SERMON, PROPER 20B, MARK 9:30-37

A person I spar with on a semi-regular basis once said something along these lines: I don't always agree with you, but at least you make me think. Today I hope to make you think.

The question I kept asking myself after reading through today's passages was this: how do we reconcile scripture with the world? Or can they even be reconciled?

The passage from Wisdom puts down the thoughts of "the ungodly." In short, the author is attacking the "eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die" mentality. It's more than just a "Party On" mentality though. It's a lack of concern for both creation and other people.

It's a lack of concern for creation when we say, "let us leave signs of enjoyment." And what signs would those be? How about clear cutting forests so we can enjoy the benefits of lumber? Pit mining in order to enjoy gold and other precious metals? Uncontrolled drilling so we can enjoy our freedom to drive? Hunting buffalo and whales to near extinction for the enjoyment of their furs and skins?

And when we deal with other people, letting our might be our law of right probably isn't the best policy. Just because we have the power to overwhelm our adversary doesn't make it right. Having the ability to bomb an enemy into obliviou doesn't mean we should. And that statement, my friends, has nothing to do with whether or not the Republicans or Democrats are in power, just to make that clear.

James picks up on this when he says, "where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness."

We want your gold, so the Spanish wiped out the Aztecs. We want your land, so the English and Americans decimated the native tribes. We want your oil, we want your labor, and we want .... we want .... we want. And we use force to get it. There's a reason God told us not to covet.

But James tells us that wisdom from God is pure and peaceable and gentle and willing to yield. It is pure from selfish motives. It is peaceable in that we should work together to benefit both parties. It is gentle, as in not resorting to "might is right." It is willing to yield, as in admitting that I might be wrong.

How did we get to the point where we can so easily disregard the environment and those different from us? More importantly, how did we get to the point where we justify bad behavior as our right to do as we please, or our right to self-defense by striking first?

Maybe it's always been that way. It's simply a part of our fallen nature to do as we please, to look out for Number One.

This looking out for Number One is overtly hinted at in both readings from Wisdom and James, and it is explicitly mentioned in Mark with the argument between the disciples. They wanted to know who would be the greatest. And again, they don't get it.

It's not about being great. It's not about establishing a powerful kingdom that makes your enemies fear you. it's about humility. It's about servanthood. It's about receiving a child in Jesus' name.

What exactly does it mean, to receive a child? For one thing, it makes you a servant. Those of us who have children know that, for a time, everything you do revolves around the child. We are there to feed it, change it, dress it and plan schedules around it. It is there to be served. And, for the most part, we do that willingly. We do it gently, peaceably and with mercy.

What would this world look like if we received everything and everyone like a child? We would treat the world with care, ensuring that it was healthy for later generations. We would try to be peaceable with other people, avoiding using our strength simply because we can. We would see ourselves as servants to others, ensuring that they were fed and clothed.

Because greatness as God sees it is vastly different from greatness as the world sees it. So maybe our goal shouldn't be to reconcile scripture to the world; maybe our goal should be to see the world and others as children and welcome them into our midst by serving them.