Rev. Dr. Rebecca L. Kiser
PROMOTIONS IN FAITH
Oct 21, 2018 Pentecost 22-B Job 38:1-7 &
Mark 10:35-45
I talked with my son Joe a few days
ago; he was happy with getting promoted - he’s a hard worker, dedicated, makes
the effort to be there on time and be diligent about his job. He’s been that way since he started at Ruth’s
Chris as a dishwasher several years ago - the only position they had open at
the time, and he had school loans to start paying off. He’s been promoted through the kitchen as the
maker of side dishes, then moving into grilling the steaks, then getting a key
to close up and do inventory - all hourly wage positions. He’s now going on salary and taking manger
training, an all-expenses paid three weeks training down the coast in CA. He’s working his way up the ranks, earning
promotions and being able to meet the new demands. Joe has a degree in philosophy, and in his
personal philosophy, any work is work, even being a dishwasher - although he
had his eye on promotions and better salary all along. But he gave the same attention to detail and
work ethic at every job he’s done, and gotten noticed. He can get along with about anybody - he’s
even picking up Spanish to talk with his co-workers. That’s the way things work
in the world, mostly; Joe also knows that along the way there will be jockeying
and political maneuvering and things that may seem unfair. Usually, though the
way it works is that we begin our careers in the more lowly positions and work
our way up. We are taught implicitly, if
not explicitly, that goodness and hard work are rewarded. Its working for Joe so far. He’s young, white,
male, nice-looking, smart, well-spoken and with a good personality and no
health problems - which some people think have no impact….although they
eventually do.
Our disciples of this morning’s text
seem to have assumed that there is a similar dynamic in faith - a few weeks
ago, Jesus caught them talking about who would be the greatest in this new
kingdom Jesus is talking about. In
today’s text they’ve realized that its the Kings who appoint people to those
positions of power, so they are lobbying Jesus to be the ones seated closest to
him when he comes to power - sitting on his left and right hand, a visible
symbol of power and preference. Probably
appointed as the head of the most important divisions of command, lots of money
and other perks. I can understand how
this would appeal to men of a virtual slave population, who don’t have that
kind of upward mobility even possible in their world; and they have to watch
the Roman folks rule and gain riches and make orders about their life in which
they have no input. At least in this new kingdom where they’ve been loyal to
Jesus from the start, they might get that kind of power and influence!!!
Once again, like we do, they’ve
taken the way the world “works,” and mistakenly applied it to the realm of heaven. They’re not the only ones to have done this
in religious history! And in current religious life, either. It seems such a human drive to seek better
position, better success especially in outward ways; better approval, larger
spheres of influence, more responsibility and the perks that go with it. To improve ourselves and our position as
measured against others, to get the A’s, to get the degrees, the promotions,
the visibility.
Not that its such a bad drive, that drive to improve, to
better ourselves, to seek more skill and mastery, to hone ourselves, to seek
more insight and more consistent living in the kindom of Jesus, or better
service to God. To be a better musician,
or a better craftsperson, or a better teacher, to know more about the practice
of law, to become a more effective counselor - or whatever our calling or
profession or talent is. Then its a joy in and of itself, a drive of our inner
person to fully actualize the potential of our gifts.
Where it slips off the rails is when it gets confused with
outward recognition and power over others - these tell us we’re good, which is
nice, but unnecessary to our inner drive; or confused with what it means to be
a good person; or how much status we have - or power we have, especially over
other people. When we think being
talented makes us superior or more important; or too important to take jobs
that are ‘beneath’ us, as if it a wasted of our valuable time. When we think that financial and status
reward are what its all about.
From an early age, I wanted to be God’s best Christian ever
- faithful, attentive, keeping the rules the best, knowing Scripture, knowing
doctrine, being a missionary to the most difficult places, never sinning. Which isn’t a bad thing, except it was kind
of grandiose - and I didn’t know what I was talking about in
terms of spirituality, and what makes a person more spiritual. And I associated it with being able to ask
God for anything and getting it right away, which other people would see and
envy, and I would be special, and everyone would know it,.... It was rather a comedown to realize just how
much of a sinner I actually am, and how I’m just as average as the next person;
and that there are people way beyond my gifts of music, knowledge, counseling,
insight, writing and everything else. I
wasn’t the world’s best parent, I realized in college that I was not the next
great piano performer, I realized in seminary that I was not the best Greek and
Hebrew scholar - I was proficient, yes, but didn’t have that inner drive to
strive for any of those things. Not like the drive I had to preach and pastor,
or the drive to deepen my relationship with God. Those were where my personal inner commitment
lay. And to continue learning, exploring different subjects to see how they
related to spirituality and church. Not that I’m a rock star in those things
now, either.
Its been hard letting go of the companion desire that
everyone see and acknowledge my greatness, that I become a sought-after speaker
on the lecture circuit and make lots of money as well as recognition, be the
first clergywoman to do this, that or the other. Because that was in the mix, and, if I’m
brutally honest, is still being winnowed out.
You know, there is a career path among preachers, although
preachers will state that all calls are calls, all equal before God. Here’s the
path for Presbyterians - preferably you are born into a Presbyterian family,
get a good undergraduate degree from a well-known college - in the southeast,
its Davidson. You have a good network
among your home presbytery, and go to a Presbyterian seminary - in this area,
its Union in Richmond, or maybe Atlanta.
Along with your upbeat dossier, your connections help you find a good
starter church - a smaller church, of course, while you learn your craft and
build your network. After a few years,
you find a good Associate position in a larger church, with a well-liked Senior
Pastor, where you learn the dynamics of working with larger groups and committees,
and grow your network in presbytery. You
attend some training events at Presbyterian places like Montreat, if you live
in this area; and eventually you get connected to a larger and more successful
church that’s still a single pastor church, or you become a Senior pastor of a
medium-sized church with a Christian Educator, perhaps. The pinnacle of your pastoral career is to be
head pastor of a multi-staff church, write books and make one of the larger
church salaries. This mostly works for
white males, unfortunately, although some white women have made some inroads,
and some Asian peoples. If you are a
female pastor, you are told that all calls are equal before God, and that its a
privilege to serve God in any church call.
Although the larger church seeks more equality and representation for
minority racial and gender persons, and advocates for such, if you look at this
presbytery, for example, our black pastors are at black churches, we have only
1 woman as an Installed Pastor although there are 10-15 other women clergy, we
are all serving as stated supply or interim or chaplains, and mostly
part-time. And clergy women all over the
country and in differing denominations are paid significantly less at every
level of church size.
I hate that there’s a career path in pastoring. I’m glad our church has a minimum salary
guide - I wish they also had a ceiling on pastoral salaries, with those
congregations able to pay more are assisting smaller congregations or carrying
more missions. That would go a long way
in convincing me that my denomination truly believes all calls of God are
equal.
So I have had to settle this within myself, and not let the
folks who think they are better pastors because to their better salaries,
define who I am and what I am worth to God.
And I have had to examine myself
to root out any bias or prejudice I might harbor that says smaller
churches are worth less spiritually than larger churches. Being a smaller
church is not a comment from God about the worth of this congregation; and
being a pastor of a smaller church says nothing about my own call and
competence in the realm of heaven. I’m
not sure our call system shows that equality of worth and competence of either
church or pastor, and we need to tell ourselves this truth as often as we need
to hear it!
Jesus goes on to tell his two
disciples, as well as the other 10 who are disgruntled and disgusted with those
two, that they don’t know what they’re asking.
The kindom of heaven that Jesus is talking about is not like earthly kindoms. And God tells Job that there are some
questions his mortal brain just can’t answer or handle. Its not a put down, its not a one-upmanship
thing to shame Job, its just a statement of fact. We are not God; and its a
struggle for us to get it through our brains that spiritual things are of a
different order. I mean, look at the
folks considered holy in the Scripture - they sin, they pay the consequences,
they suffer, they are tricked by others, they are killed by others, they are
conquered and enslaved, and Jesus himself is executed by the government, and
with the approval of the religious hierarchy.
In today’s lingo, assassinated by an unnamed government agency while the
church leaders breathe a sigh of relief that this upheaval is over.
Jesus tells his closest followers,
who we would expect to be those about to enter into a shared glory and shared
power in a new realm, that to be the greatest in this new kindom is the least of all - the servant of all - the
slave of all. We who follow Jesus,
follow one who did not cling to divinity and power, but set it aside to be born
in finite human flesh, and to serve our salvation by laying down even that
human life. People are that important to
God; and service is that integral to spirituality. Jesus cared about us even while we knew nothing
and cared even less about God; Jesus served even the people we humans consider
the most vile. That, friends, is our model of faith. To give ourselves for the world; not as a
doormat with no spine, but as a spiritual offering of great love and compassion. That’s what we are each and everyone called
to do as followers of Jesus the Christ, the Messiah. God’s version of sending a
superhero to conquer all was to send Jesus, born as an infant to an immigrant
couple from a country where they were maligned and misused. Growing up in a small town community and
learning a craft in his dad’s shop - and meanwhile obeying them, learning his
Hebrew lessons and learning the words of the Scriptures in his heart.
This is our Savior, this is our
leader, this is our teacher. We will not
be greater than him; if we’re able, we will follow his example and learn
humility and compassion from him, and serve even the lowest among us. This is just the beginning of what he called
“drinking from his cup.” I can look at my
past, now, and see that the rough parts of my life,in bringing me lower and
deflating my sense of specialness, made me more human, made me know I’m in the
same boat, the same sinner, the same prejudices, the same contrary drives, the
same ability to deceive myself. They
brought me to see my need for God in a more balanced and real way, and to be
grateful and thankful for where I am and who I am. I think its all made me a nicer and more
approachable person, knocked off some of the rough edges, and made me care more
for people’s troubles. I thought I could
get here by sheer will power, but actually its been from struggle and
loss. I get the feeling that this is
somewhat more what Jesus meant than asking to be seated on his right or left
hand.
AMEN.
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