A Sermon preached by the Rev. Michael Anderson Bullock
[Isaiah 53:4-12; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45]
"Life is difficult.” This is the first sentence in Scot Peck’s 1978 best seller, entitled The Road Less Traveled. “Life is difficult, he says. “This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult - once we truly understand and accept it - then life is no longer difficult.”1
Perhaps this reality was what motivated James and John Zebedee to slink up to Jesus and ask him for a favor. Surely, hardworking fishermen such as the Zebedee boys knew that life was hard – sometimes unfairly so. Perhaps, given what they had seen Jesus do for so many others and having a sense that the power of God was in and with him – perhaps they saw an opportunity to make their lives easier. Who could blame them?
Perhaps being members of Jesus’ twelve disciples – not to mention with Peter being members of Jesus’ inner circle, perhaps an inside deal could be arranged for “services rendered”. So, James and John approached Jesus and asked for a personal favor. Teacher, they said, we have something we want you to do for us. What is it?, Jesus asked. Sounding as if they had rehearsed their request any number of times, in unison the brothers sang out: Arrange it so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory – one of us at your right, the other at your left."Life is difficult.” This is the first sentence in Scot Peck’s 1978 best seller, entitled The Road Less Traveled. “Life is difficult, he says. “This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult - once we truly understand and accept it - then life is no longer difficult.”
Perhaps this reality was what motivated James and John Zebedee to slink up to Jesus and ask him for a favor. Surely, hardworking fishermen such as the Zebedee boys knew that life was hard – sometimes unfairly so. Perhaps, given what they had seen Jesus do for so many others and having a sense that the power of God was in and with him – perhaps they saw an opportunity to make their lives easier. Who could blame them?
Perhaps being members of Jesus’ twelve disciples – not to mention with Peter being members of Jesus’ inner circle, perhaps an inside deal could be arranged for “services rendered”. So, James and John approached Jesus and asked for a personal favor. Teacher, they said, we have something we want you to do for us. What is it?, Jesus asked. Sounding as if they had rehearsed their request any number of times, in unison the brothers sang out: Arrange it so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory – one of us at your right, the other at your left.2
“Life is difficult.” And while it is an easy and convenient thing to dope-smack James and John for being such brats, the question is: To what extent are you and I any different when it is hard and difficult – not to mention expensive --to follow Jesus ? Who among us does not have the urge to seek another option?
Again, I do not want to be too harsh on James and John. There is a very good chance that their request of Jesus had something to do with what the lectionary left out of today’s gospel reading. You see, in that omitted section there is a bridge of three verses that links the ending of last week’s gospel with how this week’s gospel begins. I am not sure about the reasoning for jumping over these three, bridging verses, save for the fact that they contain Jesus’ third prediction of what will happen to him in Jerusalem. For the third and final time, Jesus says this to his followers.
Listen to me carefully. We’re on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. Then they will hand him over to the Romans, who will mock and spit on him … and kill him. After three days he will rise alive.3
Under such circumstances and with Jesus repeating this dire prediction a third time (an indication, I guess, that he is serious about what he is saying!) – given this forebodingly repeated prediction, who among us would not consider a “Plan B” because “life is difficult” without courting more difficulty? And (after all) isn’t following Jesus supposed to do something about life’s hardness.
One of the reasons that I wish the lectionary included the three bridging verses is precisely because they do function as a bridge between where we are as followers of Jesus and the imminent challenges of the cross. And no one I know automatically cuddles up to the reality of the cross and the death. We may not be as bold as the Zebedess brothers, but that part of our following Jesus that is not as strong as we might like it to be is always tempted to find an off-ramp before we get to Jerusalem. Why did Jesus have to die? Couldn’t there have been another way? And what about us who claim to be his disciples? Could there be another way for us?
Our times (I don’t need to tell you) are so confusing and full of frustration and pain. We struggle to make sense of all that is happening in the world, in our own country, and – yes, in our own lives. Let’s be honest: So often the extent to which we pay attention frequently leads us to feel overwhelmed and quite powerless, leaving us with anxiety and exhaustion. I think that this is where James and John Zebedee are in their requesting Jesus to do whatever they ask of him. In so many words, they want Jesus to make them “all better”, to make sure that their lives turn out well, that life’s difficulties are erased and any hardships they encounter will be overcome because of Jesus. The crux of the problem – for James and John and for us -- is how we get to a life that is not defined and held hostage by fear and death. Is there an alternative to going to Jerusalem? Could there be a “Plan B”? And if not, what do we do?
Standing at the gap between where we are and where Jesus goes is the proverbial leap of faith. Responding to James and John and their request, Jesus asks them (and by extension us) a question: Are you able to drink the cup that I drink; or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized?4
The telling irony is that for us, we do drink Jesus’ cup, and we are in fact baptized with his baptism. That’s the whole point! “The blood of Christ; the cup of salvation”. We drink from that cup. This cup is life on God’s terms – all of life. We are baptized into Christ’s baptism, not washed clean but drowned to the old and raised to the new life we see in Jesus.
It’s a lot to absorb, which brings me to my point. None of us are spiritual heroes, at least as far as I know. We understandably wobble in our discipleship. We are tempted to buy into shortcuts that make our lives appear to be easier. But the fact of the matter is, we’ve come too far now to quit and run away. And part of the liberating grace of God manifests itself in the faces of one another. We have been given to one another in order that we keep moving toward Jerusalem. We have been given to one another as St. Philip’s to reinforce our movement toward God and in becoming like Christ. In this, our old friend and neighbor, Robert Frost, had it right. “We have miles and miles to go before we sleep” – before we are fully awakened to the life God gives to all God’s people.
As individuals, we can’t bring peace to the warring lands. As individuals, we can’t heal our nation of its bitterness and the ugliness of our common life. As individuals, we can’t reform and reconstitute the church. But in the face of all this frustration and sense of powerlessness, there is an important thing we can do. We have each other, and from this community and the faith-experience that knits us together, we can do our part in following Jesus. And in case you were wondering, this is precisely what this parish’s Canvass is about: Gathering us together to focus on what we together can do to follow Jesus and to grow into his likeness. Making a pledge of your time, your talent, and your treasure to the life, ministry, and mission of this place is a vote, an investment in doing together what we can to follow Jesus.
This is not some pie-in-the-sky, fundraising pitch. As a community, we have made clear what it is that we feel called to do as a church, as a community of faith. The Congregational Assessment Tool that you and I used revealed what our focus is and needs to be. Those priorities are at the heart of the information our Canvass Committee has sent to every St. Philip’s household. I encourage you to look at these priorities again because this is how you and I can and will take our next steps in following Jesus.
No shortcuts. No bargaining. No substitutes. No heroics. In our own small way, this is what you and I can do to join what our Bishop, Doug Fisher, calls “the Jesus Movement”. Our commitments to putting our priorities into action and strengthening them will be added to the efforts of other disciples and Jesus followers. And while our contributions pale in comparison to the needs around us, the truth is that following Jesus as best we can will not only add to what other followers are doing; perhaps more importantly it will also change us – change us into being more and more like the one we follow and living in that strong and stable life he provides.
I close, using the words to a prayer I recently encountered. It goes like this: …May we with integrity and courage accomplish what you give us to do, and endure what you give us to bear.
So be it. Amen.
1. Scot Peck, The Road Less Traveled
2. Mark 10:35-37 - The Message
3. Mark 10:32-34 – The Message
4. Mark 10:38
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