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Towards the end of my time in seminary, I remember being at a gathering of other Episcopalian seminarians, from traditionally Episcopal seminaries as well as other seminaries as well. One person sticks out in my memory, a young seminarian around my age who came from a seminary traditionally aligned with a different denomination than ours. As I was getting ready to finish my studies, she was just getting started. Now her name escapes me, so we’ll call her “Sue”. My recollection is that Sue was bright and very capable. I also remember her saying how much she wanted to be a bishop.
This was in stark contrast to how we viewed such things at my seminary. There if anyone said someone would make a good bishop, the response was always “Don’t say that!”
Part of this was from attending at a traditional Episcopal seminary and therefore being more intimately connected with the discernment process. Being perceived as seeking the episcopacy, that is becoming a bishop, could result in being viewed with suspicion for seeking ordination more for one’s own gain than the Kingdom of God’s.
The other reason, I would like to believe, is that we had a lot of examples of bishops around us. Our dean at the time was a retired bishop. Former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, whose passing we marked this Sunday, was a frequent visitor to our school, kindly providing spiritual direction and wisdom to those who sought him out. We even had a local bishop living within walking distance of the school.
With all these examples, we saw how hard being a bishop actually is. Jesus wouldn’t have responded with “You do not know what you are asking” to us, at least to many of us. We weren’t asking because we knew what such ministry would entail. We knew what the hardships would be and did not want it.
It’s tempting to be like Zebedee’s wife and seek great honor from God for ourselves or on those we love. However, as Jesus points out, seeking such honors means a great deal of sacrifice in our lives. Sometimes it means the same sacrifice Jesus made for us.
We would be good to remember Jesus’ warning here. We would be even better not to seek out any role for ourselves, but let God seek us out instead. As any leader in ministry, ordained or lay, can tell you is that the work of these roles, while rewarding in that they serve God, are at the same time extremely difficult. Many as I went through discernment warned me. Some even encouraged me to flee. I cannot say that I would not do the same.
Don’t seek to serve God in certain roles for the honor those positions convey. Serve God to serve God, and for no other reason than that.