Seat of Power
The Venerable Joan Clark
Matthew 20:20-28, Mark 10:35-45
“Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.” (James and John…according to Mark)
How many times have we said this to God? “Lord, we want you to do whatever we ask!”
We humans are creatures that want our way. We want what we want and we generally want it “now.” We like to be independent. We are self-assured. And we are ambitious.
Ambition means that if someone won’t give us our way, we will strive to get whatever we want on our own, because we believe we can, and we believe we should have it.
This is particularly true. In fact, Burger King may as well have written their slogan to represent this kind of rugged individualism that pervades our culture. “Have it YOUR way,” they said. Although, in 2014, Burger King ditched their 40 year slogan for another one with a twist: “BE your way!” So, now, not only should you have everything the way you want it, but you should be whatever way you want while you’re getting it!* And the symbol for having it your way (or “being” your way)? A crown. And when you go to Burger King, your children are given that crown to wear, just to remind them that THEY are the King of their world –and everyone else’s.
Ashburton’s slogan : “Whatever it takes”.
Is it any wonder that our church theology so often has turned us toward an ambitious search to reach established goals of success, rather than a humble bowing of the head that says, “No, Jesus, you are first! We will follow you.”
We see it in our churches, we see it in our ministries, and we even see it in our prayers. Jesus, I need you to do this for ME. ME, ME, ME. And when God doesn’t make things go our way –we can be very angry, hostile people.
But Jesus kingdom, as he tells us, is not to be acquired by ploys or merchandises, but a seat at Jesus table is by invitation only. And those who humbly follow will always be first, while those who demand the best seats, will always be thrust aside.
“Like a child,” Jesus said. Approach God as one willing to follow.
We have a lot of competitions for crowns in our culture. And in our churches.
Anyone familiar with the Story of the Hobbit? The Lord of the Rings? By J.R.R. Tolkien? The ring may look like just any ring, but in Tolkien’s story, the “Ring of Power” had an enormous influence over he who wore it. Can anyone tell me about the secret power of that ring?
Yes, for the wearer, the ring increased or amplified the inner character of whoever wore it. Wearing the ring reduced “Gollum” to a selfish creature of the dark. And even those who would do good, such as Bilbo, were influenced by the power of the ring. He could feel it pulling at him. In a sense, the ring would bring out those darker qualities in the wearer that normally might remain hidden. But once the ring is worn, it becomes a part of you, and those feelings would be harder and harder to suppress. What qualities? Selfishness. Greed. Ambition. Sneakiness. They surround our soul like a noose –or a ring. All of those qualities we have learned to abhor. Or have we?
The ring, the crown both serve as metaphors for that gnawing feeling that pushes up inside of us telling us that we are not getting enough of something, and that says, “Lord, we want you to do for us whatever we ask!” And what is left unsaid is this: Because we deserve it. Because we should have the same status you do. Because we want YOUR power and YOUR respect. Because we want to be greater –greater than anyone else. That voice that says, we are the best, we are the ones most equipped to lead, to rule, to give orders, to direct, to punish. And if humans were put in charge, that’s exactly what we’d do.
But it’s not the way Jesus’ kingdom works. Not the way God’s kingdom works.
Ambition…. is a very human quality. Grace, humility, service…. those are very Jesus qualities.
In the scripture story for today, we have James and John (and in Matthew’s story, their mother is also to blame) telling Jesus exactly this: “Lord, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
Wow! we say. What arrogance! And they were his inner circle!
And when Jesus asks what that could be, they tell him, they each want the place of honour alongside of Jesus, one to the right, and the other to the left, in his coming Kingdom.
After all of this time, just even after Jesus explained to them about his upcoming death, still all they could see is the possibility of a physical kingdom in which Jesus would overthrow the prevailing powers that be, and “they” along with him would “rule” and set their “enemies like a footstool under their feet.”
Power. Prestige. Honour. Authority. James and John wanted it all. And they wanted it first, and they wanted it now. The same position next to Jesus. Revenge exacted THEIR way.
The other disciples were appalled, angry, and even jealous perhaps. Perhaps James and John had awakened their own competitive spirits. Why should they get the places of honour? Still, they all were asking the wrong questions.
How shocked Jesus must have been. Imagine how disappointed in his entire “team.” It had to be depressing enough to look forward to his own demise. But now those he would choose to carry on his mission still don’t get it. They are still vying for control, power, authority; they are still rooting for an uprising.
Jesus tells them….you have no idea what you are asking! You’ll have my “baptism” alright…..and he hints….and my death too! You’re in line for a rude awakening, he must have thought!
Appalling you say? What about the times when we’ve said, “Jesus, I need you to make this church grow bigger than any other church in this neighbourhood.” “Jesus, I need you to make this debt I have go away.” Jesus I need you to put me on this committee or that one.” “Jesus I want you to help my team win the game.”
We are all at one time or another guilty of “needing Jesus to do what we want” instead of just “needing Jesus.”
It was because everyone around it was equal in status –even the place of the king. But it usually didn’t work that way.
You see in Jesus day, and in all of the Hebrew scriptures, in fact in any culture throughout the monarchy, the best seats in the “house” are those to the right and the left of the monarch. They were the “power seats,” reserved for those closest to the king or Queen, the entrusted few. And it was these seats that the disciples were requesting. Usually it would be the spouse who sits to the right, or perhaps a prince and princess to the right and left. It may be a trusted advisor. But those who sat to the right and left of the king would have all of the authority and status and respect that the king would also have.
And at the table as well as the throne, the seats to the right and left of the king that would be those of the most prestigious members of the king’s family or his entrusted few to whom he would give power if something happened to him.
And this is not unusual. Even in our culture, in our churches, at our family tables, most often the patriarch or matriarch or the one in “charge” still sits at the “head “ of the table, surrounded by the next “in line.” It was a position of honour, but also a position of power. And “sitting” had a double meaning. To “sit” next to the king, meant not only did you place your behind down there on a chair, but that you “ruled” next in line to the king as well.
Even if Jesus’ disciples heard what Jesus said about his “heavenly kingdom,” they still understood that it would work the same way!
“I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the Host of Heaven standing by Him on his right hand and on his left.” (I Kings 22:19)
“Why shouldn’t it be them?” they thought.
But Jesus’ kingdom was not his own –but God’s. Even Jesus could not determine who sat at the right hand of His Father. It was something the disciples could never seem to understand. And no one would understand it until after Jesus’ resurrection: Jesus is the one who would stand to the right hand of God, along with the heavenly hosts. And those invited to Jesus’ table for the everlasting feast would all be seated equally in God’s sight.
Jesus’ table would be for all those humbly invited. Not for those demanding a power seat. We are all promised a place at Jesus’ table, but no one has a place of honour in God’s kingdom, except for the King, and the King’s Son, and all of the company of heaven.
And more important to Jesus was not the “seat” they would have in his glory, but the road they would have to travel to be glorified along with him.
Just as in Tolkien’s fantasy, there is always a road to travel, and a way to a kingdom. And the adaptability of evil to seek out a path will always be strong and powerful. The path to greatness is through the woods and in confrontation with the hunter. No one gets to the castle merely by proxy.
Jesus’ knew that his disciples would have a hard road to go if they accepted his “baptism,” his mission. By following Jesus, we all put our mortal lives in peril and our souls to the test. Throughout the scriptures, in Deuteronomy, in Joshua, in 2 Kings, in 2 Chronicles, we are told to walk in the way of the Lord, to “turn neither to the right nor left,” but to keep our eyes on God.
“This is the way, walk ye in it; when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.”Isaiah 30:21
As the good witch told Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “follow the yellow brick road,” and don’t deviate from the path. The “way” of Jesus is not one of ambition, power, authority, and honour, but the “way” of Jesus will take us into thistles, and bee hives, and valleys of shadows and death. But Jesus will be with us, and in the end, we will all feast at his Heavenly Table, along with many, many others.
God’s grace is given to us by invitation. Extended to us, so that we may enter.
And the more we turn in our rings of power, the more worthy we become to enter into God’s kingdom.
May we all be faithful, humble followers of our Lord and Saviour. No matter where his path may take us. Amen.