Our Sermons

Bible Passage: Mark 9:30-37
Pastor: Pastor Berg
Sermon Date:  September 26, 2021

“Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way. I can’t wait to look in the mirror, ‘cause I get better lookin’ each day. To know me is to love me, I must be a wonderful man. Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble, but I’m doin’ the best that I can.” I’m sure many of you have heard Mac Davis sing that song before. He recorded it back in 1980 and in that same year sang it when he hosted the Muppet Show. It’s a song that’s meant to get a few laughs because of the irony of it all. A person’s vanity often gets in the way of humility. But as with any irony, there’s an awful lot of truth contained there. It truly is hard to be humble, especially in a society that equates self-promotion with success. Professional athletes and celebrities receive the most attention and fanfare today because they are the greatest in the eyes of the world. They’re the best looking, the richest, the most popular. And what we’re told is if you’re not promoting yourself, you’re not going to succeed. That’s the mindset in our world today. If you’re not looking out for good ol’ number one, you’re not going to be great. 

And this should not surprise us one bit. It’s not surprising because that very ideal springs up naturally from the heart of each and every one of us. “I’m the most important thing. I’m what matters. I should be the center of attention and everyone around me should know it.” Is it any coincidence that the first commandment God gives focuses on who really is the most important? It’s not a coincidence that the scientific theory developed by man as to how this whole universe came to be, the theory of evolution, places man’s responsibility and his purpose squarely on himself. It’s all about surviving. It’s all about me. And so it should not surprise us that Jesus’ disciples would be discussing greatness among themselves. You can almost hear the argument along the way, can’t you? Peter was probably the first one to speak up, he always was. “Who is the greatest? Obviously it’s me! Jesus said he was going to build his church on my confession.” But then John chimed in: Yes, but I’m the one Jesus loves. Out of all the twelve, Jesus loves me most dearly.” And then Peter’s brother Andrew pipes up: “Who found the boy with the bread and the fish so Jesus could feed the 5000? This guy.” “Oh come on,” James whines, “no one is closer to Jesus than me! Why else do I get to go with him everywhere?” Not to be left out, Nathanael blurts out: “But remember, Jesus said I was the one in whom there was no deceit. Jesus knows there’s something special about me.” And then of course, Judas had to put his two cents in: “Show me the money. Who does Jesus trust with the money?” Each of the twelve surely had a claim to be at Jesus’ right and his left. Each of them could have been the greatest. James’ and John’s mom went so far as to personally ask that it be her sons.

We could sit here and bemoan the disciples’ discussion, but don’t you see yourself in it? Look closer. We’re right there with them every time we’re inclined to pat ourselves on the back, every time we look down on others, not so much because of what they did, but because we think we’d never be caught doing anything that terrible ourselves. By nature, we are full of ourselves. Call it pride. Call it arrogance. Call it overconfidence. Call it what you will, but it’s not humility. And as long as that attitude reigns in our hearts, there is simply not room in heaven for us. ONe commentator nailed it when he said: “This egotism, this self-assertion, this restless desire to be something and to be recognized by men, swells you into such proportions that you cannot push in the narrow gate of the Kingdom.” That’s what was behind the disciples’ dispute on the road that day. And that’s why Jesus addressed it. “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent, because on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. Jesus sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he will be the last of all and the servant of all.” 

 We’re often quick to define greatness by achievements. I’ve dones this. I’ve finished this. I accomplished this faster than anyone else ever before me, therefore, I must be great. The disciples had made wonderful confessions, driven out demons, given up everything to follow Jesus faithfully. And that’s why they argued about who was the greatest. They thought that greatness was determined by what they did. They thought their greatness was something they could measure. However, Jesus didn’t define greatness by giving them a bucket list of things to accomplish faster than anyone else. He simply told them: “If anyone wants to be first, he will be the last of all and the servant of all.” Greatness is not a matter of action. It’s a matter of status. The child of God, the greatest in the kingdom of God, is great because of their status in the eyes of God. 

But that’s not easy for us to remember, is it? The world doesn’t see any value in being last, in being a servant. If you don’t think so, watch what happens when someone cuts in front of them in line. Observe how many people insist that their server go and wait on all the other tables before their own. No one wants to come in last in a competition. Everyone knows that the last one is a rotten egg.  And even in the church we have the same problem. We take undue pride in our accomplishments. We think we’re great because of what we’ve been able to do. We’re involved members. We give generous offerings. We pray hard. We’re in church every Sunday. And we look across the room at someone who is not all those things at the level we are and we take pride in that. We love comparing ourselves with others because there’s always someone less than we are in one way or another. 

But that’s not what Jesus teaches here. He says the last of all is the first of all. That flies in the face of everything society has taught us. So why is it true? Friends, greatness is not a matter of what we do. If it were, we’d never be able to achieve greatness in God’s eyes. We’d always fall short. Thankfully, greatness in God’s eyes is not measured by achievement, but by status. And to illustrate that, Jesus uses children. “Then he took a little child and placed him in their midst. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me, welcomes not just me but also him who sent me.”

Children are hardly ever perceived to be great. Loved, yes, but rarely great. Why else would we use expressions like, “Stop acting like a child” or “grow up” or “Act your age.” Children rarely make any significant contribution to society. Remember Jesus’ own disciples tried to shoo children away because they saw them as a bother. So why does Jesus consider children so valuable? Children are quite helpless on their own. They don’t know where their next meal will come from or how their clothes get into their closets. But they don’t worry about those things either. There is an implicit trust in children that someone will take care of those things. They have faith even if they don’t know how they’ll be taken care of, they’ll be taken care of. It’s that kind of humble faith and trust that Jesus holds out as the ideal. That’s why he directs our attention to children. Because even though children have accomplished very little, their status is the same as yours and mine. Their status is what makes them great!

The thing that makes our children great, that thing that makes us great is that God has declared us great! Even as we serve others and make ourselves less than others, even welcoming little children, we are truly great because that’s what God has declared us to be. Our status before God is great because of what Jesus has done for us. All the while the disciples were talking about greatness, Jesus was saying: “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him. But three days after he is killed, he will rise.” Jesus, the king and Creator of the Universe, one who is both great in status and accomplishment, humbled himself. He took on human flesh. He took all of our sins, all of our arrogance, all of our misplaced pride and overconfidence. He took the sins of the whole world on himself and offered up his life to take those sins away. And at the same time, in his humbled state, Jesus made us great by giving us his perfect life. And so now God looks at us and declares us “not guilty,” great in his sight because we wear the perfection of Jesus. The path to greatness leads to the cross. It is not found in following Jesus’ example, but in relying on it. 

And that is why Our Church Welcomes and Values Children. They are just as important and valuable to Jesus as we are. Their souls are just as precious. Their faith is just as strong and in some cases even stronger because they trust in Jesus unconditionally. Their faith is something that we strive to emulate. And it’s because Jesus values children that we spend so much time and so many resources to share Jesus with them. And even though they may not contribute to society in the same way as an adult, they still are great. Who can deny the impact our children made last week as they sang their praises, as they asked Jesus to help them deny themselves, to take up their crosses and follow him. Who can deny the witness they gave as over 400 people heard them share the gospel. That is why we welcome them and value them. That is why we want them in worship with us, even if they squirm and squawk once in a while. The good news of Jesus is just as much for them as it is for us. They are great because that’s what Jesus has declared them to be.

I’m sure you’ve seen them all over. You know what I’m talking about. The bumper sticker that says proud parent of an honor student or a soccer player or whatever it may be. And there’s nothing wrong with them. It’s ok to be proud of our kids and their accomplishments. But how much more so to be able to say, “We love our children. Our children are the greatest because their Savior is the greatest.” And that’s something we can boast about to the whole world! Amen.