Sermon for September 20th

“He has more waffles than I do! She has more djeuce! Every morning it is the same routine. If one of my children gets pop tarts, the other must have them as well. If I tell one child I love them and the other one overhears, if I don’t immediately profess my love to THAT one as well drama ensues. That’s because my children are siblings and, since I’m an only child, I didn’t realize how “fair” everything had to be. My wife still remembers that her sister had her ears pierced a couple days BEFORE her ninth birthday—so unfair!—cause my wife had to wait until her ACTUAL 9th birthday. Our lives are ruled by our understanding of fairness.

This last week, at the MTV awards, the rap star Kanye West interrupted another musician, Taylor Swift, because he believed that Beyonce Knowles should have received the best video of the year award (no offense to Taylor of course, he said). But Beyonce’s video was the best video ever and she deserved it more than anyone else, he pointed out in the middle of Taylor’s acceptance speech! As he said later, he was just “keeping it real.” Just being fair? No. That’s NOT about being fair. To be fair, every single musician should have received the “Best Video Award”. Nah, this was a question of who’s video was the GREATEST!

I’m a Nebraska Cornhuskers football fan. I bleed red (which of course is ironic since everybody bleeds red) but what I mean is that when it comes to football I think that Nebraska is the greatest team . . . even if they re not. And they’re not. They’ve won their share of national championships, three in four years around the turn of the century (Go Big Red!), but, lately, they have been less than great. Yesterday, they played Virginia Tech, a top-15 team which has a much better team than Nebraska team and, surprise, surprise, Nebraska lost. Now, to be fair, they should’ve lost but . . . NO! That’s not fair! It’s not about fairness! Playing football isn’t about everybody getting a participation medal! I don’t really care that Nebraska isn’t as good of a team as Virginia Tech! They should’ve found a way to win anyway so that MY team could have won! I want my team to be the greatest! Our lives are ruled by an understanding of fairness, but we desire, in our hearts, to be the greatest. To be the best. To have the best team. To have the best schools. To have the best church. To have the most beautiful wife. To have the smartest kids. To be right. To be the best. Losers want things to be fair, winners just want to win, right?

In today’s story involving Jesus, the 12 disciples were arguing about “who was the greatest.” Were they saying that they were better than Jesus? No. This text isn’t about that. They know who the coach of their team is, but now that they know who’s in charge, they want to know who’s second in command, right? Of course, they aren’t God, everybody knows that, but who’s the best disciple? We can only speculate about how they would make this decision: who had done the most healings, who had cast out the most demons, who sat next to Jesus the most, who gets called the Devil the least often in conversations, that kind of thing? Because, of course, whoever is the greatest is probably the disciple most assured of going to heaven, right? Whichever disciple is the greatest is going to be the leader if Jesus ever dies, right? Whoever is the greatest is going to get the best seat at the parties involving all those prostitutes and tax collectors, he’s going to get to ride on the donkeys when they enter into towns, he’s going to be able to tell others what to do instead of being told.

You can understand this point of view, can’t you? I mean, it’s only fair, isn’t it, that someone is chosen to be the greatest? The disciples have given up their lives to follow this man, Jesus, and they are looking for a little payback. A little appreciation thank you very much! And who better to tell them who is the greatest, than the greatest of them all, Jesus himself?

Which of you is the greatest here in Saint Peters? How would you make that decision? I mean, I work here a lot. Shouldn’t I be the greatest? Some of you pray more than I do, I bet. Should you be the greatest? What about the people who have been here the longest? Who’ve put in the most time. What about the people who grew up Lutheran? What about the people who give the most money? Are they the greatest? What about the people who come to church every Sunday rain or shine? Or the people who are always willing to help out every single time there is a need?

Which one of you is the greatest here at Saint Peters? Don’t pretend that you don’t care, we all care! Or, at least if we can’t be the greatest, we don’t want to be the worst, right? You might not go to church ALL the time, but at least you go more than SOME people (you know who, right?) You may not be able to tithe, but you give all that you can! Maybe you are too busy to help out, but at least you aren’t as hypocritical as SOME people (you know who, right?)

Which church in Cornwall is the greatest? Don’t pretend that you don’t care, we all care! Who does the most community work? Who has the most kids in their church? Who teaches the right things and who teaches the wrong things? Who’s got money problems and who doesn’t? Where do the IMPORTANT people in town go and where do the losers go? We may not be able to be the best church in town, but at least we aren’t like SOME churches (you know what kind, right?) Who’s the greatest? Which church is the greatest? Which denomination is the greatest? We ALL care a lot more than we wish we did! Our lives are ruled by fairness, but our hearts are ruled by being the greatest . . . or, at least, we just don’t want to be the worst.

Jesus sat down, called the twelve disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” No, it’s not fair, it’s the complete opposite of fair. And what’s the worst part about this? It’s not just a one time deal, it’s not just about giving up your spot in the grocery line, this is about how you live your life in its entirety. Are you after greatness in your own eyes? Are you after greatness in the eyes of others? Jesus says, you have no idea about what greatness really looks like. You’ve got it all wrong. You’re backward. You think you are great, but you are not. You think you can see, but you are blind. You think that you are well, but you are sick. You are chasing after what you think is righteousness, when it is just a pile of junk.

Jesus took a little child and put it among his disciples; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” In ancient culture, children didn’t have any status in society. They were viewed as little more than property. To welcome a child into the community of faith was to give them status that they did not have in the society at large. Throughout the gospel stories, while the disciples let in lepers and the sick and those infested with demons to see Jesus, but they sent children away. I tried to come up with an example, of something, of someone who was not great, but those who are truly not great are forgotten—lost in the eyes of history. Jesus’ call may mean that we are unknown to the world, but known to God. We may be unloved by the world, but loved by God. .

Was it fair that God should become a human being? No, God didn’t need that. But he gave up his greatness to become the least among us, being born in a cattle trough. Was it fair that God should suffer and die on a heinous tool of torture because he forgave sinners? No, God was worth much more than that. But he gave up his life so that you might have eternal life. And was it fair that Jesus Christ, abandoned by those closest to him, betrayed by those who loved him, would then return, alive, and forgive those who had lost faith in him? Is it fair that even though we run from him, and refuse to listen, and treat each other like trash, that he should forgive our sins and love us unconditionally. No, it is not fair.

Jesus decided that he would not be served, but that he would serve. He cares more about loving than to be loved. While we spend our lives grabbing and clawing our way to greatness. While we argue about what is fair and what is not. Jesus Christ has come to give you faith, so that you might be saved. Not because you are great, but because you are not that great. Not because you are well, but because you are sick. Not because you are righteous, but because you are unrighteous. You should’ve died a sinner. But now, you are God’s chosen one and He has given up everything for you. We think that we are great because we have what everybody else has, or because we have the best awards or because our team wins. Jesus doesn’t love you because you are great. His love makes you great in God’s eyes. Amen.