A sermon for September 22, 2024, 18th Sunday after Pentecost, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Buffalo, NY .
| Sermon Video |
| ⏵ 8:30am worship |
| ⏵ 10:30am worship |
| Sermon Text |
| ⏵ James 3:13—4:3, 7-8a |
| ⏵ Mark 9:30-37 |
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
Some of us enjoy playing games … and some of us REALLY enjoy playing games! It often doesn’t matter whether it’s a board game, electronic game, sports that we’re playing, or even sports that we’re watching. When we play a game, yes … it’s for relaxation, fun, the thrill of competition … and we play to win!
While board games and organized sports have clearly defined rules, other games can be more of a challenge to determine who won and who lost. Growing up is a bit of a game. We go to class then take a test to see what we learned and how we compare with other students. We want to get the best grades, be first chair in the band, be 1st string on the team. We want to win. But, in this game of life, what are the rules for winning?
Some of us remember Black Fridays in the early 1980s when Cabbage Patch Kid dolls were all the rage? People waited in line for hours to try to win a Cabbage Patch Kid. When the doors to the store opened, there was a mad rush as people became angry and violent just trying to beat their opponents (also known as fellow shoppers) for the opportunity to win one of those dolls.
When there are specific rules, it’s clear what winning means. But what does winning mean on Black Friday? What does winning mean in the competition for a parking space or jockeying for position on the highway? What does winning mean in arguments with the most significant people in your life?
When I counsel couples preparing for marriage, we talk about arguing, fighting, and winning. It is vital and healthy to argue, but, if conflict in marriage becomes about only who wins and who loses, there really are no winners. In those moments, we might say or do things we can never take back.
In the gospel reading from Mark, we read as Jesus’ disciples argued about which of them was the greatest … in other words, who was “the winner?” We don’t exactly know why they were arguing; perhaps they were remembering that Jesus said He would suffer and die, so they may have been considering who would take over the ministry once Jesus was gone.
In services over the past few weeks, we have read James speaking directly and clearly. He asked: “Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from?” (James 4:1). “Do they not come from [the] cravings that are at war within you?” (James 4:1). “Do they come from “bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts?” (James 3:14).
I wonder what would happen if we were able – in the heat of the competition over a parking spot, a gift on Black Friday, a heated exchange with a loved one, an argument on one of those political shows where people are angrily and loudly talking over each other … if we were able to ask “Where does this anger, conflict, dispute come from?” What if we not only asked this of the person with whom we are arguing, but we asked it of ourselves, too?
What would happen if, in those moments in our own lives, we stopped arguing, looked the other in the eye, and asked “What are we really doing here?”
When you are in community – whether that’s a marriage, partnership, friends, volunteer committee, team at work, even our congregation – is winning really a possibility for one person over another?
I wonder if it’s possible to change the dynamic of what it means to win.
Jesus has something to say about winning. He said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). Jesus’ words sound like a nice concept, but when we look at the practicalities of living it out, it is much more complex. If we are running a race, even if we are really good, surely we are not meant to hold back and ensure that we finish the race in last place? If we are interviewing for a job, it can’t mean we are to hold back and let another applicant win? Jesus helps us become more curious and wonder “maybe there is more to winning than simply not being the loser.”
If we are meant to intentionally put ourselves last, and intentionally be servant of all, does Jesus mean for us to become less than we are? Are we being asked to do less than our best? Didn’t God give us the gifts we have so that we can give our best?
Have you seen marathons where a leading runner’s knees go wobbly the last 100 feet or so of the race. In some cases, other runners support the lead runner to help them cross the finish line. In one of these stories, a Kenyan runner became disoriented and thought he crossed the finish line. A Spanish runner recognized the Kenyan’s confusion and came alongside him making gestures and encouraging him across the finish line (read the full story).
If it was all purely about traditional winning, these other runners would have kept running. But the people who interest me are those who seem not to want to win “that way.” These second-place runners ran and did the best they could, but they knew that the runner in front was meant to win. So, in their compassion, they helped that happen… and it cost them something. They didn’t win and their race time was much slower than if they had continued running and passed by the person in trouble.
Can we come to new understandings of winning that moves us toward the kind of love and hospitality Jesus encourages when he said “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me” (Mark 9:37).
Can we speak and listen as we argue and even become angry, yet hold on tightly to the thread of love that connects us as neighbors?
In the name of Jesus … Amen!
Epicurious Lutheran 