Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity
Hebrews 5: 1-10Mark 10: 35-45
At the end of September Gill and I went to Lincoln for the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Lincoln Theological College. It has now closed but it was where I trained for the ministry. The festivities were being held in Lincoln Cathedral with a Festive Choral Evensong followed by a reception in the Chapter House. All went swimmingly until we arrived at the cathedral to find it surrounded by cobbles. Cobbles and wheelchairs do not go happily together.
After the service we went to the Chapter House to find that many had beaten us there and the place was full of clergy. Gill dumped my in my wheelchair in the middle of a fairly crowded area whilst she went to get some drinks. In her absence a bishop saw me ‘dumped’ and came running across asking if he could get me some cake. How kind, so I said, ‘yes please’. He was the only person there who came to my aid.
Jesus was with his disciples, and James and John were asking for special favours over and above any granted to the other disciples. They wished to be seated next to Jesus, positions given to special guests when seated at a table for a feast. Jesus called them to him and explained how Gentiles may make great play on privilege and station in society, but among themselves that was not the case. Any who may be seeking positions of grandeur must firstly be prepared to cast such thoughts to one side. They must be prepared to ‘roll up their sleeves and dig in with everyone else’. In other words, be prepared to be with everyone else and serve others.
We ought not to think highly of ourselves. As mentioned in last week’s homily it is not up to us to judge ourselves. We may place ourselves on a high pedestal for all about us to look up to us in our splendour. We may bask in the comments that we may hear about how grand we are, about how we engineered such and such an happening or event. All very nice it may be but, when we enter the kingdom of heaven, things may be not quite as we expect. It is God who will judge us and look at what we have done.
Jesus is teaching that greatness comes at a price, and that price is service and humility. He taught, “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” Greatness comes through service.
One of the things that we are taught in Theological College is that the first order of the ministry, the diaconate, is that of Deacon. Once you are ordained as a deacon then you are a deacon for life. The position of deacon is that of service. They serve others and care for their needs. The word deacon means ‘servant’. And so Jesus is teaching that the disciples must be servants first and foremost. He, as the Son of Man, came to serve. He was not there to be served, casting orders here and there, but he came to roll up his sleeves and get in there serving others. His ultimate act of service was to give up his life that many could be saved.
That Sunday afternoon in Lincoln Cathedral a bishop, who is still a member of the diaconate, still a deacon, saw a need. He figuratively rolled up his sleeves, came running across, and offered to serve me by meeting my needs and getting me, not one but two pieces of cake. He embodied the teaching of Jesus by casting to one side his position as a senior clergyman and came over and served me. Thank you, bishop. Gill, she had to get her own! Well, she had disappeared.
Collect for the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity
Grant, we beseech you, merciful Lord,
to your faithful people pardon and peace,
that they may be cleansed from all their sins
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.