Hebrew Scripture           Isaiah 2:11-18   

In our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures today the Prophet Isaiah promises that the day will come when, “Human pride will be ended, and human arrogance will be destroyed.”  Reading from Isaiah 2 verses 11 to 18.

A day is coming when human pride will be ended and human arrogance destroyed. Then the Lord alone will be exalted.  On that day the Lord Almighty will humble everyone who is powerful, everyone who is proud and conceited.  He will destroy the tall cedars of Lebanon and all the oaks in the land of Bashan.  He will level the high mountains and hills, every high tower, and the walls of every fortress.  He will sink even the largest and most beautiful ships.  Human pride will be ended, and human arrogance will be destroyed. Idols will completely disappear, and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.

1 Corinthians1:21-31    

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul talks about the foolishness of wisdom and the wisdom of God’s foolishness.  Reading from 1^st Corinthians 1 verses 21 to 31.

For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called “foolish” message we preach, God decided to save those who believe.  Jews want miracles for proof, and Greeks look for wisdom.  As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles;  but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For what seems to be God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Now, remember what you were, my friends when God called you. From the human point of view, few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing.  God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful.  He chose what the world looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is important.  This means that no one can boast in God’s presence.  But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God’s holy people and are set free.  So then, as the scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast must boast of what the Lord has done.”

Matthew 20:20-28

Our Gospel reading today is the story of a request made to Jesus by the mother of two of his disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee.  Just as an interesting side note, when Mark, the first gospel written, tells this story it is James and John themselves that approach Jesus rather than their mother.  Reading Matthew 20 verses 20 to 28.

Then the wife of Zebedee came to Jesus with her two sons, bowed before him, and asked him for a favor.   “What do you want?” Jesus asked her.

She answered, “Promise me that these two sons of mine will sit at your right and your left when you are King.”

“You don’t know what you are asking for,” Jesus answered the sons. “Can you drink the cup of suffering that I am about to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

“You will indeed drink from my cup,” Jesus told them, “but I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left. These places belong to those for whom my Father has prepared them.”

When the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with the two brothers.  So Jesus called them all together and said, “You know that the rulers of the heathen have power over them, and the leaders have complete authority.  This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others—  like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

Deserving of Special Consideration

My husband Zebedee and I were devastated when our two sons, James and John left us to follow Jesus.  I can still remember that day.  Zebedee burst into the house shouting out, “They’re gone!”

I was extremely annoyed since I had just finished cleaning.  I looked up at him and asked, “Who’s gone?”

“Our boys, James and John,” he answered.  “They left to follow Jesus.”

My knees buckled and I half sat – half fell onto the nearest chair.  I knew the boys had been enthralled by what Jesus was saying, heck we all had, even Zebedee.  But for them to have gone off with him without even discussing it with us was just too much.  How could they do that to us?  How could they do that to their father?  They knew that he planned on stepping back from the business soon.  Being out in the boat every day was just getting too much for a man his age.  He was preparing to turn the entire operation over to them.  And now they were gone!

Zebedee’s shock soon turned to anger.  He refused to speak to either one of the boys unless they agreed to come home.  The thing is I know that James is just as stubborn as his father and given an ultimatum would never give in.  And John would go along with whatever James decided.  I knew there was no way they would come home under those circumstances, so I decided that I had better be the one to talk to them.

It wasn’t hard to track them down.  Jesus was gathering a rather large following so I soon managed to catch up with them.  James seemed glad to see me but absolutely refused to even talk about coming home.  He told me he had made up his mind and there was nothing I could say or do to change it.

 John, on the other hand, asked all about how things were going at home.  He was obviously upset by his father’s reaction.  John was always a very sensitive child and he had grown into a quiet and thoughtful man.  But like his brother, he refused to leave Jesus.  But unlike James, he wanted to tell me all about what was happening with Jesus and why he felt so strongly that he had to stay.  He surprised me when he looked at me and said that even if James decided to leave and go back home he would be staying with Jesus.

“But why?” I cried out.

It was then that John began to tell me about all the things that had happened since they joined Jesus’ band of followers.  They had seen Jesus perform miracles, healing the sick, casting out demons, even forgiving sins.  But that was not the most important past, according to John. 

What made the difference for him was what Jesus said.  He talked about love and forgiveness.  He talked about caring for other people, especially the poor and the helpless.  He said that poverty was no punishment from God but something that was our responsibility.  He taught using parables about everyday things and situations.  But he also talked in ways that were impossible to explain.  He talked about the Kingdom of God in a way that was so real, you felt like you were already there.

That’s when James joined in the conversation.  I hadn’t even realized that he was sitting behind me listening.  “Yes!” he said excitedly.  “He talks about the Kingdom as his kingdom.  His and his father’s.  Don’t you see it?  He’s the one we have been waiting for.  He’s the Messiah, the son of the Living God.”

“I agree with James,” John added.  But I’m not sure we fully understand what that means.  He’s nothing like the Messiah we were expecting.  I think there is still a lot we need to learn before we can fully understand.” 

I barely heard the rest of what John said.  My mind was racing.  If Jesus was the Messiah then he would be the one to overthrow Rome and set up God’s Kingdom on earth.  If they were right, they were in the perfect position to gain real power in the new government that Jesus would set up.  After all, they were the logical choice.  They were well educated and had given up a lot more than most of the others!  Most of the others were from poor families didn’t have a lot to lose by following Jesus.  But James and John were in a position to inherit not only their father’s entire business but also his status as a man of influence within the community. 

But I knew better than to advise the boys on how to approach this.  James would resent being given advice and even if he took it and approached Jesus he was not exactly the most diplomatic man in the world.  And John would never dream of asking for something for himself.  The answer was simple.  I would have to do it for them.

So I waited for a time when Jesus would be alone.  I was walking alongside James and John when I notice that the others seemed to have dropped back a bit.  I managed to excuse myself from the boys and catch up with him.  “Lord,” I said, “you know that James and John are educated men, respected by their entire community. They gave up a lot to follow you, more than any of those others, I think they deserve to be recognized for that.  I want you to promise me that James and John will be given the most important position, that they will be your right-hand men sitting on either side of you when you establish your Kingdom.”

Jesus looked at me for a long moment but never said a word.  Then he turned and focused his attention on James and John.  I hadn’t realized they were standing close enough to hear and pretending not to eavesdrop!  When Jesus finally spoke it was not to me but to them.  “You have no idea what you are asking for.” 

I wanted to remind him that it was me who had asked, but the look on their faces clearly showed they had been thinking exactly the same thing I had said, they just didn’t have the courage to ask for themselves.

Then Jesus said something strange.  He said to them, “Can you drink the cup of suffering that I am about to drink?”

James and John kind of looked at each other.  Then James turned and answered for both of them, “Of course we can.  We will gladly suffer all that you suffer, right alongside you.”

Jesus looks somehow sad when he answered, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but I do not have the right to choose who will sit at my right and my left.”

That’s when things went from bad to worse.  While we had been standing there talking, the others had caught up with us.  They had apparently heard everything that had been said, and they were furious!  Who did my boys think they were to claim the most important places in Jesus’ Kingdom?  They had worked just as hard as either James or John.  They were just as committed.  And after all, it was for Jesus to decide who was best suited to those positions of power.  And perhaps one of them was better suited to fill those positions.  James and John had no right to ask.

Now Jesus’ look of sadness changed to something somewhere between frustration and resignation.  “You know that the powers and authorities of this world act as if they are somehow superior to everyone else and have the right to rule over people.  But that’s not the way it is for those who choose to follow me.  Whoever what to be truly great in the Kingdom of God, must willing to be the servant of everyone else.  Whoever wants to be first must be last, a slave to all other people.”

All of the chatter and grumbling that had been going on stopped.  There was dead silence.  Slowly, each of the disciples lowered his head and walked away, including James and John.  Before long, I realized that I was left standing alone with Jesus.  I was just so confused.  What was he talking about?  Of course, the authorities acted superior.  Wasn’t the point of gaining authority so that you could be in charge?  How can a servant be in charge?

Jesus looked at me for a long time without saying anything.  Then he just turned and walked back to his disciples.  I waited a long time before I finally headed home.  But I just couldn’t get what he said out of my mind.  A servant being in charge!  It just didn’t make sense.

So I decided I needed to learn more.  I started showing up whenever Jesus was around.  I started listening.  The more I listened the more I wanted to know.  He was always so gentle.  He always spoke with such compassion and understanding.  He seemed to be honestly concerned about what people had to say, about what they were going through.  In fact, there is virtually nothing that he wouldn’t do to help someone in need.   But there are times that it certainly seems to take its toll on him

The other day he asked James and John and the others to take him out in a boat and find a secluded place where they could be alone and rest.  But somehow someone figured out where they were going and by the time they landed, there was a huge crowd waiting for them. 

But instead of heading back out in the boat to try and find another place where they could get some peace and quiet, Jesus stepped out of the boat and immediately started teaching and healing with all the energy and dedication he always showed, as if he wasn’t already exhausted.

That’s when I realized what he meant when he talked about a servant being the most important of all.  There was no doubt in my mind that he was the most important man that had ever existed, but he was also the servant of all.  That’s what he was talking about.  And that’s what he expected from James and John.  That’s what he expects of all his followers.  And I now count myself as one of those followers, so the truth is, that’s what he expects of me.