ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT
A sermon preached by
Rev. Dr. Randle R. (Rick) Mixon
First Baptist Church, Palo Alto, CA
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Text: Job 38; Mark 10:32-45
Attitude adjustment maybe an overly simplistic way to look at today’s texts, yet there is certainly a dimension of this in God’s challenge to Job and Jesus’ challenge to James and John and the other disciples. Job, James and John all have something going for them; each has a claim to make for his faithfulness; all have lessons to learn about growing fully into life in the realm of God.
James and John are faithful disciples. They’ve left career, home, family to follow Jesus. True, they are part of this group that Mark criticizes for failing as followers, for their inability to grasp fully what Jesus has been trying to teach them about the nature of discipleship. They are part of the group that has failed to drive the demon from the boy, that has criticized the exorcist who was not part of their in-group, that has tried to keep the children from Jesus.
In today’s text, Jesus has just finished telling them for the third time, as plainly as he knows how, that he is headed to Jerusalem to be ridiculed, humiliated and executed. What lies ahead is suffering, pain and death, along with a distant promise of resurrection. Still, they don’t get it, or maybe they don’t want to understand. This is not the message they want to hear. This is not their vision of a realm of God, presided over by the Messiah of their dreams. They continue to need attitude adjustment.
The two brothers come to him privately. Ironically, they sound like children as they ask him if he will promise them whatever they ask. “If we ask you something, will you give it to us?” Now as any wise person would do, Jesus responds with the appropriate question, “Hmmm, I don’t know. What do you want from me?” Jesus is no fool. He’s not going to promise them something until he knows what they’re asking for. We might surmise from the way they start the conversation that the brothers are embarrassed by what they’re going to ask. You can imagine them standing there hemming and hawing and shuffling their feet in the dust. Don’t you think Jesus was somewhat amused by their approach, coming to him like a couple of kids? “Well…er…uh…it’s this way. How about you let us sit on your right and your left when you get to your throne?”
Possibly he saw something like this coming and is not thrown by their request. Typically, we would jump in to say that they are far off base, asking to be given special consideration, to receive places of privilege in the realm of God. What makes them think they’re so special? There is a certain arrogance and pride, a reach for eternal security, in what they ask. It sounds like they’re saying he should give them this reward because they’ve earned it. How often do we come to God with such an attitude? “Look God we’ve been pretty good here. We’ve put in some long hours, we’ve been extra generous in our giving, we’ve been kind to our neighbors, why we’ve even done something nice for a homeless stranger. Don’t we deserve a little recognition? We’ve earned a reward here, haven’t we?” Much too often this is the attitude we bring to our faith.
This is the traditional focus on this section of Mark’s gospel, but James Alison suggests that maybe James and John are on to something. He suggests they have heard Jesus’ teaching that they become like little children and taken it to heart. He says “James and John seem to have learnt from the child. It is not of course that children are 'innocent' in any way at all: it is just that they are less complicated and calculating about knowing what they want, running for it, and insisting on getting it. It is just such a pattern of desire that is able to receive the kingdom of God” (James Alison, The Joy of Being Wrong, p. 228.) So they come to him with the kind of open, honest request that a child might. Their desire is to glory with him in the glorious reign of God. Ultimately, this is not a bad desire. “We want to share fully in the joy of the God’s realm.”
And notice that Jesus does not automatically reject their request. He does not shoot them down or chastise them for asking foolish questions. Instead he engages them in a little attitude adjustment. “Think about it, boys. Do you really understand what you’re asking of me? I’m thrilled that you want to be right next to me in glory, but there is a hard, hard road to walk before we get there.” Because they come to him with the open exuberance of children, he is able to teach them that there is a price to be paid for glory, that there is a road to walk to resurrection, that there are tough times to face before the celebration. Oh, they’re quick to say, “We’re with you all the way”, but there is so much they don’t yet understand – as indeed there is for us. The outcome remains in God’s hands. God gets to set out the place cards. Not even Jesus can guarantee where our place will be at the table.
Of course when the other disciples hear about this little private conversation, they are not happy. Jealousy and anger rear their ugly heads. The tension among them is palpable. Once more Jesus sits them down and reiterates his difficult teaching about servant leadership. Power in God’s realm is simply not like power as we know it. It does not drive us to the top of the heap. It does not yield prestige and privilege. It actually precludes our lording it over anyone else. In writing on attitude adjustment, Walter Wink suggests that “Jesus doesn’t condemn ambition or aspiration, he merely changes the value to which they are attached. He does not reject power, but only its use to dominate others.” (Walter Wink, Engaging the Powers.) There is no room for domination or tyranny in the realm of God. There is only one God and we are all servants of that God. No one of is more valued or more loved because of a special gift, ability or skill. After all, our gifts, abilities, skills come from God. All are given to be used in the service of the reign of God.
I know that this is a text that has been used to keep people down. It has been a sort key text for “doormat” theology. This text has been hard on women, in particular. But I don’t think Jesus is teaching “doormat” theology here. This is an egalitarian text. We are all to serve, every one of us. The service he calls for is service freely given. It is not service born of slavery or even servitude, the language of the text notwithstanding. When Jesus calls the disciples, and us, to follow, we may feel compelled by the passion in his eyes and the urgency in his voice, but we are never coerced to follow. When we are urged to find our fulfillment in service we are not forced to go there either by dominant power or expectation, we are drawn there by the lure of divine love, the love that will not rest until all have found their way home, to sit in their places at the table and celebrate the glorious feast God has prepared for us all. The kind of service to one another, to the wider world, indeed, to the whole creation that Jesus lifts up is service of love and compassion, freely given and gratefully received because we see the presence of God in every human being, ourselves included. We see it in every living thing and in every corner of creation.
In a delicious word of irony, Martin Luther King once observed, "Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." Attitude adjustment for James, John and the other disciples is to see that they can let go of reaching for power and glory. They can walk freely and humbly with Jesus the way that leads to glory. They can celebrate in solidarity with one another, even when the road gets rough and danger lurks around and the road leads through the valley of the shadow of death, because there is surely something wonderful to be embraced on the other side.
Job discovered this in his own process of attitude adjustment. Like James and John and, perhaps, some of us, Job was a good man. He was righteous and faithful. He surely did not deserve what he got at the hands of heaven. Like the disciples who periodically remind Jesus that they have given up everything to follow him, Job is constantly reminding God that he has lost everything and yet remained faithful. The common message is that we merit some consideration here for the sacrifices we have made, for the suffering we have experienced, for the pain and the death we face. “God you should treat me better.” “Jesus you should give us the best seats in the house.”
Admittedly these are hard texts and this is not attitude adjustment that we take to readily. We, like our biblical forebears, live in a world in which we believe, or at least want to believe, that goodness is rewarded and evil is punished. This grace that gives the same payment to those who come to work late in the day as those who started at the crack of dawn does not sit easily with us. I’m not sure this explains everything, but when God gets tired of listening to Job complain, he answers him with a power and majesty that knocks Job off his feet. The word is that the God we serve is beyond our grasp. God will not fit into some box of our construction or be bound in some book of our creation. God is “the More,” always calling us on to something new and more fulfilling than we ever imagined. It takes an attitude adjustment to see the true nature of our relationship to the God who made us and the whole creation. Walter Brueggemann says to the ancient sufferer, “Yes, hang on to your integrity, Job, for it is never questioned. But learn a second language. Learn to speak praise and yielding which let you cherish your virtue less tightly. No one can stand in the face of the whirlwind on a soap-box of virtue…Being right is no substitute for being amazed" (Walter Brueggemann, "A Bilingual Life" in The Threat of Life).
What is amazing about this ancient tale of Job, as also in the stories of Jesus, is that God draws near, speaks in a voice we can hear, with words and images that we can understand. God even takes on human form to show us the way. Perhaps we do not like the way God speaks to poor old Job. Maybe we’re not crazy about the way Jesus talks to his struggling disciples. Perhaps they should be gentler, soften the messages a little, make it easier for us to follow along. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes find it hard to hear such challenging words. Sometimes I need an attitude adjustment. I have to live with the word before I come around. But what is truly amazing, perhaps amazing grace, is that the great God of the universe, the creator and ruler of all that is, comes to us – yes to you and me, JoAnne and Mary and Thelma and Lynn and Dan, and calls us by name. God hears our concerns and our complaints and takes the time to respond. God’s voice from the whirlwind, Jesus’ call to servant life and sacrifice, are manifestations of love for creation as well as for you and me. There is no promise that the way will be easy but there is an ancient promise that the way will be blessed, blessed by the love we find for God, for ourselves, our neighbors and all creation.