Twenty-ninth Sunday   October 18, 2009

Isaiah 53:10-11  Psalm: 33   Hebrews 4:14-16   Mark 10:35-45

1. Go out to the whole world and proclaim the Kingdom of God is near at hand. As we celebrate World Mission Sunday, we are called to proclaim the Kingdom. However it is a Kingdom of a Suffering Servant.  Our reading from Isaiah is a part of the reading of Good Friday. It is the 4^th Suffering Servant song found in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. The controversy of this passage is the very first line:

“It was the Will of Lord to cause him pain” How could a God of mercy and compassion want pain and suffering. God did not choose this, however the Suffering Servant of God wanted to do the will of God. He stood for us sinners before God. The sufferings were innocent, vicarious and redemptive. The suffering Servant stood before God breaking the barrier of sin, he paid the price of sin, so that the barrier between God and us human beings would be broken. (one can imagine the joy and elation when the Berlin war was broken, one can see the pain and anguish as Israel puts us barriers in Palestine.)

2. The Letter to Hebrews speaks of Jesus being like us in all things but sin. There are two types of Christologies.

 The first is “the above” Christology. The Son of God comes from above, he is divine, he is God. He never looses sight of that. He is in control, even sin is not a challenge.

 The other is “from below” Christology. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. He was like us in all things but sin. He was hungry, he was tired, he wept, he was tempted. He gradually grew in wisdom and knowledge before God and God’s people. His understanding of his power and glory as the Son of God comes gradually and so he can say even as he is dying: “My God, my God why have you abandonned me?” He was tempted to Glory and honour and triumphalism. He could understand James and John’s desire to sit at the right and left in glory. And so he could tell his disciples, that if they wanted to be a part of him, and his idea of the Kingdom, they would have to carry their cross daily and follow him.

3. And so we read the Gospel, in the light of these two previous readings , but more in light of Isaiah which was placed here as an introduction to Jesus’ teaching on true glory.

The Gospel has two layers: the first is the initial question of James and John. Can we sit at your right and left in your Kingdom. To which, Jesus offers them the Cup of suffering. The Early church was interested in this dialogue, thinking that it was a prophecy of an early martyrdom for John. John was identified as the writer of the fourth Gospel, and he lived on into old age. Hence that question fizzled out.

4. Mark however, would bring up this question to refute a scandal in his time, which is also one in our own age.   The lives of the Pharisees and Scribes were ones of honour and glory. They wanted front places in the synagogues and places of honour at banquets.  James and John and the rest of the apostles fell into the same trap. They would argue as to who would be the greatest. Now in the Gospel today, they want to sit at the right and left hand of Jesus when he entered the Kingdom, even though they were vague as to what precisely that meant.

5. The point is: are we different in the Church today? Sometimes we limit the Church scandals to sexual abuse and pornographic material on computers. That is true, but as one psychologist has said, it is only a symptom of a greater scandal, namely the abuse of power.

Jesus would say, The rulers of this world lord it over the rest of the people, but that must not happen to you my apostles. If you want to be great, you must be servant of all. Unfortunately it has happened in our church: abuse of authority and power.  This abuse however does not seem as scandalous on the surface. We are more shocked and hurt at

• Seeing a cleric lying drunk in the street.
• Horrified at sexual acts
• Shocked at stealing and gambling.

And unfortunately, power, honour and glory is even fostered by our family and friends. How often have we heard, “you are a priest after all; your hands are anointed; you are close to God; say a prayer for me, your prayers are heard; show respect to the father; the tradition of “mano”; priest should not crack those jokes” 

This can easily go to one’s head.

This can easily be seen as one’s right.

This can easily be demanded as a compensation for “what we give up”.

How mistaken can we be, how easily can we loose the sight of “can you drink of the cup?”

6. On this World Mission Sunday, we have to remember the words of Thomas after the resurrection, “Unless I can see the mark of the nails in his hands, and the wound in his side.” The Kingdom of God is precisely preaching a suffering Christ before we can preach the Glory of the Resurrection. Too often we want to short circuit the Gospel message like Peter did near Caesarea Philippi. We must remember the admonition of Jesus, “God’s ways are different from ours.” The Kingdom of God must be preached by being servants and slaves of all.