aJames and John expose how confusing the way of love is. They ignore the teaching, but so do the other disciples.
Digging down to the love of God
Proper 24B | Mark 10:35-45
They were afraid.
When James and John step forward, it is when all of them are afraid.
Remember that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He has already predicted his impending death three times. His face was transfigured and he healed a boy when the disciples couldn’t. And then, last week, we read about a young man seeking assurance of salvation through being good.
But the astute reader of Mark should recognize the urgency in the young man’s request. Not because he is worried. But because we know they are getting close to Jerusalem.
The four verses between last week’s part of the story and this week’s are these:
They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’
-Mark 10:32-34
This is why James and John step forward. It is starting to sound like a suicide mission.
Loyal Volunteers
For those of us raised on movies, this sequence feels cinematically familiar. We’re about two-thirds of the way through, they are about to make their move toward the climax, and there is need for a rallying of the troops. These two brave souls step forward to do the courageous thing, to die as heroes!
There are also the war movie motifs that always amplify the sense of sacrifice on behalf of these “brothers”. These images really play on our sense of loyalty and morality: our concern for our friends, our love of our people, and commitment to the calling.
Like all the things the disciples (and even Pharisees) have done since chapter 8, this feels like an attempt to do the right thing. They are good people trying to do good.
At least, that’s how it feels. And I think it is more or less true.
And yet…there is still that lingering conflict and confusion. That jockeying for supremacy, control, and sense of greatness. There is that toxic stew of ignorance and hubris: not knowing and yet thinking they’re the best.
This isn’t good.
They start with a demand.
And ooh boy! It is hard to spin this one.
‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’
Oh do you now! I might want to own the Detroit Tigers but I’m not stupid enough to ask Jesus for that!
They’re about to make an audacious request and they preface it by demanding Jesus grant whatever they are about to ask.
The gall! This isn’t just gutsy. I want us to recognize how brazen and ignorant this is. The request they’re about to make, which is essentially to ride and die with Jesus is not half as brazen as this one.
Jesus has just humiliated the disciples for arguing over which of them was the greatest by teaching them that this is the opposite of their calling. Literally the opposite direction from what God wants from them.
And then moments ago, he said it again:
“But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Competing for first place gets you last place.
So, what place do you think demanding glory gets you?
Humility rhymes with God
What Jesus seems to hear from these brothers is boldness, striving, ignorance – the obvious stuff. And yet he surprisingly doesn’t seem to hear this as bad. At least not in the way we do. As in worthy of punishment.
Of course we all have come to expect a level of sympathy from Jesus. Even as he has been occasionally frustrated by their mistakes. Jesus keeps showing humility. The humility he keeps teaching. And the humility the disciples keep missing.
I think that is why their bold request hits me so hard. And it hits the other disciples hard, too.
Their request isn’t just lacking all humility. It subtracts God out of the equation.
The brothers go to Jesus to receive honor from him. Just like the pious young man came to Jesus to receive assurance from him. So in a very real way, they are coming to Jesus to receive what only God can give.
In humility, Jesus sidesteps the hubris and engages by doing humble in teaching humble.
The other disciples get mad, though.
They can’t stand what they’ve just seen from James and John. And who can blame them? They are so mad. And when I read the arrogance in both requests of Jesus, I get mad too. I get mad because they’re being rude. They haven’t been paying attention. It is thoughtless and destructive. Here these two are living out a fantasy and everyone else has to live in the real world.
And yet, Jesus responds to that anger in the exact same way as the hubris. We don’t rank each other.
Their experience is like ours. The pursuit of greatness leads to tyranny. And what is tyranny but the use of power to abuse.
The implied threat in what the rest of the disciples were expressing was that they were about to put themselves ahead of James and John. And we don’t rank. That’s for God.
So this moment really digs into us; with our desire to rank and order, to evaluate and judge, and be certain and secure in our faith.
But as we learned last week, for many of us insecurity is something we have lacked. And we struggle with how to experience it now with grace.
Then when the disciples asked why it is hard for the wealthy to get into heaven, Jesus said it’s hard to get in! [which means for anyone!] But God makes it possible.
We can say the same for Jesus’s teachings.
It is hard for the wealthy to embody them because it is hard to embody them! Because we can’t do it on our own. And we can’t assure each other on our own. And we can’t demand glory from each other. These aren’t ours to give.
We don’t get to play God. At least not in that way.
We do get to serve. And love. We get to share generously. And welcome.
We get to express the humility of God. And the grace God has shown us.
We get to follow. In humility. Faith. With hope and love to fill our hearts.
Love of God, neighbor, and self. The kind of generous love that dares offer equality and radical welcome. That you and I are both worthy of love. We are loved to love.
And this love is the very thing that casts out fear.