Children of God! Do you think of yourselves as that? What does our being followers of Jesus, followers of the cross mean to you? That is exactly what Jesus is trying to explain to the disciples in the gospel lesson from Saint Mark. Jesus is in teaching mode. He is trying to explain to his disciples what it means to follow him. But in Mark the disciples never quite understand Jesus.
Rabbi Jesus was telling his disciples, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” “But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.”[1] They were afraid because of the way he had just rebuked Peter in the previous verses. “You know the one that ended with “get behind me Satan!”
The Son of Man is attempting to let the disciples know what is going to happen to Him. But they are arguing about who is the greatest. It has to do with THEIR STATUS (ranking, position, standing). The disciples were often wrong about what to expect from Jesus and the Kingdom of God. There is something sad about Jesus heading towards the cross and his disciples arguing about who is the greatest.[2]
Jesus has to die for them to finally get it.
They did not answer his question. “Who were you arguing about on the road?” As soon as the disciples realized Jesus was watching they went silent. As long as it was not in the sight or hearing range of Jesus the disciples thought it was ok for them to argue over who was the greatest. But as soon as it was brought out into the light and had the attention of Jesus it became worthless. When they knew Jesus is watching, they went silent. It was the silence of shame. It is funny how something takes its proper place and acquires its true character when it is set in the eyes of Jesus.[3] I wonder what would happen if we took everything we did and put it in the sight of Jesus. What would we deem as worthless? How would your behavior towards each other change if Jesus is watching you?
Late one night, a burglar broke into a house that he thought was empty. He tiptoed through the living room but suddenly he froze in his tracks when he heard a loud voice say; “Jesus is watching you.”
Silence returned to the house, so the burglar crept forward again. “Jesus is watching you,” the voice boomed again. The burglar stopped dead in his tracks. He was frightened. Frantically, he looked all around the room. In a dark corner, he spotted a bird cage and in the cage was a parrot. He asked the parrot: “Was that you who said Jesus is watching me?” “Yes,” said the parrot.
The burglar breathed a sigh of relief, then asked the parrot: “What is your name?”
“Clarence,” said the bird.
“That is a dumb name for a parrot,” sneered the burglar. “What idiot named you Clarence?” The parrot said, “The same idiot who named the Rottweiler (guard dog) Jesus.”[4]
Imagine this with me a moment---- if we took everything and put it in the sight of Jesus what a difference it would make. If everything we did, we asked ourselves the question, “Could I go on doing this if Jesus was watching me?” If every word we said, we asked, “Could I go on talking like this if Jesus was listening to me?” There would be many things that we would be saved from doing and saying! Our behavior would change too! This is especially important when we are in a pandemic and the New York Times reports that we have lost our compassion because of the Covid-19.
We know Jesus was serious about addressing this with the disciples. In the first century when a Rabbi taught, they would typically sit down when they wanted to really emphasize a teaching. Jesus sat. Jesus “…called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”[5]
Jesus shares with them how they can find greatness in his Kingdom – they must find it not by being first but by being last, not by being masters but by being servants of all. He is not killing their ambition here but rather replacing their ambition. “For the ambition to rule Jesus substituted the ambition to serve. For the ambition to have things done for us Jesus substituted the ambition to do things for others.”[6]
When you do selfless acts, you are thinking of other people before yourself. You might ask “well just how do you suggest I do that?” You can make up your own list but here are mine;
1. Start with a smile in the morning.
2. Tell people you love how you feel.
3. Forgive others
4. Stop and lend a hand – do your neighbor a favor
5. Bring a cup of coffee to a coworker
6. Let a stranger go in front of you in line
7. Volunteer your time and treasure for a good cause
8. Allow someone to merge in traffic
9. Send a kind note to someone – like our troops - call to check in?
10. Be patient, stop talking about yourself, and listen, listen, listen
Love, selflessness, and compassion will win over the Covid-19. There are many stories of people doing selfless things especially during this pandemic – we typically don’t hear about them, or they are marked as a special segment on the news – like “Morning Boost” or “Tell me something Good!”
From Reader’s Digest we get this story - Two firefighters were waiting in line at a fast-food restaurant when the siren sounded on their fire truck parked outside. As they turned to leave, a couple who had just received their order handed their food to the firefighters. The couple then got back in line to reorder. Doubling down on their selfless act, the manager refused to take their money. — JoAnn Sanderson, Brandon, Florida.[7]
Journalist fosters a homeless dog for her quarantine.
Butcher gifts food parcels to those on welfare.
Kind citizen helps an elderly couple get groceries.
Twitter hero sets up a hashtag to help the vulnerable.
Copywriter starts a postcard scheme to help combat loneliness.
Professional Athletes help those who are at minimum wages.
Some Landlords are reassuring tenants they have a home.
A Chef delivers meals for the isolated.
Anonymous Doctor starts a letter writing scheme for those in isolation
What about all the care givers who just show up for work at our hospitals?[8]
We just had the anniversary of 9-11. Many people have suggested that we should live our lives like it was on 9-12 over and over. People selflessly helped each other. There are many stories of folks helping folks. I don’t like the term “random acts of kindness” only because it is not random to me. Random implies accidental and unintentional. How about we use the word deliberate acts of kindness or even Christ like acts of selflessness.
In many religions, “selfless service” is seen as direct communion with the Almighty.[9] We believe that True selflessness is Holy and Divine, and when we humans do something that is truly selfless, it is chronicled, recorded, and remembered.
I challenge all of us to practice Christ like acts of selflessness this week, this month, the rest of this year.
Why? Because it is what we are called to do and “Jesus is watching you!”
AMEN.
References
Attridge, Harold W., Wayne A. Meeks, Jouette M. Bassler, and Stephen L. Cook. 2006. The HarperCollins Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version, including the ApocryphalDeuterocanonical books. Fully rev a updat Student ed. San Francisco, Calif.: HarperSanFrancisco.
Bartlett, David Lyon, and Barbara Brown Taylor. 2009. Feasting on the Word. 1st ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.
Episcopal Church. 1990. The Book of Common Prayer: And administration of the sacraments and other rites and ceremonies of the church: Together with the psalter or psalms of David: According to the use of the Episcopal Church [Book of Common Prayer (1979)]. New York, N.Y.; Harrisburg, PA: Oxford University Press; Morehouse Publishing.
Mitchell, Leonel L. 1991; 1985. Praying Shapes Believing: A theological commentary on the Book of Common Prayer [Book of Common Prayer (1979)]. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Pub.
O'Day, Gail R., and David L. Petersen. 2009. Theological Bible Commentary. 1st ed. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press.
[1] Harper Collins Study Bible, 1935. [2] William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, 221. [3] William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, 221. [4] http://www.joek.com/jokes/joke_66.shtml accessed September 18, 2021. [5] Harper Collins Study Bible, 1937. [6] William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark, 221. [7] https://www.rd.com/article/kindness-strangers/ accessed September 18, 2021. [8] https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a31803574/individual-heroes-love-wins-coronavirus/ accessed September 19, 2021. [9] https://www.indiatimes.com/culture/who-we-are/21-selfless-strangers-their-acts-of-kindness-that-proved-our-world-isn-t-all-that-bad-276295.html
accessed September 18, 2021.