I'd Rather Be the Boss

Mark 10:35-45,  Isaiah 53:4-12

If you ever feel like you are tripping up on your journey following Christ, you may be encouraged by the very human goof ups of Jesus disciples. Jesus has just told them,

See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.

The disciples already had been arguing about who was the greatest among them.   James and John who just heard these words, take it a step further and go directly to Jesus,  Instead of admitting Jesus’ anticipation of suffering and death, they imagine a triumphant, regal scene and ask to sit in positions of honor and power at King Jesus’ right and left. They show how unfailingly human they are.  How little they have learned.

Jesus replies, doubtless with considerable exasperation, that James and John don’t have a clue what they are asking for. Can they drink the same “cup” of suffering and death he must drink, a cup that he himself will later ask to be removed if possible? (14:36) Can they be baptized with the same baptism Jesus will endure?

The other disciples, hearing about this request, get angry at James and John. Jesus has to call them together and tries to describe how the dominion of God is different. Jesus tries to redefine what it means to be first and great. To be first requires being last and servant of all.  To be great is to be a servant. That certainly challenges normal expectations.  Self-ambition is rewarded in our society.

Jesus pushes matters to an extreme, however, when he goes on to say that to be first is to be a slave of all. Slaves were at the bottom of the social ladder, and there was no honor or reward in working for others as a slave. Jesus explains what this means for himself.  He came to serve.  But more than this, he also came “to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Paul describes Jesus as one who takes the form of a slave as we hear in Philippians 2.6-8.

6 who, though he existed in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God
    as something to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
8     he humbled himself
    and became obedient to the point of death—
    even death on a cross.

With this sacrifice, Jesus provides the love, the gift, that frees us. This passion, this cross, this baptism then sheds light on what it means to be the kind of leader who serves not by lording but by submitting. Who of us wants to do that?  Believing in Jesus is one thing.  Picking up his cross, being a servant is another.  Takes a lot of trust doesn’t it? Almost impossible to have.  We cannot do what Jesus wants us to do without him.  It’s time to let go of the ego happy role of being the boss and let Jesus be that for you.

God calls us to life in all its fullness, following the path set out by Jesus.  As we attempt to understand how we can follow Jesus’ call to be a servant leader, we also need to open our eyes to the way God ministers to us in our daily lives.  Let us resolve to reach out and support one another, to stand firm in what is true, and to lead with vision and compassion, as faithful followers of Jesus, submitting to Jesus and setting our egos aside.  Amen