The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity

 

20th September 2009  Sung Eucharist

 

Preacher : The Revd Peter Koon

 

Readings : Jeremiah 11: 18-20, James 3:13-4:3,7-8a, Mark 9:30-37

 

 

 

 

True and False ambition

 

There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.  Indeed, it is good to be ambitious, to have goals, to want to be good at what one does and to succeed in it.  But ambition can get out of hand.  It can cause us to forget everything else in the pursuit of success in business or in a career.

 

     Hence, we must be careful what we are sacrificing in the pursuit of our goals.  We may be sacrificing family life, justice, kindness, even life itself.  Drive and ambition can cause one to treat others in a cruel or unjust way.  What good will it do us if we gain the whole world but lose ourselves?

 

     In the Gospel we see the apostles fighting over who would be first in Jesus’ kingdom.  The scene is not an edifying one.  That they are driven by selfishness and false ambition shows how little they had learned from Jesus.  It shows how poor was their understanding of his mission.  Jesus called them together and gave them a lecture on the meaning of true greatness.

 

     Jesus told them that his kingdom was not seeking honour and glory for oneself, but about serving others. If they were prepared to serve others, then by all means they could have a top place in his kingdom, but they would not sitting on high chairs, they were more likely to be down to their knees with a basin of water in one hand and a towel in the other washing the feet of the little ones, ‘the weakest members of the community’.

 

     It is not what I do but what I am is important.

 

     Jesus did not abolish ambition.  Rather, he redefined it.  For the ambition to rule others he substituted the ambition to serve others.  For the ambition to have others do things for us he substituted the ambition to do things for others.  So, it is not ambition itself that is being condemned but false ambition.

 

     False ambition involves a desire to rule others. False ambition is very damaging to the unity of the community.  It springs from jealousy an selfishness.  And it can result in all kinds of ugly behaviour.  So much of the violence and evil in our society results from greed and selfishness.  Self-interest creates conflict and often results in painful divisions. This kind of ambition is condemned by Jesus and by St. James in the second reading.

 

     On the other hand, there is a good form of ambition which Christians should not shy away from Jesus did not tell the apostles that they should not seek greatness in his kingdom.  He just showed them where true greatness was to be found.  It is not to be found in being the masters of others, but rather in being the servants of others, especially the weaker members of the community.

 

     It’s easier to serve the great, because we feel honoured through our association with them, and there is a better chance of rewards.  But the real test is serving the least, from whom we cannot expect any rewards.  Jesus says, ‘Whoever welcomes one such child, welcomes me.’  ‘Welcome’ means loving service.  And ‘child’ stands for the weakest members of the community, who are the most needy.  Service rendered to the least is best of all.  We hear the same words in the last judgement scene: ‘ As long as you did it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me.’

 

     Jesus set the example himself.  Though he had authority from God, he never used that authority to dominate others.  Instead, he used it to serve others.  And that service was directed towards the poor, the sick, the outcasts…

 

     There’s a lot of talk nowadays about self-esteem. And rightly so, because it is pretty basic thing. But if we want to feel proud of ourselves, we’ve got to do things we can be proud of. What might those kind of things be? Jesus tells us what they are. They are deeds of love and service.

 

     The really great people, those who are fondly remembered, are not those who sought to further themselves and their own interests, but rather those who devoted themselves to furthering the interests of the community.

 

    

     Jesus set the example himself, he gave his life in the service of others. He suffered bitter humiliation and death, and says that true greatness shows itself in service towards the weaker members of the community. No one can go higher than that. He is the greatest in the kingdom. Brothers and sisters, Service implies that you are not there for yourself but you are there for others. Amen.