The Rev. Dr. Robert G. Certain
St. Margaret's Episcopal Church & School
Proverbs 31:10-31 | Psalm 1 | James 3:13-4:3,7, 8a | Mark 9:30-37
"Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure…."
This is how we prayed earlier in our Collect. I have no doubt that God is ready and willing to bless us with a love of "things heavenly;" God is ready to strengthen us to hold fast to "those [things] that shall endure."
Today’s readings open the way for both a love of things heavenly and that inner strength of will to hold fast to enduring and enlivening values and treasures.
I am sure that men and women heard that first reading, from Proverbs, quite differently. Especially am I sure that husbands and wives heard that reading through different filters. Let there be wonderful discussion about this reading on the way home today and over breakfast—I want to comment only briefly about the reading in general.
Proverbs, like the following readings from James and Mark holds up an ideal for us, for all of us, male and female. As you read the passage again, "the capable wife" is focused on serving others. What is celebrated in Proverbs becomes the teaching of Jesus: "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." What is put forth as an ideal in Proverbs is the teaching of James, "Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom." All of us, male and female, are called to live into these ideals.
We have heard the teaching of Jesus over and over, the challenge is to hear it anew, the challenge is to live his teaching more fully; may our God indeed bless us with us with a desire to hold fast those things that shall endure.
The context of Jesus’ teaching is important. He has shared that his life will come to a violent end. The disciples didn’t really want to hear this (as we heard last week). He has spoken words about rising again that were not fully understood. Instead of exploring these words of Jesus they began to argue about who was the greatest among them; after all, when Jesus, the Messiah, would take his rightful place, his disciples would get to rule, too. Power and prestige were something these disciples could understand and arguing about who was the greatest was easier than wrestling with the betrayal and death of Jesus.
As we hear the words of Jesus this morning Episcopalian and Anglican disciples of Jesus Christ, helped out by the media, are involved in arguments about who interprets scripture more faithfully and more correctly, who is able to serve as an ordained minister in this church, who is more faithful in their discipleship, whose fault is it that the unchurched are not finding Jesus in the Episcopal Church, and on and on. Not quite the same dispute that the disciples of Jesus were having on the road to Capernaum, but certainly the same dynamic.
Today, as on that day in Capernaum, Jesus sits down in our midst, and asks about the content of our argument. What are you arguing about? Silence. Against the life, death, and (for us contemporary disciples) the resurrection of Jesus, the content of our arguments pale. The silence is the silence of one who ought to know better. The words spoken to the first generation of disciples, the words spoken to our hearts this morning are delivered not with anger or condemnation, however. They are straight forward, they establish an ideal, they are enduring and enlivening words: "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."
To emphasize these words Jesus took a child, a little child, and putting the child in their midst said "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me." The child couldn’t possibly advance the agenda of one striving for power and prestige. The child could not be the ally, the source of cash, the power broker, to vault a nobody fisherman (or tax collector) into a position of authority and power. Yet, the disciples of Jesus were to welcome, to serve, to identify with this powerless, completely dependent, little one—for in that they would welcome and find God.
Serve others, especially those who are powerless, dependent, needy, and easily ignored by those who seek power, authority, fame, or fortune. Serve others, that is the way of Jesus.
James extends this teaching and as he writes, I hear an authority born of experience. James, as you take in his whole letter, speaks as one who has chosen to serve rather than be served. James speaks as a disciple of Christ eager to invite others into the way of service, the way he has chosen, the way he has learned from his teacher, Jesus Christ.
The condemnation spoken by James is spoken with conviction. Conflicts, disputes, upset, harsh words, contention, come from within the hearts of those who want something (power, prestige, authority) and do not have it. "If you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind." Of course, in our brilliance today, each side of our current disputes (pick any one you want) accuses the other of giving in to this earthly wisdom and abandoning the wisdom from above.
The words of Jesus, the words of James spoken into our hearts this morning give us pause.
"Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."
"Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. … 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. … Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you."
Ideals to live by. Enduring words filled with life and light. "Grant us Lord … to love things heavenly … and to hold fast to those [things] that shall endure."
Is it possible to live like this? Yes, with God’s grace. As I look out this morning I know there are hundreds of stories of such service that I could tell to support my resounding "Yes." But let me finish with one story, a story that began in 1919. The next to the last chapter was written yesterday in Indian Wells. As far as I know all of this story was written far from the secular "thrones of power," out of sight and out of mind of those who make decisions that affect millions. As far as I know all of this story was written apart from General Conventions, Diocesan Conventions, and Bishops’ offices, the centers of "church power." As far as I know the passionate arguments that gripped many in the church since 1919, about the revision of the 1928 Prayer Book, the role of women in the church, the place of gays in leadership, the limits of authority and jurisdiction of Bishops in this church did not distract Jim and Patricia in their love of the Lord. Certainly in the years I’ve known them, years when Patricia has been so ill and declining in health, "things heavenly" enduring things have captured their hearts.
Patricia Smith died yesterday. Having received communion and prayers in the morning, Patricia laid down for her afternoon nap and left this world, awakening in the arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jim and Patricia Smith were married 67 years and 3 months when she died yesterday.
Is it possible to live as a servant, to lead as a servant, to live into the ideals presented in today’s readings? Yes. In all his imperfection, Jim Smith, especially in these last three years, lived into his Baptismal Covenant, lived into his marriage covenant, as a servant and served with a wisdom from above.
He looked at his wife with the same loving look I believe Jesus has for each and every one of us. Jim saw his wife as Jesus saw her. In these last years, Jim served his wife day in and day out with the devotion I believe Jesus spoke of in today’s gospel. My visits to their home humbled me and inspired me and made me wish I could somehow capture my experiences and share them with you. Servant leadership is possible, today, in you and me; I know this because I have seen this in action in Indian Wells in Jim Smith.
As Patricia continued to weaken, the result of illness, both Jim and Patricia talked more about those things that endure. Hope was nurtured not by the correct interpretation of scriptures, not by the resolution of arguments about who can and can’t be ordained ministers, not by agreement about the lines of authority in our modern church, but by Jim’s pure, peaceable, and gentle ministry.
Hope was nurtured because both Jim and Patricia grew up in churches like this where the Word of God was shared, believed, and put into practice (no matter how imperfectly). Hope was nurtured because both Jim and Patricia were nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ shared in Holy Communion in churches like St. Margaret’s.
Hope was nurtured by the Word of God shared and the communion of Christ’s Body and Blood shared in their home. Hope was nurtured by the phone calls made from the Pastoral Care Team to their home.
The dying, and those who care for the dying, are able to help us all put things into perspective. They are uniquely situated to shine a light on what is truly important, truly valuable and enduring. I pray that you will understand the gift Jim and Patricia give you this morning. The words of the Collect are no mere trifle, they are potent, hear them, pray them, live them. The words of the scriptures are not merely pie in the sky ideals, they can be lived out, hear them, pray them, live them, they are enduring and enlivening. Inasmuch as we can live the words of scripture and pray for God’s grace to help us in this—our light will shine in the church and in the world and God will be glorified. Amen.
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