"True Ambition"

9.30am Sunday 21 June 2009

Readings: Mark 9:30-37; James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a TNIV

The name of Susan Boyle, a 47 year old woman from Glasgow in Scotland, hit the international spotlight recently in the "Britain has Talent" programme. Before she went on stage she shared with the people off-stage her life's ambition. Listen as she relates it herself, and watch what transpires.

Video Clip

"I've always wanted to perform in front of a large audience. I'm going to make that audience rock!" She did that, and it was inspirational.

I am not sure what Mike Whitaker's ambition was when he put this advertisement on 'Trade Me' for his 1985 Kelvinator washing machine that sounds like the jet engines of a jumbo jet. I do not know if he had intended to raise money for charity when he began, but he has certainly been successful in doing so with a closing bid of $5160. On 'Close up' his interview was entitled, "Beastly Washing Machine becomes Trade Me hit."

Ambition can be both good and bad, depending on the motivation behind it. A fundamental human assumption is that greatness is measured by power in the form of physical strength and prowess, military might, money, fame, or anything else that enables us to gratify our own desires and impose our will on others. We call the achievement of one or another of these goals "success." If one's ambition is like that of Jesus' disciples, who argued amongst themselves as to who was the greatest, then surely it is inappropriate. God uses completely different criteria for determining greatness to that of the world. Jesus shows this as he further instructs his disciples in the right kind of ambition for greatness in God's kingdom. It is a lesson that the disciples were slow to learn, and he had to make similar statements to what he says here when the disciples learn that James and John tried to steal a march on them by requesting the places of honour in his glory. These men may have been slow learners, but at least we can be grateful that they were honest enough to own up to their desires for greatness, and record them for our learning in the Gospels; and also for what Jesus taught them on both these occasions. Jesus is laying down foundation principles that have universal application for all who follow him, ourselves included.

On Mother's Day we looked at the incident when James and John came with their mother to Jesus as it was an appropriate passage from Mark for that service. Today we will look at this earlier incident that took place as Jesus and his disciples begin to make their way south towards Jerusalem. Marks tells us that they "passed through Galilee" and that "Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were because he was teaching his disciples." With his impending death now only weeks away, Jesus knows there is little time left, and what time he has needs to be invested in the small group he has gathered around him who would continue his mission after he was gone. The earthly life of Jesus is rich with examples of how we are to live our lives here on earth. His values and priorities provide a model for us to follow. This story about a university professor affirms what Jesus was doing with his disciples.

This professor wanted to teach his students an important lesson about life in general. He took a jar and some large stones and put the stones in the jar until it was full. He then asked his students if the jar was full, to which he received the reply that it was. He then took some gravel and poured that into the jar and the smaller bits of rock found their way into all the spaces between the larger stones until they too reached the top of the jar. He again asked his students if the jar was full. There was more hesitation this time having been caught out once, and a more cautious, "maybe," came the reply. He then reached for some sand and poured that into the jar. The sand filtered down through the gravel and the rocks filling up every empty cavity of space in the jar until that also reached the top. Again the professor asked, Is the jar full? Not wanting to be shown up once more, there was silence. The professor then took a jug of water and proceeded to pour it into the jar until it overflowed. Now the jar is full, he said. He then went on to make his point. If I had put the sand in first there would have been no room for either the gravel or the stones. If I had put the gravel in first there would have been no room for the stones either. The bigger items had to go in first, otherwise they would have been left out. The lesson you learn from this is that there are many things that vie for your energy, time and attention in life, and they can be divided into four categories - the urgent and important; the urgent and unimportant; the non-urgent and important; and the non-urgent and unimportant. What tends to happen in the busyness of life is that the first two claim most of your attention; the first rightly so because these things must be attended to and quickly, but the second, the urgent and non-important, because of failing to discern the difference between these pressing non-urgent matters and the really important things that, while they may not be urgent, do require quality time and attention. The area that we most fall down on in the non-urgent and important matters. These are things that do not require your immediate attention, but if neglected impoverish your life immensely. For ministers it is putting time into reading outside what one has to do for sermon preparation.

There is a saying that goes like this: "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." This is sound advice and something that Jesus demonstrates here in Mark 9. Now was not the time to teach the crowds. Jesus had been doing this for most of the time since his baptism and had travelled far and wide in the region surrounding the Sea of Galilee proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Now that the end was near the main thing was for his disciples to be adequately prepared for what lay ahead and for what would be required of them. This was why "Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were..." This time was for his disciples and nothing would divert him from this priority. It was important for him to reiterate to his disciples, as he had done so after Peter confessed him to be the Messiah, that arrest and death awaited him in Jerusalem, and that he would rise after three days. On this occasion he adds that he would be "delivered over to human hands," indicating that Jesus knew he would be betrayed. Nothing ever took Jesus by surprise, and maybe in indicating that he knew of this even at this early stage, he was making a last appeal to the one in whose heart was forming the idea of betrayal.

In the response of the disciples we see incomprehension and fear. According to their understanding and what they believed the Messiah would accomplish it was beyond the realms of possibility that he should die, and even more so that one of their own group would initiate it. Note that Jesus' words bring no rebuke from Peter this time. He knows better now than to contradict what his master says. But at the same time he and the others are afraid to broach the matter with him.

That they did not understand the implications of what Jesus said is obvious from the argument they had amongst themselves as they followed Jesus to Capernaum. Maybe they did not want to face the unpleasant realities of what was staring Jesus in the face, and so they follow Jesus engaged in their own petty debate, arguing about their pecking order. In ancient times no pupil would dare walk abreast of their teacher. Nor would the narrow paths allow it. They were probably strung out in a long line, and their argument went up and down the line as they walked. Their subject of debate clearly shows that they were not 'on the same page' as Jesus. They were not 'reading from the same script.' They were thinking of grandeur and glory and were jockeying for the position of honour beside their Messiah. It would seem as we read the Gospels that arguments were common with the disciples. Earlier they had argued over who forgot the loaves.[1] They argued with the teachers of the law when they failed to drive the spirit out of the boy, which we looked at last Sunday.[2] In the next passage they take issue with someone who was driving out demons, but was not one of their group.[3] They express indignation to one another about the woman who wastefully breaks a jar of expensive perfume and pours it on Jesus' head.[4] A competitive spirit even taints their last meal with Jesus as Peter boasts that he will outdo all the others in remaining faithful to Jesus.[5] Here in Mark 9 it is amazing that Jesus tackles the issue with them so kindly. When he gives them the opportunity to voice what they were discussing, it is clearly a matter of embarrassment to them. One can almost imagine a few red faces. They are like a group of naughty schoolboys who have been caught misbehaving by their teacher. Jesus of course was well aware of what they had been talking about, and now makes time to teach them about selfless service.

Mark says that Jesus sits down. This in itself is significant. It shows that he knows he needs to have a heart to heart talk with them. You could imagine the scene. If we put what he said to them in today's terminology, it might have gone like this: "Hey, sit down guys! Look, there's something you need to know. You've been talking about positions of honour, and who among you is the most important. You have dreams of grandeur and glory, but it's not going to be that way in my Father's kingdom, not at all. In fact, it is quite the opposite. The most important person among you must be willing to take the last place in the line, and he must be willing to serve the rest." And then to stress his point, and like a good teacher who reinforces what he says with a visual aid, he takes a child in his arms and says, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."[6]

Matthew's Gospel makes the meaning of Jesus' action even clearer: "He called a little child whom he placed among them. And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes a humble place - becoming like this child - is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.'"[7] Children are at the bottom of the authority structure of the society, and very much more so in the Greco-Roman world of Jesus' day. They were expected to do as they were told, to be looked after not looked up to, and were, and still are, all too easily overlooked and exploited by adult society. But for Jesus the child represents the one who matters in the kingdom of God. Anyone who wants to share the values of Jesus must welcome and respect the little one as much as (or maybe even more than?) the great. Jesus is making the point that ambition for position and power, prestige and prominence have no place in God's kingdom, and those who desire such condemn themselves to the lowest place. The object of their ambition should be not influence and authority, but usefulness. Peter obviously came to understand as, quoting from Proverbs, he later wrote, "God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble and oppressed;" and then goes on to counsel, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."[8] This has always been God's way. Humility is not a quality that many aspire to, especially in our self-assertive world, nor does it come naturally. Such an attitude is not even respected. In placing the child in their midst Jesus is saying that the true mark of greatness is humility, such as that which is seen in little children. This humility receives a child in the same way as we would welcome the King himself, treating that child as an ambassador of the King, not as we see him or her outwardly. Such humility requires a complete reversal of our scale of values. To desire spiritual greatness, then, is to desire the task of serving others, deliberately choosing the lowliest and most humble place. Jesus modelled this throughout his life. He came amongst us not to be served, but to serve.[9]

The disciples' behaviour in the passage serves as a negative example of what not to do. David Garland says, "A church full of prima donnas who want to control everything rarely ministers effectively to those inside or outside the fellowship. Everyone is too busy trying to direct others rather than trying to get the job done. This prickly pride spills over into quarrels with outsiders."[10] If Jesus asked us about our ambitions for greatness as he did the first disciples, would our answers be any less embarrassing? While Christians still jockey for prominence in local churches, there are also many who serve selflessly in the church. They will do anything asked of them, and will not be offended if they are not asked, or even if they are not given full recognition for their service.

Jesus uses the child as a symbol of those who are not valued, who are needy, who are socially invisible and easily ignored, who can be hurt and dominated without anyone knowing or protesting. They are the ones on the fringes of the church's life, the ones whom no one misses when they are absent from church, the ones who are tolerated but not embraced into the fellowship. While some may be tempted to write off these humble members as only marginal to the wellbeing of the church, they are not insignificant in Jesus' eyes. Just as there is no insignificant member in our families, so there is no insignificant member in God's family, the church. Jesus identifies with the child who is not powerful but vulnerable.[11] These are the ones to whom Jesus ministered and through whom God works.[12]

Do you have an ambition to be great? In this passage Jesus teaches us that true greatness is not measured by success but by service. This is what we are to aspire to.

Questions to ponder:

In what ways should we as followers of Jesus challenge the accepted ideas of our society about status and leadership?

How far are we ourselves conditioned by the assumptions the 'the first shall be first?'