Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
A colleague once told me about a situation he encountered at his church. To protect the identities of all involved, I have changed the details of the story.
Joseph had a Pilates class he was leading, and needed a new place to do it. His wife, Martha, was a prominent leader in the church, and she used that position to push out the church’s weekly Bible Study so the Pilates class could use their space. When the leaders of this Bible Study confronted Martha about this, she simply told them that this wasn’t a battle they wanted to fight.
My colleague was upset and deeply troubled by this development. Unfortunately too many clergy have a story, or two, like this that they could share.
The problem here is the sense of entitlement. The desire is to be in a position of power, to seem important. Yet to truly be important, we must also be willing to step up.
This is the warning Jesus provides in Matthew today. There we see the mother of the sons of Zebedee ask Jesus that her sons receive a special place at His side in the kingdom. It’s worth noting that in Mark, it is the sons themselves that ask for this, not their mother. It’s also worth noting that the Disciples are already set to have a place at the table in God’s Heavenly Kingdom, so to speak.
But their mother wants more for her sons. She wants them to sit at Jesus’ sides, the highest places of honor.
Jesus tells her, and the sons of Zebedee they do not know what they are asking. Service to the Lord isn’t just about honor. As Jesus tells the Disciples, who are angry at the sons of Zebedee for even asking (or at least having their mother ask), leadership in the house of God isn’t about status. It’s about service. It’s about being servant to all, not ruler. It’s a hard life we live as Christians. We cannot have the honor without hardship. We cannot sit in the coveted seat without first stepping up and do the work for our Lord.
If you see yourselves in the roles of the sons of Zebedee, their mother, or even Martha and Joseph, that is something to stop and think about. Even if you don’t see yourselves like them, one looking for the glory before serving, it’s not a bad idea to take time to stop, think, and make sure. If you’re looking for glory in the kingdom of God, you need to be a servant to all, as Jesus shows us. To get the glory, first you got to step up.