October 17, 2021
Sermons
The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost E. Bevan Stanley
October 17, 2021
Proper 24, Year B
Job 38:1-7, (34-41)
Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b
Hebrews 5:1-10
Mark 10:35-45
In the Name of the one, holy, and undivided Trinity. Amen.
In today’s readings we see two different sides or aspects of God. We encounter the grandeur and power of God in the confrontation with Job, and we see the humility of the incarnate deity in both his depiction as a priest in Hebrews and in Jesus’ declaration that the measure of the stature of his disciples will in their service to one another.
Let us begin with Job. For some thirty-seven chapters Job has been asserting his righteousness and integrity and asking for a hearing with God. Now he gets what he was asking for. There are two aspects to this confrontation. First, God grants the interview. God is willing to talk to Job. The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me. Only Job will not be questioning God; God will be questioning Job. Job wants to know the cause or rational for all his suffering. God is not going to answer that. What God is going to point out is that God is so transcendent that any questioning by a human being is impudent. Nevertheless, despite of the distance between divinity and humanity, God is willing to engage in conversation. God desires real relationships with us. That is what God values in Job and why he dismisses all the facile explanations of Job’s sufferings by his companions. This is very different from the Platonic idea of the Form of forms that would have no direct relationship with mortals. This is a God who loves to relate to people, a God who is engaged with the creation. No matter how far away God may seem to you, remember that you can always talk with this maker of all things. Talking with a transcendent being is not always comfortable, but it is real.
Turning to Hebrews, we hear about priests. First there is a definition. A priest is a person who “chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.” The author of the letter is speaking of the Jewish priesthood that was descended from Aaron, the brother of Moses. A priest is an intermediary between God and the people of God. A priest is subject to weakness as all mortals are. The priest can be compassionate and humble. A priest is chosen by God and does not presume to volunteer. The author then uses this understanding of the Jewish priesthood to talk about Jesus. Jesus is not a descendent of Aaron, but of Judah, but one way to think about Jesus is as priest. Instead of the Aaronic priesthood, the author turns to the mysterious figure of Melchizedek a priest and king of Salem at the time of Abraham, centuries before Aaron was born. The name “Melchizedek”, means king of righteousness. Salem means Peace and the place later is called Jeru-salem. Abraham honors Melchizedek by paying tithes to him. The author of Hebrews applies a verse from one of the Psalms to Jesus and in this way has God tell Jesus that he is “a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” Yet his is a ministry of humility and submission: In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.
In the Gospel Jesus teach his disciples the importance of humility and service. James and John approach Jesus and ask that he would let them sit on either side of him when Jesus took his throne in heaven. Jesus responds that that is not up to him. Then he goes on to say, “You know among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Pope Gregory the Great called himself “the servant of the servants of God,” and subsequent popes followed his example. In liturgical processions the highest-ranking clergy go last, not first. We call those who lead Christian congregations “ministers” which means people who minister or serve the congregation.
When we put this all together, what do have we got? We have a transcendent God who longs to be in relationship with us and who understands that it is good for us to know that we are not transcendent. When this transcendent God enters the universe God had made, he takes the form of a servant. He is like a priest but not one of the normal priests but this super priest from outside the lines of the chosen people. And every time the disciples start to get proud of their relationship to Jesus or their ability to heal or cast out demons, Jesus reminds them that their job is to serve each other and the world.
And what about us this morning at St. Michael’s? We are gathered to stand before our transcendent God (Girding our loins is optional!) and talk to God in our prayers and praises and to listen to God in the scriptures and the liturgy. We are to serve one another by the ways we work in the church and the kindnesses we show one another. We are to serve the world by helping people in their need and doing what we can to make the world more like the kingdom of justice, compassion, and peace that Jesus envisions. And yes, if it’s not about love, it’s not about God.