Proper 24, Year B
World Food Sunday
TEXT: Mark 10:35-45
And [Jesus] said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” (Mark 10:36-37)
Picture the scene in this morning’s gospel. Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, aware that he is going to face a confrontation that will end in his death. His disciples—James and John—press forward, drawing close to him to speak.
Did Jesus hope for some understanding? Some words of comfort in this dreaded hour? Or did he know, even before they spoke, that this was going to be just one more example of his disciples missing the whole point of what he had come to teach?
Jesus was quite clear about how the world’s values were to be regarded by his followers. In response to the request from James and John, he tells all the disciples: “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43b-45)
Jesus came to be a ransom for many—not only for the elite few whose clothes, possessions, and behaviour meet this world’s standards of success, but for the many. Jesus gave his life as ransom for all of us—to release us from slavery to possessions, to power, to success; to release us, especially, from the delusion that we are somehow more special, more important, more loved by God than other people are. If we have been blessed more richly than others, there is a responsibility that goes along with that—because it means we have an abundance out of which we should be able to share.
You know, we hear a lot of talk about the end of the world, about what it will be like when Jesus comes back: about how you’d better make sure you’ve got the right kind of religion, and believe all the right stuff, if you want to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. But when Jesus himself described Judgment Day—in the 25th chapter of Matthew—here’s what he said:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’” (Matt. 25:31-36)
You’ll notice Jesus does not ask even one theological question here. There’s no religion quiz—at least, not like we might expect. Instead, it’s all about choices we make: choices to be compassionate; choices to be just; choices to clothe and feed and support other people. In other words, we choose whether to live a ransomed life—a life of liberated service—or to be co-opted by values we know to be unworthy of our high calling as chosen, servant people.
This choice is possible for all of us. We can all live more simply, in keeping with the pattern of life shown us by Jesus. Jesus calls us to live within our means—not to accumulate debt so that we can accumulate things; because, if we do that, then we will find ourselves unable to be generous with those who are suffering.
You can forgo a single cup of coffee and give that couple of dollars to the Salvation Army or to UNICEF. Most of us can donate two pieces of clothing from our closet, or a pair of shoes, or a coat, so that someone else can be warm. Every one of us can choose not to buy another book, another pint of ice cream, another television set, another car, or another house so that those resources can go to the United Way, World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, the Red Cross—or even to the Mission Fund of your local church.
I do not say this to you because I have myself attained the self-giving generosity of Christ. Believe me, I have not! I preach this message today because the gospel is clear; but I preach this message confessing that I, too, need to get a lot better at this discipleship stuff.
I may pretend to be confused when I want to do something that I know in my heart is buying into the comfortable values of the world—but I am only playing mind games, because the gospel is not confusing at all; it is absolutely clear.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our chief want in life is someone to make us do what we can.” But Christians are not, in fact, lacking that “someone.” Jesus ransomed us and Jesus released us, so that we can be that someone.
Understand this: God does not make us do anything; God invites us to live righteous lives. Jesus does not make us do anything; Jesus invites us to live in freedom. Jesus calls us out of our bondage to possessions, and ambitions, and all the anxieties those things bring with them.
Only we can make ourselves do what we know we can. Only I can make myself do those generous, loving, compassionate things that open the gates of God’s kingdom. Only you can make yourself reveal God’s image through your words and through your actions.
I pray that we may each find the courage to live out the baptism with which we have been baptized, and to drink the cup which Christ first drank, so that God’s Kingdom may indeed come—and God’s will may be done—on earth, as it is in heaven.
Bless me to share my daily bread,
healthy portions of compassion and love,
not out of guilt or duty
or an eye to what I might receive in return,
but humbly, in the way of Jesus,
such that his grace
is kneaded through all my daily offerings,
broken open, blessed, and shared
with both the loneliest stranger
and the deepest friend.
Amen.*
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* https://united-church.ca/prayers/daily-bread