St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
October 17, 2021
Year B, Proper 24: The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
Job 38:1-7, 34-41
Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45
A Servant Church
As most of you know only too well, the search for your next rector was a long and complex process.
You began by taking a good, long look at yourselves – glancing back at the past, taking stock of who and where you are now, and, most important of all, daring to hope and dream about the future of this great old church.
You gathered all of that and more into a parish profile – which was really well done, by the way.
And then you sent that profile out into the world, praying for God’s will to be done.
And all of us priests who were drawn to St. Thomas’ had our work to do, too. Aside from updating resumes and gathering references, there was a series of questions that we were required to answer.
One of those questions was about management style. I remember pondering that for a while, feeling a little uncomfortable with the business sound of that word “management.” In the end, I decided to write about management but also expanded it a bit to offer some thoughts about leadership.
Anyway, I guess that was OK, because, well, here I am.
I thought about that management/leadership question when I first began reflecting on today’s gospel lesson.
For the past few Sundays we’ve been making our way through the Gospel of Mark.
Last week we heard the poignant and challenging story of the rich man who was unable to part with his possessions and follow Jesus.
Right after that, Jesus offers the third prediction of his suffering, death, and resurrection. We don’t get to hear that third prediction in church. I guess the thinking is that hearing it twice should be enough for us to get the message. That definitely wasn’t true for the first disciples, and I’m not so sure about us, either.
Anyway, that’s the context for the exchange that Jesus has with the apostle brothers James and John, and with the other ten.
Jesus has once again predicted his suffering, death, and resurrection, and James and John use this somber moment to say to Jesus:
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
Welcome, everybody to episode 614 of our long-running series, “The Disciples Just Don’t Get It.”
Now, I don’t want to pick on the disciples, but can you imagine speaking that way to Jesus?
“We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
Fortunately for the brothers – and for all of us – Jesus is infinitely patient.
Instead of telling them to get out of his sight, Jesus replies, “What is it you want me to do for you?”
And then, here comes the kicker – it turns out that James and John want the best seats in the kingdom – at Jesus’ right hand and his left hand.
Jesus knows that they don’t know what they’re asking, but he plays along, asking, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink…?”
They respond with almost comical confidence, “We are able.”
Right. Sure.
We know that James and John and all of the others will soon fail Jesus, abandoning him in his moments of despair and suffering – not at all able to drink the cup of suffering, at least not yet.
Even now, the other disciples don’t distinguish themselves, either.
They get angry at the brothers, presumably because they want the best seats in the kingdom for themselves!
But, patient Jesus doesn’t ditch these guys. Instead, in his usual way, Jesus uses this opportunity to teach – to teach about what leadership looks like in the kingdom. He says:
“Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
Jesus has one and only leadership style.
Jesus calls his disciples – calls all of us – to be servant leaders.
And, Jesus teaches us servant leadership not only in words, but through his actions.
Think of the Last Supper, when Jesus gets up from the table and washes the disciples’ feet. It was a shocking demonstration of servant leadership: the Lord of all stooping to such lowly service.
And most of all, think of Jesus’ suffering and death – the hard future that Jesus had been predicting. Jesus the suffering servant leader, giving away his very life so that his disciples – so that all of us – could have new life, forever.
In his words, and, more importantly, through his actions, Jesus teaches us that true greatness comes not from wealth or power, not from having the best seats in the house, but through service.
James and John - and really, in our own ways, all of us, are called to be servant leaders.
In addition to answering questions, gathering references, and speaking with the Search Committee, I also had a Zoom conversation with Bishop Sutton.
And, I’ve told some of you that while we were talking he asked me, if I was called as your rector, what I would do during my first 100 days.
I was a little surprised by the question, but I told the bishop I would try to not talk too much. Instead, I wanted to mostly listen and learn – to better get to know you and this place – and to provide the space for you to get to know me.
Well, I suppose it depends on what we count as my start date, but we are definitely at or near the 100-day mark.
One parishioner told me that she was a little nervous what I would say once the 100 days were up!
There’s nothing to fear, but I do want to use this opportunity to offer a broad vision for our future together.
My expectation is that we will continue to be good stewards of all that has been entrusted to us: our beautiful old buildings, the cemetery, the preschool, and the vast grounds beyond.
My expectation is that we will continue to care for one another, to reach out to parishioners we know are having a hard time, to reassure each other that being part of this community means you are never really alone.
And, my hope is that we will build on the long and beautiful history of this church’s service to people beyond our doors.
My hope is that we can move what we call “outreach” from the margins of the church – led by a relatively few dedicated and seemingly tireless people – to the very heart of our life together.
Maybe someday we could even drop the term “outreach” because serving others “out there” is simply who we are and what we do as a church.
My dream is that we each follow Jesus’ example individually, and also as a community – so that St. Thomas’ will come to be known as a servant church.
So, after 100 or so days together, I’m convinced that this is our vocation: to use our many gifts, not for our own glory, and certainly not for the best seats in the kingdom.
Our vocation is to “wash some feet” – to use our many gifts to serve people who will never be able to repay us or maybe even thank us, people we should thank for the privilege of serving them.
So, together, with God’s help, let’s strive to be servant leaders.
Let’s be a servant church.
Amen.
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