What happened to tolerance? To embracing difference? To the Golden rule? To Love?
When did we become such a me first, I’m the best, we’re the greatest, supersize it, it’s huuuuuge culture? When did bigger and louder become synonymous with the best? And when did being the best go from being the result of hard work to the result of knocking those around us down? Demeaning them in an effort to build ourselves up? Hating more and Loving less? Somewhere we have lost our way, somewhere we’ve become driven by fear instead of hope, hate instead of love.
Perhaps it’s where we find our culture today that leads to the “make the disciples great for eternity” tone of James and John in this morning’s reading from Mark’s gospel, so jarring.
But I really don’t think James and John were that narcissistic…I think they were that unmoored and terrified by what was happening in their world.
In the previous few verses of Mark’s gospel, verses that lead us to our excerpt for this morning, Jesus predicts his death three times.
The boys are freaked out and who can blame them? It’s a lot easier to be full of bravado when standing in the broad shadow of Jesus, it’s a whole other thing to think about carrying on without him physically leading the way.
They’re scared. Their world is being turned upside down and inside out. And they’re desperate to make sure they’ll have a place at the table when it all comes crashing down. They’re afraid. And fear makes us do all sorts of unattractive and destructive things.
I think this is why all this “Make us Great Again, I am right and anyone who says I’m wrong is lying, fake, weak, and worthless” rhetoric has gained a foothold in our world today. We’re scared.
And when scared we become insular and reactive. When we become insular and reactive we jockey for some position of false security--- James and John looking for power in paradise ---and in our own time letting the slogans of a separatist, dog eat dog, the only way to get ahead is to knock others down movement become the narrative of our country.
Today’s American narrative is the same narrative as the Roman Empire in the time of Jesus. The Haves will do anything to ensure that the Have Nots remain separated, shut down, and silenced.
Why? Because change is terrifying. The unfamiliar is threatening, the new is not to be trusted.
But, and this is what Jesus is teaching us, it’s what Mary Oliver is reflecting in her poetry, it’s what I’m sure Matt preaches week in and week out.
The way of Christ, the way of faith is a way of Love.
Which is great. But, Love isn’t exactly predictable. Love has a tendency to cause us to do things we never thought we could or would do. Love has a tendency to open our hearts to compassion and sensitivity unlike anything else in our lives. Love makes us the best version of ourselves. But love is also wild and unpredictable and untamed. Love, when set loose, turns our world upside down and inside out.
To trust such an out of control, unpredictable emotion goes against our human desire for control.
But, when we do trust it we become eneveloped in the perfection of God.
You see, when we walk the way of love, when we follow the teachings of Jesus we will defeat the powers of darkness and evil in our world.
What Jesus is challenging James and John with what Jesus is challenging us with today is this:
Can we move forward in Love?
Many of us want to counteract the hateful narrative of our national discourse by screaming louder, by marching farther, by beating the ruling class at their own game.
When will we learn?
Shouting louder never works.
An eye for an eye never works.
Violence never works.
Intolerance never works.
There is only one thing that works.
Love.
The Bishop of West Louisiana, Jake Owensby says it this way:
“We struggle to get our hearts around this way of living. That’s not surprising. Jesus’s first disciples didn’t exactly catch on all at once, either. James and John wanted to be at the head of the table. You know, higher up than everybody else. Jesus had good news for them and bad news for them. Nobody would have a higher place at the table than them. But, then again, their place would be no higher than anybody else’s. The table, as it turns out, is round.”
Often when someone came to Jesus to ask a tough question or to plead for his help, we’re told that Jesus looked at them and loved them. He didn’t yell at them or dismiss them or belittle them or even lecture them. He loved them.
Right now in our world we have hate and fear and intolerance staring us in the eye. We can battle back with our own version of hate and fear and intolerance or we can learn from our teacher and stare back with Love.
God’s love, Jesus’ love restores, renews, and remakes this violent, prejudiced and greedy world into a place of peace and equity and safety for all.
And it does it through us: one kind, peaceful, respectful and above all else, loving act at a time.
May we go out into the world staring down the fear and intolerance looking back at us with the love of our Creator as given to us through our teacher of all things, Jesus Christ. For when we do that, this world, our world, will become like the rose in Mary Oliver’s poem never knowing and therefore never being influenced by fear. Amen.
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