Being First (Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost)

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I’ve lived in the Washington area for a long time now.  And as most of you know, when you live here for a long time, you realize that there are lot of people who come here – not just politicians – because they like to be in charge!  And often, even the people who live here who aren’t in charge can feel like we have an outsized ability to influence policy and events because we’re so close to the seat of power in our country.

And I’ve noticed, and perhaps you have too, that many of the people who seek power or influence do so because:

• They have tremendous egos that need constant caressing!  There are many politicians in both parties who fit this description, but it’s not just them.  Many of us have had bosses or people we work with who seem to need to be in charge of something primarily for ego needs…

• They have a need to impose their will on others.  Again, while there are politicians of both parties who fit this description, you’ve probably also worked with people who just need to make people do it “their way”…

• They don’t know what to do if they’re not in charge of something.  Over the years, there have been many politicians of both parties who, even when they clearly needed to retire, just couldn’t give it up until the office was literally pried from their cold, dead hands.  And indeed, lots of regular people “flunk retirement” because they just don’t know what to do with themselves when they’re not “in charge” of something anymore…

And so, whenever we read this story of James and John coming to Jesus and asking to sit at his left and right hands in his kingdom, it’s easy to imagine that James and John were two of these power obsessed people that we have around us all the time.  Perhaps James and John had the biggest egos in the group, and needed Jesus to affirm them.  Perhaps James and John, after hearing this stuff from Jesus about dying, figured that if they had some more power they could change how all of these events would go down so it wouldn’t be so painful.  Or, perhaps James and John simply didn’t know what to do with themselves as ordinary disciples if they weren’t in charge of others.

I don’t know.  All of these things are possible.  And none of these possibilities are mutually exclusive.  But there is another possibility.

One of the reasons people ask to be in charge – or seek positions of power and responsibility – is that deep down, they’re seeking meaning and purpose.  They want to feel like they can make a difference.  And they want to know that they’ve influenced events and people in a positive way.

And those are good things.  If you use whatever position you have in such a way that it gives meaning and purpose to your life, you’re probably doing something right.  If you’re seeking to make a difference in a positive way – not only for yourself but for others – that also is a good thing.  And if you’ve been able to influence events and people in ways that bring more beauty, joy and love to the world, that’s also worth doing.

And that’s why Jesus affirms the idea of “being first” – that is, to be leaders.  But Jesus contrasts what “being first” means in his community with what it so often means in places like Washington.  Being first, says Jesus, is about:

• Seeking meaning and purpose outside of yourself – one of the groups Jesus talks about is “tyrants”.  And characteristic of tyrants is that they’re self-absorbed.  And fundamentally, this means they’re looking to themselves as the ultimate reality.  And while we often look down on such people, it’s also the case that often the world around us tells us we should seek to be more fully in touch with ourselves and “our own truths.”  I get it, but often that means that we’re encouraged to find ultimate meaning and purpose inside of us.  Yet for most of us, meaning and purpose come from connections to what’s outside of us – to God and to our neighbors and to the world around us.  Jesus calls us, as he called his first disciples, to look for meaning and purpose by focusing on that which is beyond us, not just inside of us…

• Making a difference for others, not just yourself – one of the dangers of many of the solutions to our problems that are sometimes offered, is that they’re often offered in ways that make us feel like whatever is good and perfect for me is also – just coincidentally – good and perfect for everybody!  But one of the things Jesus always calls us to do is to look at what’s good for others, instead of beginning with the subset of things that seem good for me.  After all, that’s what Jesus has been trying to explain to his disciples – the sacrifice of Jesus (and the danger to the disciples) is not at the moment a great thing for them personally, but in the long run it’s good for the world.   And often, being “first” is about asking what’s good in the long run for everybody, instead of simply what’s good for me right now…

• Using whatever “power” you have to bring beauty, joy and love to those around you – after all, there are lots of people (especially in the lead up to a general election) who are happy to make us nervous, anxious and upset!  I get it – it sells. But Jesus says, “it is not so among you” (not even, it should be so among you – it is not.”)  And that means Jesus calls us to use the power of our lives to bring love and joy and beauty into the lives of others – even if it’s simple ways like celebrating the joy of our pets or planting pollinator gardens on the grounds of the church.  In so doing, we use the power of our lives differently than so much of the world around us …

And so Jesus calls all of us – not just James and John – to be “first”, but in a different way.  Jesus calls us to be first by seeking meaning and purpose outside of ourselves, by opening ourselves up to where God is leading us each day.  Jesus calls us to be first by being people who use whatever gifts and talents we have to seek the benefit of others in our world, instead of just ourselves.  And Jesus calls us to be first by being people who lift up and share the beauty and joy of God’s presence in a world that desperately needs it.

Amen.