We have to be more careful about what
Jesus is saying. In our culture a whole host of children have a lot
of clout. Business surveys know that the children control a major
portion of discretionary spending in families. In many families it is
now the child's schedule which dictates the schedule of both parents.
Today children are not invisible. They run the show.
Jesus
says that the place of honor in the kingdom goes to those who make
themselves servants of those who have no power. In our culture just
because they are children does not mean that they are automatically
insignificant pieces of society. Children warehoused in orphanages in
Romania who have been invisible need somebody to be for them. The
abandoned untouchable in India need a Mother Teresa's touch. Some of
the children in our community are too visible, too powerful already,
too much in control for their own good. They need to be of service to
others themselves. Some children of our community are still invisible.
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Jesus
does not argue here that there is anything wrong with the deep and
universal desire for greatness, for a place of honor, to leave our
mark upon the world. But he says if you seek greatness in the kingdom
of God, you need to know that the places of honor goes to those who
have the ability to see and the desire to serve those who are
invisible to the rest of the world. The kingdom of God honors those
who use their resources, time, talents and power for the benefit of
those who do not have resources, time, talent, or power. Greatness in
the kingdom of God goes to those somebodies who are willing to be of
service to the nobodies of life.
Who are the
nobodies? I don't know. I would be great if I did. They are the
people moving around our lives that we somehow never see. Maybe part
of the greatness is the ability to see these nobodies and to care for
them. Hasn't that been part of the attraction of the suburbs and the
freeways? People drive into the cities, work and drive home and never
have to see, confront, or think about thousands of people in the
slums.
There are lots of different definitions of greatness. There are as
many different paths to greatness as there are definitions. Jesus
just wants His disciples to know that if they want to talk about
greatness in the kingdom of God, in His kingdom, then they need to
know the standard by which greatness is measure. If anyone wants the
place of honor, you must become a slave and serve others.
The
great ones in the kingdom of God are seen in how we receive and how
we care for those who are invisible in society, those who aren't
suppose to matter, those who are powerless, the insignificant.
Because in the kingdom of God we are to care for them even as God in
Jesus Christ has cared for all the insignificant sinners of the
world. We are to care for the nobodies because God has cared for us
when we were nobodies. We are to offer them grace and love, because
while we were yet sinners God loved us and redeemed us.
To
live in the kingdom of God is to know that we have been given more
than we ever deserved and so we can give to those who do not now
deserve the gifts of recognition, service and love, and in that
service find our greatness.
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The sermon brief provided by Rick Brand, Pastor of
First Presbyterian Church, Henderson, NC