THE THIRST FOR TITLES
Mark 10:35-45
Of all the passions that lurk in the hearts of humans, the desire for status and power is one of the greatest.
People love titles because they often bring with them a certain kind of status. We have lived with a lot of titles in human history. There have been court titles like King, Emperor, Czar, Sultan. Also, there are titles like Duke, Earl, and Count. There are religious titles like Pope, Bishop, Vicar, Reverend, Monsignor, Archdeacon, Dean, Rabbi, Pastor. There are academic titles, and letters that people put after their names, BA, MA, PHD etc. There are business titles like Chairman of the board, CEO. We could go on and on I’m sure with all the titles there are, and how people desire them, and how many people get upset if they do not get the title that they want, or if their titles are overlooked, or if they are not recognized in some way.
Years ago I was a student minister in northern Saskatchewan, and I remember attending a deanery meeting in which the clergy elected the rural dean. The person who thought he should be elected wasn’t. He was visibly angry. When it came to the end of the meeting, he broke into a long extempore prayer. The ended the prayer something like this, “O Lord, we’ve had thirty years of evangelical ministry in this deanery, if it’s about to go down the drain, Lord, just cancel the whole issue.”
I can’t imagine that anyone would want the title of Rural Dean but it obviously was important for him. I came to the realization very quickly as to how important titles were for some people in the church.
There is within all of us a great desire to be number one in whatever field we are in, and not only to be number one, but more importantly, to be seen and recognized as number one, as ‘top dog’, as “one up on the competition” .
It happens in the church – this kind of one-up-man-ship.
*
Jesus faced a request in today’s Gospel where James and John wanted to have the best seats in the Kingdom of God. They wanted to be right up there beside Jesus in number one position on the podium. They were in a way seeking titles and power. Jesus answers that what is really important is how well you serve God and the needs of humanity, even though it might be costly. It is not status, titles and power that count but it is service that counts.
Sometimes we think that the really important people are those who rise to the ranks of CEOs, Directors and General Managers in their companies with authority and power to lord it over others and get the others to do the work, while they take the glory. In the kingdom of God it is actually the opposite. The servants, the ones willing to take the number two positions and get the work done, to love and to care for others – they are the greatest in the kingdom of God.
*
Jesus recognized the dangers in the overwhelming desire for recognition and fame. Underlying much of the drive for power and status is really a desire to feel good about ourselves many times at the expense of others. It doesn’t guarantee that we will feel good about ourselves. George C. Scott once said of the burden of fame, “after awhile the pleasure stops and the self-contempt stays”.
Jesus also knew that the only way that his work could be done in the world was by a loving, serving and caring community, in which no one was top dog, but everyone had gifts of ministry to be exercised with reciprocity. The Church has not been able to be a good witness of the Love of God when concentrating on power and status. The greatest problems we have had in the church have been power problems. The greatest hindrance to the churches work has been people in power positions whose main desire is to control not serve. No wonder Jesus called his disciples together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant…”(Mark 10:42-44). We all, both clergy and lay people, need to recognize the importance of our servanthood and that in the work of Christ, the greatest need we have and the greatest strength we have is the care and love of one another.
The greatest testimony that we can have is that we through the Grace of God we have served humanity like Christ, that we have given our lives like Christ, that we have loved as Christ. Do we live for that testimony or do we live for status, and titles, and the exercise of power as control over others?
*
Tony Campola, a Baptist preacher and sociologist has a wonderful story about the pastor in his home church.
He said every year they would have a home-coming service for all those young people that had gone off to colleges, universities, and trade schools, or were working at some job in other places. They would be all invited back and this old pastor would have them in front of him for the sermon. One sermon Tony particularly remembers. The pastor began by saying to these young people in that style that the black southern preachers are noted for, “Children, you are all going to die, sometime, may be not right away, maybe a long time from now, but one of these days everyone will gather for a service in the church, then they will go to the grave side and bury you, and then they will all come back to the church hall and they will have coffee, and tea, and refreshments of all kinds and they will all sit around and eat potato salad. “Now, Children, when you were born, you alone were crying, and everyone else was happy. When you die, will you alone be happy , when everyone else is crying.? The answer depends on whether you have lived to get titles or whether you have lived for the testimony.
Then he went into this poetic rip, that kind of poetic rip that is really special. He went through the bible talking about people who had the titles , contrasted to those who had the testimonies. He rhythmically preached his sermon, each line stronger that the one before: Pharaoh may have had the title, but Moses had the testimony! Nebuchadnezzar may have had the title, but Daniel had the testimony! Queen Jezebel may have had the title, but Elijah had the testimony! He went one and one citing on one hand biblical characters who had the prestige of titles and status and power, and on the other the people of God whose lives were a testimony of loving service to their Lord. He said, “Herod may have had the title but John the Baptist had the testimony!” The people after every refrain would shout Amen or Praise the Lord. ( We don’t do that so much in Anglican Churches. Sometimes we nod our approval. People in this congregation of which I speak would shout praises to God and even applaud during in the sermon or at the end of the sermon.) He got to the climax of his message shouting by time. MY CHILDREN, PILATE MAY HAVE HAD THE TITLE! There was a long pause that seemed like eternity, BUT I AM HERE TO STAND BEFORE YOU AND SAY MY JESUS HAD THE TESTIMONY. (1)
My friends, are you living for the titles, or are you living for the testimony?
(1) Tony Campolo Who Switched The Price Tags?, Word Publishing, Nashville, USA, 1986, p. 58-60
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
You are visitor number
Connect with Deacon Sils Homelical resource
Also for more sermon and lectionary resources connect to
SERMON AND SERMON LECTIONARY RESOURCES
Carol is a Yoga therapist, talented singer-songwriter and an alternative health practitioner.
Check Out her web site CARLY’S STRENGTH
Mary Anne is a very talented artist. You can access her site at:
Artist
My daughter Megan has a Food Blog
You can check out some of Megan’s recipes and meal planning on her Blog “Food and Whine, Adventures in making food for my toughest critics, my family.”
“Food and Whine” has been listed in the top 25 Mom’s Food Blogs.
Beyond the Patio 