Who Is the Greatest?

RCL Proper 25B

22 September 2024

 

Anglican Church of the Epiphany

Surrey BC

 

         When I began Grade 7, I was put into a specialized stream in the Colorado Springs Schools called HATS – ‘highly academically-talented students’.  I remained in that stream until I graduated from high school in 1971.  Despite the passage of the years, I remember how my teachers sought to instill in us a morality of obligation.  

 

         On one occasion there was an unfortunate incident between some HATS students and some ‘regular’ students.  Words were exchanged which were hurtful to the ‘regular’ students and there was a bit of pushing and shoving.  Within an hour of the incident, Mr Comer, our social studies teacher, called all the HATS students into a special town hall.  He was furious with how we had behaved and reminded us of the principle that ‘of those to whom much has been given, much is expected’.  Long before I began to think about ordained ministry, Mr Comer set the standard – Leaders have an obligation to serve those among whom they work and live.

 

         He also reminded us that we live in an interwoven world.  Every human being has gifts that enrich the common good.  No one person has all the gifts.  No one person is independent.  We are all inter-dependent upon one another.  To ignore or devalue the gifts and dignity of any person was a moral failure.

 

         Mr Comer lived what he taught.  He was a founder of the Colorado Springs Teacher Association and was elected to the Colorado State Senate.  One of his colleagues wrote that Senator Comer did not speak often, but, when he did, senators on both sides of the aisle listened carefully.

 

         Throughout all of today’s readings from the Scriptures there is a persistent theme of the centrality of servanthood.

 

·      In Proverbs we are presented with the image of a wife and mother and household manager who is the foundation for the well-being and success of her family.  She uses her talents, her time and her treasure to achieve the best for all who rely upon her for their food, their shelter and their stability.

·      The writer of the Letter of James is a bit like Mr Comer.  He’s fed up with the irresponsible behaviour of the community and for their vanity and their striving for self-gain.

·      And then we hear Jesus chastising his disciples for their fascination with the question of who is the greatest amongst them – an interesting conversation to be had among a group of people who are, to be honest, not a particularly distinguished group of people.

 

         In the Gospel Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9.35b NRSVue)  The writer of the Gospel uses a very specific word.  We are to be ‘deacons’ of all.  In the time of the New Testament there were many words used for those who served others – errand boy, slave, hired hand, household staff.  But to be called a ‘deacon’ meant something very specific.

 

         A deacon is an agent of the person to whom they are responsible.  A deacon is someone who makes things happen for the good of their employer.  A deacon takes the initiative to make sure that the best interests of those who have chosen them are made to happen.  A deacon does not serve themselves; their vision is outward-looking and community-oriented.

 

         What Mr Comer might have said to my colleagues and me is that we were called to be ‘deacons’ for the good of the whole community.  Our time, our talents and our treasure were to be directed outward to enable and to nurture the common good.  Who was the greatest was an irrelevant and pointless question.

 

         As we continue our journey towards the renewal of our Parish and towards the selection of a new Rector, today’s readings remind us of the fundamental attitude we bring to this quest.  We come as people who yearn to be ‘servants of all’.  Our worship strengthens us to discern how we might best serve our neighbours – those who worship here, those who do not, those who do not even know that we exist.  Our discussions about the future of our property need to arise from our commitment to serve this neighbourhood.  Our discernment of a new Rector is guided by a desire to have someone who is a ‘servant-leader’ of this Parish.

 

         Today I invite you to remember the Mr Comers in your lives, the people who have shown you that true freedom, true greatness, lies in the service of God and of the world that God has created.  Remember them.  More importantly, let us imitate them and work towards that world God invites us to imagine and to shape.