A sermon for October 20, 2024, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – Buffalo, NY .
| Sermon Video |
| ⏵ 8:30am worship |
| ⏵ 10:30am worship |
| Sermon Text |
| ⏵ Mark 10:35-45 |
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
Sometimes feels like we’re constantly surrounded by competition. Whether it’s in sports, business, or politics, there’s always a winner and a loser. Teams spend enormous amounts of time, energy, and resources to become better, faster, and stronger than their opponents…so they can win. Businesses do the same, competing fiercely for our attention and loyalty, striving to come out on top. Even in politics, parties battle each other, spending money and effort to emphasizing their strengths while exaggerating the weaknesses of their rivals—all for the sake of winning.
But what’s the end result of this obsession with competition? Is it power, prestige, bragging rights, money?
Thankfully, the Kingdom of God isn’t about competition. Jesus doesn’t declare only the “best” to be the one and only “winner,” while others are declared “losers.” What value would there be in God’s Kingdom if it revolved around winners and losers?
We are emerging from a time when many Christians saw congregations as adversaries. Many believed that growth in one congregation meant loss (or at least not as much gain) for others. Sadly, some still see faith and participation in the Kingdom as a competition. But Jesus calls us to something different, something bigger than ourselves, something beyond the need to be recognized as the “winner.”
Jesus teaches a different way: “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all” (Mark 10:42-44). This is a radical message.
When I was in high school, I remember noticing that there was competition among some of the “smart” kids. Some kids felt they had to prove their smartness. These were the kids who loudly proclaimed how good their grades were or seemed to relish making a big deal of showing another student how to solve a problem. I noticed that the really smart kids didn’t have to let everyone know. They were the ones who noticed that other kids were struggling and quietly offered to help … to serve them. They were NOT the ones trying to compete in a way that knocked others down so they could have glory and be as tyrants and lord it over them. They were the ones who understood that WINNING is best when others are strengthened … and these students LIVE it.
Even among Jesus’ disciples, James and John sought to secure positions of power at Jesus’ side. They wanted glory and recognition, but Jesus challenged them by asking, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?” This wasn’t just a question about drinking wine; it was an invitation to embrace all of life—both its joys and challenges.
Thinking about this passage reminded me of the ceremony when my Dad and my step-mom, Margaret, got married. Their Unitarian Universalist minister spoke about life … that some of life is sweet and wonderful – these times were represented by sweet wine that she then poured it into an empty wine glass. She went on to say that there are also times in life that are hard, stressful, and even bitter – these times were represented by bitter wine that she poured into the same glass and mixed with the sweet wine. The minister told us that the mixed wine represents the totality of our lives. In marriage as well as in each or our lives, we drink deeply of all of life with its bitterness and its sweetness to experience the fullness of life!
When we live as if life is a competition with winners and losers, we live in scarcity, wrongly believing that there’s not enough. When we approach life that way, we live in insecurity and dissatisfaction with who we are and what we have. Does that sound like the Kingdom of God to you? Where is God’s grace in this?
When you don’t have to compete, your focus moves away from your “competitors” and their strengths and weaknesses … away from your own shortfalls and inadequacies … your focus moves away from your own goodness or worthiness. Instead, your focus moves TOWARD how we love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength … and TOWARD how we love our neighbors as ourselves. Where is God’s grace in such competition?
So, I leave you with a question: Are there areas in your life where you’re still caught in the trap of competition? Are there ways you can move from a mindset of scarcity to one of abundance, from competition to service, and therefore drink deeply from and fully embrace the cup of life that Jesus offers?
In the name of Jesus … Amen!
Epicurious Lutheran 