to come!
As I say, I miss the great souls. Listen, for instance to this thought from Martin Luther King:
The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
He was an example of the Servant Leader. His leadership was that of a servant. There was a wrong to be righted. There were people to be freed. There was hope to be restored. It was as if God spoke through the human heart and yet Dr. King never heard voices in his head. He only discerned the pattern of biblical authority that spoke of bringing people from slavery in Egypt into the promised land.
Take a good look and remember with me that history. Moses and Pharaoh went face to face. It was the man of God speaking to the Statesman that affected the will of God. In confrontation and in conversation with one another, they expressed their convictions. It was a test of wills between two men. And the will that ultimately won and carried the day was the will of God.
So too in America in the 1960s there was a test between two forces: the forces of freedom and the forces of oppression. It was a difficult struggle, as many of us no doubt remember. But ultimately the will of God spoke in history. It did the same in South Africa and a bishop by the name of Desmond Tutu taught the virtue of non-violence. In the subsequent establishment of a new nation, again there was little violence. Instead of a set of trials as we had in Nuremburg after the Holocaust, we had The Truth and Reconciliation Commission that brought forgiveness rather than retribution. Instead of assigning blame and seeking punishment, there was an effort to acknowledge past wrongs and assign atonement and forgiveness to the wrongdoer. What an amazing idea!
And Mother Teresa saw people dying. She ministered to them. In the most desperately poor and merciless streets of Calcutta, there she was; the personification of the mercy and love of God.
These people brought us hope. All we seem to have these days are the ones that bring us fear. Folks it is up to us. For whether we have fear or hope ultimately is an act of faith. No doubt it takes courage for the living of these days but there is a wonderful old Welsh hymn that stirs the heart mightily and it seems only right to remember words that stirred many millions before we stood on this planet. Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote these words in 1930 to the tune "Cwm Rhondda" which John Hughes composed in 1907. And the words are these:
God of grace and God of glory, On Thy people pour Thy power. Crown Thine ancient church's story, Bring her bud to glorious flower. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, For the facing of this hour, For the facing of this hour.
Ah yes, there's the note to strike just now. It is the note of the Servant Leader who will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory (Matthew 12:20). Folks, it is up to us to raise up such leaders now. And it is only the courage that faith gives that can raise such a One.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Steve McCutchan
What does it mean to try to be a Christian leader in our time? Paul Bresnahan has lifted up for you three contemporary people who exemplify for him true Christian leadership: Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and Mother Teresa. He laments the lack of such leadership among those with strong voices today. It might be interesting to reflect on the fact that all three leaders that he mentioned did not seek to be leaders. Rather, they simply tried to be faithful to the work to which they felt called. While Tutu had a recognized position of leadership within his church, the other two were in rather ordinary positions that normally would not have been seen as positions of power and influence. Even Tutu had a tenuous hold on power because he was black in a society that harshly separated people according to race.
For the members of our congregations, it is important to recall that true leadership begins with being faithful in the place where we are placed. One of the cautions that can be raised by those who presume to speak for faith in our time is that they seem very interested in the importance of their positions. A little more humility might make their pronouncements more compelling.
Jesus' criteria for discerning who was acting on God's behalf was to judge them by their fruits. Former Senator Jack Danforth seems to be building on that criteria in his criticism of those who would blend politics and faith in a self-righteous way.
In an excerpt from his new book, he says: "Christians have a choice between reconciliation and divisiveness. Those who have chosen the latter course are getting all the attention. They are the talking heads of television, the subjects of magazine articles, and the forces in American political life. In getting media attention, they have the advantage of clear positions, certainty that they possess the truth and the natural attraction of a confrontational style. By contrast, people seem boring who believe that the ministry of Christians is reconciliation."
I would suggest that Psalm 1, assigned by our lectionary, might provide the pastor a firm basis for looking at how members of his or her congregation might become the type of leaders that God seeks in our world. This psalm, which introduces the whole book of Psalm, contrasts two ways of life. The one way is what might be called the way of the independent. This person is the one who desires to be the center of his or her own universe. Such a person does not need God and is skeptical of those who do. Even for some of those who speak from a religious platform, one begins to question whether they are paying attention to God who calls them to servant leadership or to an ego that insists that they possess a truth that is beyond debate.
The problem for such people is that life is too short and our place in it too insignificant to make a lasting impression by ourselves. Martin Luther King, for example, has probably been more influential since his death than before it. That certainly can be said of Jesus whose ministry at best lasted about three years. The self-contained individual is "like chaff that wind drives away..."
In contrast, there are those who attach their lives to the story of the universe that is unfolding in time. This is the story that God is telling. They look to the revelation of God's truth in scripture, and they discover happiness or satisfaction in finding a way to make their contribution to this unfolding story. "... Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night." Such people find their roots in something that is more substantial than a fleeting moment of time. "They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither." The foundation of the three leaders that Paul mentioned was in something deeper than momentary success or personal glory.
A central challenge for many in our Western society is that they lack purpose in their lives. Many of the bizarre turns in people's lives are generated from people's discovery that they have achieved many of the initial goals that they set out to accomplish and that they still have very little meaning in their lives. What seemed like worthy goals are found to be too limited. They are in need of a higher purpose that makes their struggle and sacrifice worthwhile. The psalmist suggests that such purpose can be discovered only in the way of the eternal God. It is in meditating on the purposes of God that we discover our own purpose and the true meaning of our life.
The lesson from James plays out that contrast in a different way. We live in a society that is cynical about experts and disdainful of the intellect. We are confused as to where we find truth and yet we hunger for wisdom. James suggested that there are two kinds of wisdom. He distinguished between wisdom from above and wisdom from below. We are very familiar with what he suggested is wisdom from below. It is generated by "bitter envy and selfish ambition in (our) hearts," and causes us to "be boastful and false to the truth." This kind of wisdom results in "disorder and wickedness of every kind."
At times, however, we experience what he called "wisdom from above." This wisdom is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy." Actually when we experience such wisdom, we know it immediately. It does not need proof texts or credentials. It allows us to feel good about ourselves and valued by our community. We may only experience it intermittently, but in those moments we do experience God's shalom. "And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace."
James was very clear that the source of our conflicts and tensions within the church and the world have their origins in the "cravings that are at war within (us)." When you consider either our churches or society and the disputes or tensions that arise, would you agree with James that at the center of our disputes and tension is covetousness? "And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts." Isn't this true whether the coveting relates to oil, land, dignity, or correct doctrine?
This is in contrast to a people who are "gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy." Imagine those sorts of qualities suddenly infusing some of our national and church leaders. James assumed that such attributes were a reflection of God and that "God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us." The difficulty is that it is more than a case of will power. We demonstrate the earthly manner of self-centeredness despite our best intentions. Yet recognition of this fact is the first step towards availing ourselves of "wisdom from above." "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
While we can bemoan the lack of leadership in our society, and certainly we should be ready to respond if by God's spirit we are lifted up in such areas, perhaps the most important challenge for the church is to begin to demonstrate the type of servant leadership that Christ calls us to. In the words of an old saying, perhaps we are called to "bloom where we are planted."
ILLUSTRATIONS
We are not the healers, we are not the reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anyone we care for. The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God. Therefore, true ministry must be mutual. When the members of a community cannot truly know and love their shepherd, shepherding quickly becomes a subtle way of exercising power over others and begins to show authoritarian and dictatorial traits. The world in which we live -- a world of efficiency and control -- has no models to offer to those who want to be shepherds in the way Jesus was a shepherd. Even the so-called "helping professions" have been so thoroughly secularized that mutuality can only be seen as a weakness and a dangerous form of role confusion. The leadership about which Jesus speaks is of a radically different kind from the leadership offered by the world. It is a servant leadership... in which the leader is a vulnerable servant who needs the people as much as they need him or her.
-- Henri Nouwen, Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Crossroad Publishing Co, 1996)
***
A leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to create the conditions under which other people must live and move and have their being -- conditions that can either be as illuminating as heaven or as shadowy as hell. A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what's going on inside him or her self, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.
-- Parker Palmer, "Leading from Within: Reflections on Spirituality and Leaders" (a booklet published by The Servant Leadership School, Washington, DC)
***
For most of his career Albert Einstein kept the portraits of two scientists on the wall -- Newton and Maxwell. Toward the end of his life he replaced those portraits with Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer. He said, "It is time to replace the image of success with the image of service."
Maybe he had been inspired by Schweitzer's words: "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know, the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."
-- Steve May, The Monday Memo, 3/27/06
***
When our Lord calls us into a position of leadership, he calls us not to seek privileges for ourselves but to work with him in serving others.
Some years ago when a priest in a West Coast city was made bishop, the people of his diocese expected him to move into the elegant home they provided for their bishops and to be driven to work and to official functions by a chauffeur in their fancy limousine.
But he said that they could either rent out or sell both the house and the limo, that he preferred to live among his people in his same small apartment, and drive himself around in his same little old Volkswagen.
***
Mother Teresa, as she did her work among the poorest of the poor who were dying alone on the streets of Calcutta, received many gifts from people around the world. But about all she would keep for herself were a few changes of clothes, a bowl to eat from, and a rosary.
She wrote, "Holiness is a duty for you and for me. We have been created for that. We can not do great things; we can only do little things with great love."
-- Linda Schaefer, Come and See, 53
***
Mother Teresa also wrote: "Heaven is found by serving the lowliest. We can learn to love the unloved, the unwanted; not only just to give them things but to make them feel that they, too, are useful, to make them feel that they can do something because they are loved and wanted, that they can share the joy of loving."
-- Linda Schaefer, Come and See, 89, 71
***
My thesis, that more servants should emerge as leaders, or should follow only servant-leaders, is not a popular one. It is much more comfortable to go with a less demanding point of view about what is expected of one now. There are several undemanding, plausibly argued alternatives to choose. One, since society seems corrupt, is to seek they avoid the center of it by retreating to an idyllic existence that minimizes involvement with the "system" (with the "system" that makes such withdrawal possible). Then there is the assumption that since the effort to reform existing institutions has not brought instant perfection, the remedy is to destroy them completely so that fresh new perfect ones can grow. Not much thought seems to be given to the problem of where the new seed will come from or who the gardener to tend them will be. The concept of the servant-leader stands in sharp contrast to this kind of thinking.
-- Robert K. Greenleaf "Servant Leadership"
***
There is a good saying which comes from Lohe: "Don't be ashamed to do what you are called to do." Even the awkwardly spoken word, if only it comes out of an obedient heart, is better than a word unspoken in disobedience. Even the prayer that seems ineffectual and may perhaps be ridiculed may have left behind a seed of blessing. Indeed, even if no fruit is created in the spiritual sense, so that a soul comes nearer to God, still there is one thing that has happened: a testimony has been given in the biblical sense. And this precisely is our task, a hard task, but a glorious task.
-- Erich Schick
***
In college, I met the minister who would have a profound influence on my life. He had come to a church near the campus because his previous congregation in Alabama, had "run him off" for serving the bread and the cup to a black couple whom the elders had ignored while serving everyone else in church. In his new call, he continued to preach on justice, to model inclusion, to say the hard words which needed to be truthfully told, to endure the criticisms, to provide sensitive and compassionate care to those who spoke only vitriocally about him. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out why, or how, he did it. Then, one day, I needed to use the phone in his office. He waved me behind his desk and left the room to give me privacy. As I waited for the other party to pick up, I glanced down at his desk. There, in a spot where he would see it every day was a yellowed piece of paper taped to the desk which simply reminded him "You are a servant."
WORSHIP RESOURCES
Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: Our world offers many wide avenues
and beautiful boulevards to walk;
People: Our God invites us to walk the road
of servanthood and sacrifice.
Leader: Our society suggests we put down our roots
in the shallow soil of pleasure and greed.
People: Our God seeks to plant us on the banks of hope,
watered by the rivers of joy and grace.
Leader: Our culture promotes achievement, success,
climbing to the top, ringing the bell.
People: Our God tells us if we want to be first
we need to go to the end of the line.
Prayer Of The Day
You draw near to us,
Gentle God,
to watch over us.
When we toss and turn
in the middle of the night,
your rock us to sleep
in the gentleness of your peace.
When our souls are famished,
you feed us with your hope.
When our hearts are
poverty-stricken,
you open your hand
and pour your love into them.
It is your gentle works
which attract us to you,
Servant of the world:
your warm embrace
which melts the coldest soul;
your joyous welcome
which breaks down
our walls of resentment;
your soft chuckle
at our fears of the future.
Watching Spirit,
when we do not understand,
you gather us up in your arms
and seat us on you lap,
to teach kindness
to our souls.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we prayers rise up to you,
even as we use the words Jesus teaches us,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
While we try to live in God's way, we know how often we follow the wrong advice, or walk down sin's shadowed streets. Yet, God watches over us and calls us to confess, so we might be welcomed into the embracing arms of mercy and healing. Let us pray as we say:
Unison Prayer Of Confession
We confess how much we are like those first disciples of Jesus, Wisdom from on high. Our cravings for more and more toss about like leaves in the fall winds. We boast of our great wisdom, yet do not understand your ways of peace and gentleness. We do not plant ourselves in your hope and grace, and so reap harvests of disorder and conflict.
Draw near to us, Gracious God, and forgive us. Draw us into your tender arms, and teach us peace, gentleness, the willingness to put the other first, the wisdom to serve instead of seize, so we might bring forth a harvest of righteousness, justice, and peace in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
(Silence is observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: This is the wisdom from above: God
plants in us the forgiveness and healing
we need, so we might share the good
harvest of joy and mercy with everyone
we meet.
People: Bathed in the living waters, fed by the
Bread of life, we are given new life
and hope. Thanks be to God. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
The real number one
Object: a playing piece from a board game
Good morning, boys and girls. Do you like to play board games? (let them answer) I brought one piece of the game (name the board game) with me this morning. Have any of you ever played this game? (let them answer) I really like to play this game. In fact, I'd say that I'm really good at it. Are there games that you are good at playing? (let them answer)
I want to tell you the story of some friends who enjoyed playing games. These friends were your age. They got together after school and on weekends. They really enjoyed playing games. Sometimes they would play (name some games that children like to play). Something happened, however, that ruined the game playing. They began to argue among themselves who was the best at playing these games. Once the friends were about to play a game, when one of the friends told the others, "I'm the best player of this game. I'm going to tell you right now that I'm going to win today." Then another friend said, "That's not true. I'm better at playing this game than anyone in this room. I'm going to win today." Then a third friend interrupted by saying, "No way. I'm the best player of this game. I'm the one who will win." These friends argued and argued all afternoon about who was the best player. Do you know that they never started playing the game? They were too busy arguing amongst themselves.
This story reminds me of today's lesson. In the lesson Jesus' disciples were arguing amongst themselves. They were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus heard them argue. He told them something very interesting about being number one. This is what I want you to remember about what Jesus said. Jesus said that there are some important things in being a good Christian. You must be humble. That means you shouldn't boast about being a great person. You must serve others; especially serve people who need help. This was difficult for the disciples to understand. Sometimes it's difficult for us to understand also. To be a good Christian we must be humble and serve people who need our help. That makes us good Christians.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 24, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
Power And Servanthood In Christian Leaders: "The First Will Be Last!"
In the past few years Jim Wallis and Jimmy Carter have written books inviting the American public to think twice about the direction our public life is taking us. We seem to be moving down the road of blending public policy and religion in a way that makes many feel uncomfortable. They write from a center/left position and both are Democrats. Now comes news of another book soon to be published by Senator Danforth, but this time from a good old-fashioned Republican. He too has many concerns about our nation's swing to the extreme evangelical right.
What is it about this whole church/state matter that makes us so uncomfortable and is so divisive in the body politic of the United States? It didn't just start with clergy and laity marching in the days of Vietnam and Civil Rights. It didn't even begin with the framers of the Constitution who wanted to be certain that we would not go down the road of theocracy as the Massachusetts Bay Colony did in the early days of the American experience. There's a whole pattern of uneasiness between power and faith that goes all the way back to Pharaoh and Moses in their famous set of confrontations in the biblical narrative.
Is it possible to find a balance between power and servanthood in such a manner that gives us hope rather than generating fear? Perhaps there's a way. Lets see if we can pray our way through that one ...
THE WORLD
We've all met them. Many of us have lived with them. We have often worked for them. There are always a few in the congregation. They shout and dominate and bluster their way to power. If you write that dynamic larger, there are nations and imperial powers that are quick to use military might and are impatient with diplomacy. They make sport of the weak and the gentle. And the notion of being first and last and turning the cheek seems to smack so much of the milquetoast variety of Christianity. It becomes a caricature of what Jesus meant versus what he actually said. The world is full of power and those who love to use it.
Then there are those indomitable spirits who rise early to make something special for the family. The table is set and the sun seems to shine whenever they are with us. Without complaint and without much ado they are abuzz with good cheer and good work. They are constant in their service to their families, to their colleagues at work, and all too rarely they take the reins of power and become a servant leader "par excellence."
Most of humanity is hung between the two polarities and live out life as it seems best to them, mixing the two without much thought. Today Jesus asks us to think these matters through a bit.
THE WORD
In the midst of today's gospel lesson and in the midst of an argument over who will be greatest in the kingdom of God, Jesus, declares that those who wish to be first in the kingdom of God must also be willing to be the last and the servant of all (Mark 9:35). James notes that the "wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace" (James 3:17).
Further, he who many consider to be brother to our Lord continues, "Submit yourselves therefore to God" (James 3:7). It appears therefore that somehow there is an awareness in the New Covenant that we are to serve one another. Jesus elsewhere underscores his intent by saying, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave" (Matthew 20:25-27). The same theme occurs with some regularity throughout this New Covenantal relationship we have with God in the Person of Jesus.
Peter, for instance says, "Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3). Somehow there are so many who are so insecure over the question of power that this entire gospel imperative goes entirely unnoticed. In the Wisdom passage for today the righteous are put to the test by those who want to see just how gentle they really are (Wisdom 2:19). And Jeremiah laments that his own place on the stage of the Divine Drama puts him in the role of a gentle lamb being led to the slaughter. That very language becomes a presage to the view we have of Jesus' sacrificial place on the altar of God. Thus Jesus is The Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the World.
All that being the case, there are those men and women of God who have left a lasting memorial and as gentle as they might at first appeared to be, their power comes from that very gentleness and they have changed the world forever!
CRAFTING THE SERMON
There are three important people that I have watched during my life that leaves me in awe. They are Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and Mother Teresa. To me they seemed to get it right. They taught non-violence, and yet they were no shrinking violets. They stood tall in their time and we took notice. Sometimes they made many uncomfortable and sometimes many wished that they did not press their cases so hard. But doggedly each in their own way pressed very hard for change, very hard for justice, and clung closely to the love of God. It became impossible to fault their goals but many often fought their means for getting there.
We have watched the development of urban guerilla warfare at the same time roughly as we watched the practitioners of non-violent social change develop their art. The Irish Republican Army and al Quaida use methods to effect social change that are not only inherently violent but frankly less effective in the effort to bring justice to fruition. Their use of innocents as a pawn in the raw use of power is a shameless affront to the God of the Bible and of the Koran. In Palestine, the growth of terror as a method for social change has left thousands upon thousands dead and the streets stained with the blood of the innocent.
And in reprisal we have sent our armies, and we have supplied the armies of many nations to fight the curse of terror and as we have done so, the prospect of terror only seems to increase. Further the question of whether Israel or we have acted in reprisal to terror or whether terrorists act in reprisal to the occupation of Arab lands in Palestine and throughout the Middle East, is a valid question. In the endless cycle of violence as it begets itself, the question of whose reprisal seems more pristine than the other seems futile.
And as we find ourselves in the downward spiral of violence we also find ourselves buying into the trap of plucking out eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. That ancient ethic as fair and as just as it once my have seemed in the Old Dispensation, merely leaves the whole world blind and toothless as the "Great Soul" Mahatma Gandhi so succinctly put it.
Thus the wisdom of several new statesmen in our time: Jim Wallis, Jimmy Carter, and Senator Danforth rightly point out the danger of fundamentalism. It is inherently violent. More dangerously still it uses the authority of God to excuse its exercise.
Fundamentalism uses the authority of God to permit us to kill. Whether it comes from Islam, or Judaism, or Christianity it is the same grand delusion. And the ones who pay the price for the delusion are the men, women, and children who have been captured in its tentacles as well as those who have not. So God speaks to George Bush and God speaks to Osama bin Laden. And may God have mercy on us all. Politics and religion have found themselves an alliance now that leaves many people dead and dying, and civilizations piled high with rubble from New York City to Kabul and Baghdad. And there's more to come!
As I say, I miss the great souls. Listen, for instance to this thought from Martin Luther King:
The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
He was an example of the Servant Leader. His leadership was that of a servant. There was a wrong to be righted. There were people to be freed. There was hope to be restored. It was as if God spoke through the human heart and yet Dr. King never heard voices in his head. He only discerned the pattern of biblical authority that spoke of bringing people from slavery in Egypt into the promised land.
Take a good look and remember with me that history. Moses and Pharaoh went face to face. It was the man of God speaking to the Statesman that affected the will of God. In confrontation and in conversation with one another, they expressed their convictions. It was a test of wills between two men. And the will that ultimately won and carried the day was the will of God.
So too in America in the 1960s there was a test between two forces: the forces of freedom and the forces of oppression. It was a difficult struggle, as many of us no doubt remember. But ultimately the will of God spoke in history. It did the same in South Africa and a bishop by the name of Desmond Tutu taught the virtue of non-violence. In the subsequent establishment of a new nation, again there was little violence. Instead of a set of trials as we had in Nuremburg after the Holocaust, we had The Truth and Reconciliation Commission that brought forgiveness rather than retribution. Instead of assigning blame and seeking punishment, there was an effort to acknowledge past wrongs and assign atonement and forgiveness to the wrongdoer. What an amazing idea!
And Mother Teresa saw people dying. She ministered to them. In the most desperately poor and merciless streets of Calcutta, there she was; the personification of the mercy and love of God.
These people brought us hope. All we seem to have these days are the ones that bring us fear. Folks it is up to us. For whether we have fear or hope ultimately is an act of faith. No doubt it takes courage for the living of these days but there is a wonderful old Welsh hymn that stirs the heart mightily and it seems only right to remember words that stirred many millions before we stood on this planet. Harry Emerson Fosdick wrote these words in 1930 to the tune "Cwm Rhondda" which John Hughes composed in 1907. And the words are these:
God of grace and God of glory, On Thy people pour Thy power. Crown Thine ancient church's story, Bring her bud to glorious flower. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, For the facing of this hour, For the facing of this hour.
Ah yes, there's the note to strike just now. It is the note of the Servant Leader who will not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick until he brings justice to victory (Matthew 12:20). Folks, it is up to us to raise up such leaders now. And it is only the courage that faith gives that can raise such a One.
ANOTHER VIEW
by Steve McCutchan
What does it mean to try to be a Christian leader in our time? Paul Bresnahan has lifted up for you three contemporary people who exemplify for him true Christian leadership: Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, and Mother Teresa. He laments the lack of such leadership among those with strong voices today. It might be interesting to reflect on the fact that all three leaders that he mentioned did not seek to be leaders. Rather, they simply tried to be faithful to the work to which they felt called. While Tutu had a recognized position of leadership within his church, the other two were in rather ordinary positions that normally would not have been seen as positions of power and influence. Even Tutu had a tenuous hold on power because he was black in a society that harshly separated people according to race.
For the members of our congregations, it is important to recall that true leadership begins with being faithful in the place where we are placed. One of the cautions that can be raised by those who presume to speak for faith in our time is that they seem very interested in the importance of their positions. A little more humility might make their pronouncements more compelling.
Jesus' criteria for discerning who was acting on God's behalf was to judge them by their fruits. Former Senator Jack Danforth seems to be building on that criteria in his criticism of those who would blend politics and faith in a self-righteous way.
In an excerpt from his new book, he says: "Christians have a choice between reconciliation and divisiveness. Those who have chosen the latter course are getting all the attention. They are the talking heads of television, the subjects of magazine articles, and the forces in American political life. In getting media attention, they have the advantage of clear positions, certainty that they possess the truth and the natural attraction of a confrontational style. By contrast, people seem boring who believe that the ministry of Christians is reconciliation."
I would suggest that Psalm 1, assigned by our lectionary, might provide the pastor a firm basis for looking at how members of his or her congregation might become the type of leaders that God seeks in our world. This psalm, which introduces the whole book of Psalm, contrasts two ways of life. The one way is what might be called the way of the independent. This person is the one who desires to be the center of his or her own universe. Such a person does not need God and is skeptical of those who do. Even for some of those who speak from a religious platform, one begins to question whether they are paying attention to God who calls them to servant leadership or to an ego that insists that they possess a truth that is beyond debate.
The problem for such people is that life is too short and our place in it too insignificant to make a lasting impression by ourselves. Martin Luther King, for example, has probably been more influential since his death than before it. That certainly can be said of Jesus whose ministry at best lasted about three years. The self-contained individual is "like chaff that wind drives away..."
In contrast, there are those who attach their lives to the story of the universe that is unfolding in time. This is the story that God is telling. They look to the revelation of God's truth in scripture, and they discover happiness or satisfaction in finding a way to make their contribution to this unfolding story. "... Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night." Such people find their roots in something that is more substantial than a fleeting moment of time. "They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither." The foundation of the three leaders that Paul mentioned was in something deeper than momentary success or personal glory.
A central challenge for many in our Western society is that they lack purpose in their lives. Many of the bizarre turns in people's lives are generated from people's discovery that they have achieved many of the initial goals that they set out to accomplish and that they still have very little meaning in their lives. What seemed like worthy goals are found to be too limited. They are in need of a higher purpose that makes their struggle and sacrifice worthwhile. The psalmist suggests that such purpose can be discovered only in the way of the eternal God. It is in meditating on the purposes of God that we discover our own purpose and the true meaning of our life.
The lesson from James plays out that contrast in a different way. We live in a society that is cynical about experts and disdainful of the intellect. We are confused as to where we find truth and yet we hunger for wisdom. James suggested that there are two kinds of wisdom. He distinguished between wisdom from above and wisdom from below. We are very familiar with what he suggested is wisdom from below. It is generated by "bitter envy and selfish ambition in (our) hearts," and causes us to "be boastful and false to the truth." This kind of wisdom results in "disorder and wickedness of every kind."
At times, however, we experience what he called "wisdom from above." This wisdom is "first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy." Actually when we experience such wisdom, we know it immediately. It does not need proof texts or credentials. It allows us to feel good about ourselves and valued by our community. We may only experience it intermittently, but in those moments we do experience God's shalom. "And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace."
James was very clear that the source of our conflicts and tensions within the church and the world have their origins in the "cravings that are at war within (us)." When you consider either our churches or society and the disputes or tensions that arise, would you agree with James that at the center of our disputes and tension is covetousness? "And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts." Isn't this true whether the coveting relates to oil, land, dignity, or correct doctrine?
This is in contrast to a people who are "gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy." Imagine those sorts of qualities suddenly infusing some of our national and church leaders. James assumed that such attributes were a reflection of God and that "God yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us." The difficulty is that it is more than a case of will power. We demonstrate the earthly manner of self-centeredness despite our best intentions. Yet recognition of this fact is the first step towards availing ourselves of "wisdom from above." "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
While we can bemoan the lack of leadership in our society, and certainly we should be ready to respond if by God's spirit we are lifted up in such areas, perhaps the most important challenge for the church is to begin to demonstrate the type of servant leadership that Christ calls us to. In the words of an old saying, perhaps we are called to "bloom where we are planted."
ILLUSTRATIONS
We are not the healers, we are not the reconcilers, we are not the givers of life. We are sinful, broken, vulnerable people who need as much care as anyone we care for. The mystery of ministry is that we have been chosen to make our own limited and very conditional love the gateway for the unlimited and unconditional love of God. Therefore, true ministry must be mutual. When the members of a community cannot truly know and love their shepherd, shepherding quickly becomes a subtle way of exercising power over others and begins to show authoritarian and dictatorial traits. The world in which we live -- a world of efficiency and control -- has no models to offer to those who want to be shepherds in the way Jesus was a shepherd. Even the so-called "helping professions" have been so thoroughly secularized that mutuality can only be seen as a weakness and a dangerous form of role confusion. The leadership about which Jesus speaks is of a radically different kind from the leadership offered by the world. It is a servant leadership... in which the leader is a vulnerable servant who needs the people as much as they need him or her.
-- Henri Nouwen, Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership (Crossroad Publishing Co, 1996)
***
A leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to create the conditions under which other people must live and move and have their being -- conditions that can either be as illuminating as heaven or as shadowy as hell. A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what's going on inside him or her self, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.
-- Parker Palmer, "Leading from Within: Reflections on Spirituality and Leaders" (a booklet published by The Servant Leadership School, Washington, DC)
***
For most of his career Albert Einstein kept the portraits of two scientists on the wall -- Newton and Maxwell. Toward the end of his life he replaced those portraits with Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer. He said, "It is time to replace the image of success with the image of service."
Maybe he had been inspired by Schweitzer's words: "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know, the only ones among you who will be truly happy are those who have sought and found how to serve."
-- Steve May, The Monday Memo, 3/27/06
***
When our Lord calls us into a position of leadership, he calls us not to seek privileges for ourselves but to work with him in serving others.
Some years ago when a priest in a West Coast city was made bishop, the people of his diocese expected him to move into the elegant home they provided for their bishops and to be driven to work and to official functions by a chauffeur in their fancy limousine.
But he said that they could either rent out or sell both the house and the limo, that he preferred to live among his people in his same small apartment, and drive himself around in his same little old Volkswagen.
***
Mother Teresa, as she did her work among the poorest of the poor who were dying alone on the streets of Calcutta, received many gifts from people around the world. But about all she would keep for herself were a few changes of clothes, a bowl to eat from, and a rosary.
She wrote, "Holiness is a duty for you and for me. We have been created for that. We can not do great things; we can only do little things with great love."
-- Linda Schaefer, Come and See, 53
***
Mother Teresa also wrote: "Heaven is found by serving the lowliest. We can learn to love the unloved, the unwanted; not only just to give them things but to make them feel that they, too, are useful, to make them feel that they can do something because they are loved and wanted, that they can share the joy of loving."
-- Linda Schaefer, Come and See, 89, 71
***
My thesis, that more servants should emerge as leaders, or should follow only servant-leaders, is not a popular one. It is much more comfortable to go with a less demanding point of view about what is expected of one now. There are several undemanding, plausibly argued alternatives to choose. One, since society seems corrupt, is to seek they avoid the center of it by retreating to an idyllic existence that minimizes involvement with the "system" (with the "system" that makes such withdrawal possible). Then there is the assumption that since the effort to reform existing institutions has not brought instant perfection, the remedy is to destroy them completely so that fresh new perfect ones can grow. Not much thought seems to be given to the problem of where the new seed will come from or who the gardener to tend them will be. The concept of the servant-leader stands in sharp contrast to this kind of thinking.
-- Robert K. Greenleaf "Servant Leadership"
***
There is a good saying which comes from Lohe: "Don't be ashamed to do what you are called to do." Even the awkwardly spoken word, if only it comes out of an obedient heart, is better than a word unspoken in disobedience. Even the prayer that seems ineffectual and may perhaps be ridiculed may have left behind a seed of blessing. Indeed, even if no fruit is created in the spiritual sense, so that a soul comes nearer to God, still there is one thing that has happened: a testimony has been given in the biblical sense. And this precisely is our task, a hard task, but a glorious task.
-- Erich Schick
***
In college, I met the minister who would have a profound influence on my life. He had come to a church near the campus because his previous congregation in Alabama, had "run him off" for serving the bread and the cup to a black couple whom the elders had ignored while serving everyone else in church. In his new call, he continued to preach on justice, to model inclusion, to say the hard words which needed to be truthfully told, to endure the criticisms, to provide sensitive and compassionate care to those who spoke only vitriocally about him. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out why, or how, he did it. Then, one day, I needed to use the phone in his office. He waved me behind his desk and left the room to give me privacy. As I waited for the other party to pick up, I glanced down at his desk. There, in a spot where he would see it every day was a yellowed piece of paper taped to the desk which simply reminded him "You are a servant."
WORSHIP RESOURCES
Thom Shuman
Call To Worship
Leader: Our world offers many wide avenues
and beautiful boulevards to walk;
People: Our God invites us to walk the road
of servanthood and sacrifice.
Leader: Our society suggests we put down our roots
in the shallow soil of pleasure and greed.
People: Our God seeks to plant us on the banks of hope,
watered by the rivers of joy and grace.
Leader: Our culture promotes achievement, success,
climbing to the top, ringing the bell.
People: Our God tells us if we want to be first
we need to go to the end of the line.
Prayer Of The Day
You draw near to us,
Gentle God,
to watch over us.
When we toss and turn
in the middle of the night,
your rock us to sleep
in the gentleness of your peace.
When our souls are famished,
you feed us with your hope.
When our hearts are
poverty-stricken,
you open your hand
and pour your love into them.
It is your gentle works
which attract us to you,
Servant of the world:
your warm embrace
which melts the coldest soul;
your joyous welcome
which breaks down
our walls of resentment;
your soft chuckle
at our fears of the future.
Watching Spirit,
when we do not understand,
you gather us up in your arms
and seat us on you lap,
to teach kindness
to our souls.
God in Community, Holy in One,
we prayers rise up to you,
even as we use the words Jesus teaches us,
Our Father ...
Call To Reconciliation
While we try to live in God's way, we know how often we follow the wrong advice, or walk down sin's shadowed streets. Yet, God watches over us and calls us to confess, so we might be welcomed into the embracing arms of mercy and healing. Let us pray as we say:
Unison Prayer Of Confession
We confess how much we are like those first disciples of Jesus, Wisdom from on high. Our cravings for more and more toss about like leaves in the fall winds. We boast of our great wisdom, yet do not understand your ways of peace and gentleness. We do not plant ourselves in your hope and grace, and so reap harvests of disorder and conflict.
Draw near to us, Gracious God, and forgive us. Draw us into your tender arms, and teach us peace, gentleness, the willingness to put the other first, the wisdom to serve instead of seize, so we might bring forth a harvest of righteousness, justice, and peace in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
(Silence is observed.)
Assurance Of Pardon
Leader: This is the wisdom from above: God
plants in us the forgiveness and healing
we need, so we might share the good
harvest of joy and mercy with everyone
we meet.
People: Bathed in the living waters, fed by the
Bread of life, we are given new life
and hope. Thanks be to God. Amen.
CHILDREN'S SERMON
The real number one
Object: a playing piece from a board game
Good morning, boys and girls. Do you like to play board games? (let them answer) I brought one piece of the game (name the board game) with me this morning. Have any of you ever played this game? (let them answer) I really like to play this game. In fact, I'd say that I'm really good at it. Are there games that you are good at playing? (let them answer)
I want to tell you the story of some friends who enjoyed playing games. These friends were your age. They got together after school and on weekends. They really enjoyed playing games. Sometimes they would play (name some games that children like to play). Something happened, however, that ruined the game playing. They began to argue among themselves who was the best at playing these games. Once the friends were about to play a game, when one of the friends told the others, "I'm the best player of this game. I'm going to tell you right now that I'm going to win today." Then another friend said, "That's not true. I'm better at playing this game than anyone in this room. I'm going to win today." Then a third friend interrupted by saying, "No way. I'm the best player of this game. I'm the one who will win." These friends argued and argued all afternoon about who was the best player. Do you know that they never started playing the game? They were too busy arguing amongst themselves.
This story reminds me of today's lesson. In the lesson Jesus' disciples were arguing amongst themselves. They were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus heard them argue. He told them something very interesting about being number one. This is what I want you to remember about what Jesus said. Jesus said that there are some important things in being a good Christian. You must be humble. That means you shouldn't boast about being a great person. You must serve others; especially serve people who need help. This was difficult for the disciples to understand. Sometimes it's difficult for us to understand also. To be a good Christian we must be humble and serve people who need our help. That makes us good Christians.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, September 24, 2006, issue.
Copyright 2006 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 517 South Main Street, Lima, Ohio 45804.
