Last but not Least

Mark 9: 30-37

Today's Text illustrates a central message in the life and ministry of Christ: Servanthood. Within the life, death, and resurrection of Christ we find an expression of service and sacrifice that establishes the precedent for following in the steps of Jesus. Jesus, our Greatest Servant was sacrificed to the World so that we--although despicable and wretched--might be reconciled to God. And in the passage of Scripture that we read, Jesus suggests to his disciples that he must be a Sacrifice and Servant. Jesus indicates that he will be killed and then rise again in three days. But what is interesting for us to notice this morning is the following condition he lays out for his disciples. Jesus does not only embody Sacrifice, he also commands an attitude of service: “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” But it is not just the author of Mark that recognizes this aspect of Jesus' teaching. There are the words of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it” (9:23-24).

As we heard earlier in today's service, Paul echoes Jesus' attitude in his letter to the Corinthians as he describes his own willingness to humble himself for the purpose of serving others (1 Co. 9:19-23). Thus we are left with a simple condition, to be disciples of the Christ, we must be servants of the Christ. Now this simple condition is not always simple to undertake. For we are constantly in battle with our desire to be anything other than a servant. We want to do anything but sacrifice ourselves for others. Yet, this is the picture Jesus seems to paint for us. Christ offers us a vivid image of Sacrifice in his own actions, but also teaches his followers to realize this in their own lives.

One individual realized this fully in her life, and thus became an example to us all. I think there are few, if any, who would disagree that this remarkable female truly captured the notion of servitude and sacrifice by offering herself to the poor and needy of the world. My attention was directed toward this woman through a Homily given by Friar Tommy Lane during his Parish work in Ireland. Born in 1910 in Macedonia, and belonging to the Albanian community, this woman was baptized as Agnes. In 1928, at the age of 18 she decided she wanted to be a missionary for India. She joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto and went to their mother house in Dublin. Here she learned to speak English and took the name Sister Teresa after St Teresa of Avila, the patroness of missionaries.

In 1929 she arrived in India where she completed her training. She had been sent to Calcutta to study to become a teacher. The children quickly grew to love her and called her “ma”. Her work was teaching history and geography. Eight years later, in 1937, she made her final vows.
But Sister Teresa felt she was receiving a second call, a call to leave the convent and take up with the poorest of the poor. Eventually in 1948 she received permission to leave the Loreto community provided that she kept her vows. She exchanged the Loreto habit for the cheap white and blue sari. First she went to Patna to get medical training as a nurse. Back in Calcutta she went to work in the slums in the streets, to talk with the poor and help them. During this time she was staying with the Sisters of the Poor. The following year, 1949, seven girls joined her in her work. In 1950 she got approval for the foundation of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Charity. There were still only 12 sisters then. She needed a house for her work and bought a house which has become the mother house of her congregation. Throughout her life of service, Mother Teresa won many awards including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
On the 5th September, 1997 Mother Teresa died. Her life was committed to the poor and helping the needy, and she worked to establish a congregation which grew from several sisters to over 3000 working in over 500 missions in 100 countries.

Because of her work in helping the poorest of the poor she was called the “Saint of the Gutters.” She would see Jesus in everyone she met. Mother Teresa said “love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.” Like Mother Teresa we can share with the poor and needy around us. We can share our smiles, our words, our time, and our belongings. We, like Mother Teresa, must see God’s presence in the people we meet daily and treat them as children of God. Let us serve and love one person at a time. God does not want us to love crowds of people, that is an impossibility. He wants us instead to love Him in every single person we meet. This is our service. This is our Sacrifice.

The kind of Love that Mother Teresa shared with the poor and needy is not one that is easy. It requires commitment and dedication. It requires effort, time, and resources. Mother Teresa simply realized that Love. We must realize that Love. And here is the beautiful thing about realizing this Love, it is not one that makes us “least.” It is not one that makes us less. This Love is powerful and affirming. This is a Love of God that we realize in our own being and make real to the world. This is a Love that demands we be last, but not least. For in being last we make ourselves servants, but the very act of doing this elevates us by reflecting the Love of the Most High God. This is not a humiliating Love, but a humble Love. This is not a self-deprecating Love, but a Love pouring from a self affirmed by God. This is not Love from someone worthless, but Love from someone who God saw to be worthwhile. We are agents of Love serving the world, serving people, serving each other.

So how are you making God's Love real in this world? How are you sharing yourself, committing yourself, dedicating yourself? How are you being “last?” Like the disciples on their journey through Galilee are you quarreling over who is the greatest? Or are you focused on being a Disciple of Christ, on being a Servant of God. Are you concentrated on Love and Servitude? Or are you concerned with elevating yourself above the rest of the people in this world, in this community?

My hope and prayer today is that this message would be our modern day version of what the text says happened in Capernaum. For in Capernaum Jesus took the disciples aside and said, “Look, you simply cannot worry about who is the best. There is no time to waste on this foolish debate. Instead, strive to be 'last,' a servant.”

And if you will recall, Jesus brings before his disciples a child, in fact literally an infant. He takes the infant in his arms and says: “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me...” (Mark 9:37). Our call to servitude is not one that discriminates between people. Our call to servitude is to sacrifice for all, the way Christ sacrificed for all. The infant brings our attention to the weakest, most frail condition of humanity. The infant is dependent on others for nurturing and sustenance. And this small child is used by Jesus to deliver his message. The infant must be received by the Servants of Christ, by the Disciples of Christ.

So who have you been serving? Who have you been loving? Do others see you as a servant, or as a quarrelsome glory-seeker? Are you so concerned with yourself that you have forgotten those around you, have you forgotten the very ones around you in need of Christ and Christ's Love. Be Christ's Love. Make it real.

As you reflect this morning, remember that there are opportunities in this community and with this church to be God's Love. I encourage you to get involved. To seek after God by realizing the very Love that is bestowed upon you. Become an active member of this congregation and community. We have work that needs to be done, people that need to be served. We have church objectives to meet and community outreach to undertake. There is a community just outside our doors that needs food, clothing, and shelter. Let us not ignore their need, let us not ignore the call of our Christ.

Benediction:
May the Love of God be made real to you. May you see that Love as a challenge and a call. May you be re-newed in the spirit of service and servitude and find yourself committed to the needy, hurting, and tormented people of our community. Let us all reach out. Let us all extend the Love of Christ to our Neighbors, Friends, Family, Co-Workers, and Peers. May the Love of God saturate our being and overflow to those around us. May we not quarrel over self-righteous positioning, but instead be transformed by the reality of God's Redeeming Grace. For in God we are Loved, and through God we are made to Love.

Amen.