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I once saw a t-shirt, or a sign, or something that said "Jesus loves you, but I'm his favorite." Or words to that effect.
That's really the attitude of the sons of Zebedee this morning. That's why they ask Jesus to give them recognition and glory. It's why the other disciples get mad at them.
As Jesus tells them, they don't know what they are really asking. The stakes are high in following in Jesus' footsteps. It means not taking power and glory, but being a servant to all. It means loving others, even if it means giving our own life. It's not something you just show up, ask for, and receive. It's something you have to live out.
This is the cost of discipleship, and to understand it, it is best to see it in action.
In this case, the guy who literally wrote the book on the cost of discipleship is a good example of the kind of love, servanthood, and sacrifice Jesus is calling us to live into. His name is Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Bonhoeffer was a German minister in the days leading up to World War II. There were many choices he made for Jesus along the way. He grew up in a comfortable, well-to-do home, and he could have stayed in that life. He could have stayed in the safety of academia, which he did quite well in. But when the Nazi Party started going after Jews, he stood up. When most of the church was willing to support the Nazis, Bonhoeffer got together with other Christians to say that their faith was incompatible with what Hitler was doing. When war finally got ready to break, Bonhoeffer was in America. He could have stayed and done God's work here. He could have been safe.
Bonhoeffer chose to return and be involved in the Valkyrie project to try and kill Hitler. Even then, his faith did not waver. While he felt he needed to do what he could to stop evil in the world, he was concerned he had crossed a line. It is very likely that Bonhoeffer, if he had survived, would have continued to write, but would have left the ministry, feeling his choice made him unworthy to be a leader in the church. That was the depth of his integrity in following Jesus.
Finally, even when he was in prison, Bonhoeffer continued to serve our Lord. He showed the same kindness and love Jesus showed to all that he met, even to the guards. Unfortunately, his faith and convictions had made him many enemies in the Reich over the years. Because he stood by his faith unwavering and showed love to his fellow man, the Nazi regime had such spite for him that as the war was ending and all hope for the Nazi's were lost, they sent the order for Bonhoeffer to be killed. He never got to see the end of Nazi rule.
Bonhoeffer's life was filled with the compassion of Jesus Christ, and he tried to spread that to others. He even started a community to train new ministers at a time when war was about to break. The love of Christ Jesus is what filled Bonhoeffer's life with hope and joy. It is also what led the vilest of men to kill him in the end.
All along the way, Bonhoeffer made sure that his life was one filled with nothing else but God's grace and love. In fact, he called others to live in daily accordance to Jesus in his book The Cost of Discipleship. That doesn't mean he didn't struggle along the way, just as we all do. But he was always reflecting on his actions to make sure they were in accordance with the will of Jesus Christ. That is why he questioned his role in the plot to kill Hitler. He wanted to make sure he was living out the love of Christ Jesus.
We are called to do the same. We're not called to block away just one hour of week to Jesus. We are called to give our whole life to Him, just as He gave His life for us. We are called, like Bonhoeffer, to live daily into God's grace and love. We are called to show that same love to all that we meet in the world. We are called to put aside honor, glory, and power and give up all other things that separate us from the love of God and being Christ Jesus' own.
Not all of us will have to face the same evil in the world that Bonhoeffer faced. Not all of us will even have to face death from such an evil. But there are things we all can do. We can follow the example of local Christian Kervin Jones, who at our Lenten Lunches told us that love of those Alabama Episcopalians who helped him rebuild after the 2011 Tornado destroyed his home. Kervin told us that this love, given freely as a gift of grace, has led him to smile at anyone who passes him by. Because we never know what affect any act of kindness to others will really have.
Like Bonhoeffer, we have a choice. We can stay in the comfort of our weekly worship and do nothing more. Or we can take up Jesus' charge to be servants of all, showing the same love He showed us not only on one hour of one day, but every waking moment of every single day of our lives. Together, we can take our lives and make them each a glorious beacon leading back to the grace and love we receive from Christ Jesus and from Christ Jesus alone.