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Saint Matthew 20: 1-28
Basil of Ancyra; Euthymus, New Martyr in Greece;
Vigil of Nikon and his 199 Disciples; Nikon of the Kiev Caves; Basil of Mangasea
“You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them . . . But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”
I teach, one or two nights a week. At the beginning of a term, I like to invite my students to think in terms of career goals and so I ask if anyone in the class plans to be a shepherd. Nobody ever does. There’s just not much interest in taking care of a bunch of sheep, and doing it alone. They don’t want to be maids, butlers, chauffeurs, or body guards either. Then I ask how many plan to be a boss of some sort within five years. They all do. Everybody wants to work with other people, and they want to tell those other people what to do and how to do it. Many of them intend to own their own business. Finally, I tell them that a friend of mine is a cabaret singer, and one of her favorites is a song that starts “I want to be rich, famous, and powerful” – and so we talk about the use and misuse of money, fame, and power.
Here in New York, we’re surrounded by the evidence of these things: the daily life of this city bear constant and intense witness to the use and misuse of power, of wealth, and of fame. Yet it is precisely in these areas that we Christians are called to minister to one another and to witness to the gospel. In the daily-ness of life here, the contrast between the haves and the have-nots is a scandal – we wonder how there can be such seemingly depraved indifference to immediate and pressing need?
Jesus invites the Apostles, and us, to look at ambitions. Just before this, he told them the parable of the workers in the vineyard, and how those hired at the end of the day get the very same wage as those hired first thing in the morning. Hard work and long hours don’t get us a higher wage, or a higher place in the kingdom. Somehow, the Apostles miss his point.
They missed the point about the impending passion too. This is the third time, the third time he tells them that when they get to Jerusalem he is going to be put to death, and arise again. The first time Peter rebukes him and argues with him, and the second time they are all filled with grief. Now here is the third time, and he tells them it will happen by crucifixion, and that on the third day he will be raised to life again. And this time they ask for special favors. Nobody asks about resurrection, just favors.
And somehow, it’s okay with Jesus that they keep missing the point. Sometime, watch a charismatic leader. Activists, movie stars, gang leaders, and sometimes even parents and grandparents often display a kind of leadership that is magnetic. Everyone wants to be their special companion. Their Special companion. And in most circumstances, these leaders do play favorites. Can’t help it! They’re only human, after all, and the natural human tendency is to favor the good kid, the hard worker, the one who gets things done. They do have special friends, they reward the powerful among their cronies, they make sure they get what they want, and they make sure that they get what they can from life. The less competent, the impulsive, the quick-tempered, the slow learners, and the curmudgeons are never part of the inner circle, for they can’t be trusted.
By contrast, Jesus is a different kind of charismatic leader. He has the advantage of being God, and so he has a longer vision. His mission is not the amassing of wealth, but love, and the salvation of the world. He cherishes each one of his companions; each one of them is the special one, the cherished one, the favorite, the one who is personally chosen and called by name. Each one. Every one. He asks that they serve one another. He shows them, and us, again and again, that he loves them, that he loves us. Even when they’re flawed, even when they con their mother into asking for a special favor, even when they – when we -- deny him, abandon him, crucify him.
In our imperfection, in our greed, in our blind ambition, in all of our humanity, Jesus remains with us, gently shaping us and using us according to his vision. Like Jeremiah’s potter, Jesus the incarnate God takes us in his warm hands and moulds us into vessels according to his liking, that somehow we may be vehicles, carrying him, carrying his gospel to the world. That’s not necessarily easy or painless, of course. Some time ago a friend of mine sent me an e-mail, and included a quotation from a book she is reading. Listen: “. . . that is what [we] all want, a God that gives and gives and gives, but God does not give; He takes and takes and takes. He takes away everything that is not God until there is nothing left but God, and none of [us] will understand that . . . (Excerpted from "Souls" by Joanna Russ)
And in this very connection, listen to Saint John Climacus, who in analysing God’s work among us in community, wrote this in his Ladder of Divine Ascent: Take a hard stone with sharp corners. Knock it and rub it against other stones, until its sharpness and hardness are crushed by the knocking and rubbing and, at last, it is made round. So too, take a soul that is rough and abrupt. Put it into the community and company of tough, short-tempered people. One of two things must happen: Either it learns through patience to cure its wound, or it will run away and, by so doing, it will learn its weakness, its cowardly flight showing it up as if in a mirror.
The world says that you are great according to the power you exercise over others. The more authority you have, the greater you are. But it shall not be so among you, said Jesus.
The world says that you are great according to the position you hold. The greater the position, the greater the person. But it shall not be so among you, said Jesus. The world says that you are great according to the possessions you have. Your greatness is measured by your neighborhood, the size of your home, your bank account. But it shall not be so among you, said Jesus.
If Christianity is anything it is love: love in action, love in relationship – love going out to serve, love sacrificing itself, love rooted in the love of Christ, who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
There are always the great and large ways of serving. Father Damien of Molokai, who served the lepers and who contracted the disease himself, is one. Mother Theresa of Calcutta is another. But it’s not just for heroes. Each of us is called to serve others, in our relationships, families, jobs --- that he may finally greet us and say, “Come, blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; naked and you covered me; sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me. (Mt 25: 34-36)
Saint John the Theologian records no eucharist in his gospel, but he describes the foot-washing that we re-enact every year on Maundy Thursday. Jesus said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call me Lord and Teacher; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. (Jn 13: 12-15)
We’re called to serve one another, to clean up after one another, to look out for one another, to speak up for one another, and to help one another. We’re called to build a web of relationships, a community grounded in loving service. . . . “For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” About a hundred years ago, Saint John of Kronstadt said that “love for God and for our neighbor is impossible without self-sacrifice; whoever wishes to fulfil the commandment concerning love for God and neighbor must be devoted to work and sacrifice for their sake. It’s those rocks of Climacus again.
Three times, Jesus predicted his passion and death. Three times, he also told them that on the third day he would rise again. We are called to a way of life that is radically different from the way of the world; we are called to be transformed! to remember that there is more to life that this life; and we are called to remember that just as Christ is risen, so too will we rise again to new life in him. Not just a new way of life, but an entirely new life. And it is our confidence in God’s love and in the resurrection that gives life to our actions and faith and work here.
“You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them . . . But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”
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