"It's All about Me!"
Sermon Presented April 1, 2007
Luke 22:14-27
Palm/Passion Sunday
The Person of the Year is traditionally named by Time magazine at the end of each year. Last year's recipient was the reader! Instead of placing the picture of an individual on the cover, there was a piece of shiny reflective material that served as a mirror, so that the reader would see his or her own reflection.
An editor of the magazine stated that the zone of experience that people care most passionately about today is the intimate zone of family life. They primarily care about themselves, writing about their lives on MySpace or showing their pictures on YouTube. A focus on self and a diminishing concern for others is visible in people of all generations and economic situations.
Today, I'm cutting a shorter Gospel text from the 114 verses in the lectionary. My text is at the beginning of that lengthy reading and describes Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples, including the discussion of who will be greatest in Jesus' kingdom. Luke 22:14-27. (Read text.)
Thursday, I stopped working on this sermon long enough to get my mail. The first thing I saw was a magazine titled Service. That seemed providential to me, because service is what I wanted the sermon to emphasize. On the cover of that publication by Church World Service, is a picture of a refugee family, and the lead article about refugees begins with Matthew's quote from Jesus: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." There are articles about rebuilding homes and lives in Louisiana; the Crop Walk, specific aid needed in Afghanistan and Darfur, and water needs in an African village. The magazine presents opportunities for service to people in need.
Jesus shares his final meal with his disciples, interspersing that sacred time with teaching. As he explains what is most important to him in view of his approaching death and tells them that one of them will betray him, the disciples begin to argue among themselves about who will be the greatest. The text says that they have a "dispute". The Greek word translated "dispute" means "love of strife", and that term describes people we know who just ache for a fight. I don't know whether stress over the tenseness of the situation or a power struggle among the disciples precipitates the dispute, but they start arguing about who will be the greatest in Christ's kingdom. They still believe that Jesus will set up an earthly kingdom and they will be a part of the new ruling class! Jesus uses this as a teaching moment and not a time for judgment. He tells them that in God's kingdom, the greatest, must become like the youngest! The leader must become like one who serves. He infers that discussions of greatness are inappropriate among his followers - that serving others is what brings greatness to a person in God's kingdom.
Everyone knows that people who are being served a meal have a greater status than the one who serves them. However, Jesus tells his followers that he is present as one who serves. He has already washed their feet - a servant's role - and served them the wine and bread. By his example, he shows them how they should relate to others and he follows up his actions with words of explanation. He says they aren't called to be great, but are called to be servants - to be more concerned with serving than being served.
Thursday night I heard Erin Gruwell, the subject of the movie Freedom Writers, speak of her service to inner city youth in Long Beach as a high school teacher. She said that immediately before her divorce her husband told another in her presence that she was "just a teacher" and in so doing, denigrated her calling. When my husband was on the witness stand at the time of our divorce, he told the judge that I could make more money working at McDonalds than I could as pastor of the church in Marysville. A place of service isn't always recognized by the world as valuable because it doesn't command top wages. Jesus said that his followers are to lead by being servants. He wants them to be more concerned with serving others than with having power over others as the Roman leaders have over their Jewish subjects.
The disciples were much like you and me - they were impressed by the world's example - by the power of those who ruled. In times of crisis and stress, power is always preferred over service - even among those who profess to be followers of Jesus. We don't want to be perceived as losers - or as lowly servants!
We have a spiritual crisis when we believe that the status we seek for ourselves is identical to what Christ intends for us. When we seek our advantage at the expense of others, when we pride ourselves in benevolences that meet certain needs, but do nothing to change the world that denies people justice and freedom, when we assume that our rightful place in the kingdom is among the strongest - not the weakest, then we shouldn't be surprised to find our aspirations turned upside down. Holy Week is a time to remember that Jesus calls us to the high calling of being the servants of others and not their masters!
In the close camaraderie of an intimate meal, Jesus speaks of his betrayal by one of them, and they argue over "Who is greatest?" They still don't get it! The goal for greatness is a misplaced goal. Jesus tells them to look to the one who serves for greatness rather than to those with political and military power. Servant leaders place others first not themselves. Humility and service are closely connected.
Brian Williams, NBC news anchor, wrote in the December 25/January 1st issue of Time magazine that: "While the mainstream media were having lunch, members of the audience made other plans. They scattered and are still on the move, part of a massive migration. The dynamic driving it? It's all about you. Me. And all the various forms of the First Person singular.
"Americans have decided the most important person in their lives is them, and our culture is not built upon that idea. The larger dynamic at work is the celebration of self. The implied message is that if it has to do with you, or your life, it's important enough to tell someone…. The assumption is that an audience of strangers will be somehow interested… The danger of this just might be that we miss the next great book or the next great ideas or that we fail to meet the next great challenge… because we are too busy celebrating ourselves and listening to the same tune we already know by heart" (p. 78).
It's human nature to want recognition, whether a public word of appreciation or a place in front of people. A week ago yesterday, when Jamie Washam, pastor of Underwood, could not read the Gospel text at an ecumenical service sponsored by Catholics for Peace and Justice because she had a funeral for one of her parishioners, I was asked to take her place. Let me tell you, I was pretty puffed up when I followed Timothy Dolan in the procession and he stood when I read the Scripture. I need to constantly remind myself that being in front of people should be a place of humility and service rather than one of pride. Ministers are just as guilty as the laity at forgetting that our calling is one of service to others rather than one of power.
When a church is only concerned with its status in the community or the needs of its parishioners and fails to emphasize service to others, it fails to follow Jesus' servant model. When we don't serve the hungry at St. Ben's, the students at University Christian Ministries, the children and adults at Milwaukee Christian Center, the refugees coming to Milwaukee, those seeking spiritual and intellectual guidance, the lonely who live next door or sit next to us in worship Sunday after Sunday, or the elderly served by Shoreline Interfaith, we don't follow Christ's teaching.
This morning we will vote on providing three month's rent for a young refugee family from Burma. The parents have been in a refugee camp in Thailand for 10 years and they have a new baby. In that crowded refugee camp, sanitation, education and hope are almost non-existent. We can represent hope for them as we reach out to serve them.
There are many motives for service. Some people must do community service as a part of their parole or probation; others need it for graduation. Some use service as a political tool or a photo op. Jesus says that his followers are to serve others as he served - as a lifestyle. I can promise you that when you put your focus on others, you will be happier and your life will be more meaningful. The good life isn't just about us! It's about serving others!
