Sermon - Year B 

September 20, 2009 

I am going to use this Sunday to review some things about Mark. I often do this about this time of year. To do this, there is a saying that fits Mark well. I do not remember how it goes, but it says something along this line. It is better to say little but something meaningful than to go on and on saying nothing at all.

In a way, I feel this way about the Gospel of Mark. It is a very short Gospel, and it leaves me wanting more. Mark’s Gospel is the earliest Gospel of the New Testament.

It is somehow fitting that we have this reading today from St. Mark because it has within it almost every unique theme that we see in his Gospel. The reading starts with Jesus going through Galilee, but not wanting anyone to know he is there. Once again, we have this strange feature of Mark’s Gospel where Jesus does not want anyone to know who he is. It is that idea that Mark stresses more than any other Gospel of the Messianic Secret. 　　　　　　　

Another theme is Jesus giving his disciples a private lesson. Jesus is teaching his disciples a specific and private lesson about what must happen to the Messiah. The Messiah will be betrayed, suffer, die, and then rise from the dead. Jesus is giving this special teaching to his disciples. However, do the disciples hear what he says? No, they do not. Mark is very hard on the disciples. In Mark’s Gospel, another theme of his is that the disciples never get the point of what Jesus is. Even when Jesus teaches them privately, the disciples fail to understand. Right in the middle of the instruction, the disciples argue about which one of them is the greatest disciple of all.

Jesus turns and asks them what they were arguing about and the disciples are silent. Like Adam and Eve, they are aware that they have done something foolish. The Messiah is there before them talking about how he must undergo suffering and humiliation while the disciples argue over which of them is the greatest and which one of them deserves the most recognition.

It is a stark contrast between the disciples’ boasting and Jesus’ humility. It shows how even those closest to our Lord do not really comprehend the force and mystery of Christ.

These disciples give us a picture of how humans often do things. We measure things that are the best and greatest. We want to be part of what is superior. We want to be able to brag a little bit about what we have or have done. It is part of what we are as people. The desire for attention begins when we are children and it never really leaves us no matter how old we become.

God on the other hand, chooses a completely different path. He goes to what is a failure. He goes to what is hated and disliked and places himself right in the middle of it. God goes to the last place where any of us would want to be. God goes there and makes that his place of glory.

Rejection, failure, sickness, humiliation, being misunderstood, when we are in those places and laying on the bed in a fetal position because we feel so bad about our lives and feeling so alone, right there with us is our God. When everyone else is distancing himself or herself from us, our God is there with us because that is where he chooses to be. This is the hope and promise of our faith. 　

Jesus’ disciples argue about which one of them is the best, brightest, and deserves the most admiration and recognition. Jesus says to the arguing disciples that the one who wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all. However, on a good day, I can maybe follow that 10% of the time. Put me in a grocery line and I want to be first in line. I become crabby and impatient when the line is long. I do not want to wait; I do not want to be the last in line. Now, if I have trouble being last in a checkout line, then, I will have even more trouble with spiritual things. The disciples and their misunderstanding are actually fairly close to most of us.

Mark’s Gospel gives us a sense of how normal the disciples were. Their traits are very much like our own.

The disciples, in a sense, are failures at being disciples of the Messiah, the anointed one of God. Like us, they stumble and become confused. Like us, they can misread what is going on. Moreover, like everyone I know, the disciples have flaws. It says something to us as a church and as individuals. God is there with us as he was with them. Jesus never abandoned the disciples in spite of their arguing and misunderstanding. Even when they run away from Jesus in his most desperate hour, Jesus does not abandon his disciples. Jesus is with us as well. He does not abandon us even when we feel abandoned. He is there with us as we feel the weight of something harsh and heavy in our lives.

Mark’s short Gospel, seemingly written in haste has a message that causes us to want more. He tells us, through these people from so long ago, that we have a God that is for us, and who is with us when we are the very last in line. In fact, he shows us a way to follow. He shows us that placing ourselves as people who want to serve more than be glorified brings to us a greater glory. It is the glory of the Kingdom. In addition, we, as in all things, may have trouble following Jesus in this way. However, he does not give up on us when we fail. Jesus does not abandon us. He continues to be with us, and duty is to simply trust in where he leads us. In the end, Mark’s message is one of trust. It is about trusting in our God and his Son. It is about trusting that our Lord is with us in all things. Moreover, is about trusting in his forgiveness and presence that he brings to our lives. Amen.