Greatest and Least(est)
Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Series: Lectionary Category: Biblical Scripture: Mark 9:30–37
The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 22, 2024
Mark 9:30-37
“Greatest and Least(est)”
The new school year in our area has already been in session for a month – hard to believe. Recently, I listened to a podcast where one of the presenters talked about the school district where his children attended. The presenter went on to explain how the school superintendent, in all of his communications to parents and staff, would always end by signing his name together with the phrase, “Lead Learner.” That school superintendent understood that although he was the chief official for his school district, he was still very much a learner, just like all of his students. In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus does something similar, redefining what it means to be great. Having shared with his disciples that he will suffer, die and rise again (Mark 9:31), Jesus identifies himself as “Lead Servant,” if you will. Further, Jesus calls everyone who would follow him to understand what life in the kingdom of God looks like: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35b). Based on the Gospel lesson, today’s message is entitled “Greatest and Least(est).” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.
Full disclosure here: the title of this sermon is messing with English grammar. Greatest is a word. We know that. Think of the acronym GOAT: Greatest of All Time, often used in sports. We know that least is also a word, but leastest? You can decide for yourself if this works or not. Who knows? Maybe we’ve invent a new word here with “leastest.” The point is, how do we define what or who is greatest, and what or who is leastest? We know how the world around us defines greatest. You’re the best there is at something. You’re at the top of your game. You’re one of the movers and shakers. So what’s leastest? Remember the series on the Discovery channel, “Dirty Jobs,” with Mike Rowe? There were some incredibly nasty jobs that he covered in that series – stuff that we don’t even want to think about. That would certainly qualify as “leastest” in my book. This gives us insight in what Jesus came to do. Jesus entered into our world to do the leastest, ultimate dirty job of cleaning up the mess of our sin. Jesus didn’t remain on the sidelines, unwilling to get his hands dirty. No, Jesus plunged head-first into our messed-up world and our broken lives. Jesus came to live as God’s Lead Servant, who came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus came to give his very life to cleanse and purify us; to make us new again, not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Here in Mark’s Gospel, not once, not twice, but three times Jesus told his disciples what was going to happen to him: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise” (Mark 9:31). This is now the second of those three Passion predictions that Jesus made (see also Mark 8:31 and 10:33-34). But each time Jesus told his disciples about what was going to happen, it was met with confusion, even disbelief. There is this recurring 3-part cycle of prediction, confusion, and clarification. We see that confusion here in verse 32: “But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.” Okay, we get why they didn’t understand. We wouldn’t have understood, either, had we been there. But why were they afraid to ask Jesus about this? I think they were afraid to ask for the same reason we’re often afraid to ask when we don’t understand something. We’re afraid of looking dumb. When we’re in a situation like this, we have a couple of choices. We can “fake it till you make it,” and sort of bluff our way through, acting as though we do understand. Or we can come clean and just admit that we don’t get it. What will we do?
I don’t know what you would do, but the disciples opted for the first choice. As a result, they got caught up in a pointless discussion about who was the greatest among them. Really? It’s very telling that they wouldn’t answer Jesus’ question: “What were you discussing on the way?” (Mark 9:34). They kept silent; a very awkward moment for sure. Clarification from Jesus was needed here in order to hit the reset button for his disciples, then and now. They desperately needed help to distinguish between greatest and leastest in the kingdom of God. As Lead Servant, Jesus told his disciples what life in the kingdom of God was all about: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). This is what life in Jesus’ upside-down kingdom looks like. It is counter-intuitive to what we would expect. It is the complete opposite of everything we know about life in this world. But Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). When all the kingdoms of this world have fallen and passed away, the kingdom of Christ our King remains for time and eternity. And so let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who became the leastest for us. The prophecy of Jeremiah in today’s Old Testament lesson (Jeremiah 11:18-20) finds its fulfillment in Jesus: “But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter.”
“And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me’” (Mark 9:36-37). In putting a child into the midst of the disciples, Jesus made clear that his upside-down kingdom is not about power, prestige, and preeminence. Jesus’ kingdom is about humble and loving service. As Jesus has given himself for us, so we are to give ourselves to one another. It should be noted that in the Aramaic language which Jesus and the disciples would have spoken, “the same Aramaic word means ‘child’ and ‘servant’… The disciples are to identify themselves with children and become ‘the little ones’ who have no basis for pretensions to greatness” (The Gospel According to Mark, by William F. Lane. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974; p. 340). And so it is to be with us today; with the redeemed people of God in Christ. As today’s Epistle lesson begins: “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18). God make it so for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
other sermons in this series
Nov 3
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Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Scripture: Revelation 7:9–17 Series: Lectionary
Oct 27
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Reformation Rededication Challenge
Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Scripture: Romans 3:19–28 Series: Lectionary