St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes
October 20, 2024/Year B
Gospel: Mark 10:35-45
Lord, help us to be obedient to your will. Strengthen us for our life’s journey with Jesus as we await the coming of your kingdom. And, set our hearts on fire for ministry. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today, in the 10th chapter in Mark’s gospel, we are privy to what might seem like an opportunistic request made by disciples, James and John, who are brothers. The two approached Jesus seeking assurance that their places of honor—one at Jesus’ right hand and one at his left—were locked in when he returns in glory. There were 12 disciples, all considered brothers, and two of them were vying for power, not here, but in the eternal kingdom.
Jesus didn’t seem to be phased by the request and wanted to make sure that the disciples knew that it was going to take a lot more than them being the “best” disciples to be considered for such positions. Besides, Jesus was clear that only God has the power to grant such a request. But, Jesus, understanding that the brothers had no idea what they were requesting, used their bold request as a teaching moment for them, and for the other disciples within ear shot of Jesus’ response.
“Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” asked Jesus (v. 38). This is a loaded and layered question. The first layer is about the ability to drink of the same cup from which Jesus drinks. In the Old Testament, the cup, symbolizes joy and salvation and it is used as the symbol for the wrath of God. Here Jesus meant the latter.
Psalm 11:6 describes the cup as a scorching wind. It is explicitly called the cup of the Lord’s wrath in Isaiah 51:17. This is also the same cup that, in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus referred to on the night he was betrayed in the garden of Gethsemane, when he prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me…” (Matt 26:39, NRSV). This is the cup from which Jesus must drink which will ultimately lead to his death on a cross.
The second layer embedded in Jesus’ question forces us to think about baptism—not just the celebratory, baptism into new life part, but the baptism into the death of Jesus part. Jesus asked the disciples, “Are you able to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” Baptism is a drowning by means of immersion. St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, illustrates our unification with Christ through our drowning death—baptism. Paul said that all who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death (Romans 6:3-5).
James and John had no idea what they were asking Jesus to do for them. Remember, they had left everything and everyone to follow Jesus. Of course, James and John confidently replied that they were able. While the two believed themselves to be able, there is another requirement that is not explicitly stated, which is the anchor of Jesus’ teachings—obedience to God’s will. Jesus’ suffering and ultimate death on the cross was an act of obedience to God’s will.
“My Father,” Jesus said, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want” (Matt 26:39, NRSV). The disciples may have been able, but were they willing to be obedient to God’s will even unto suffering and death? There’s no question whether James or John had hearts for ministry. The question is whether or not they had the stomach for it.
Jesus knew that the cost of discipleship is not for the faint of heart, and certainly not for those with weak stomachs. He wanted to know if the disciples had the intestinal fortitude, the guts, the stomach to be obedient to God’s will. There is a cost to be paid when one believes themselves “able” to drink the cup that Jesus drank. There is a cost to be paid when one is baptized with the same baptism that Jesus was baptized with. And the cost is the willingness to be obedient to God’s will.
In 2016, Bishop Smith called me into the dual ministry of planting two faith communities—one at the University of South Florida and one here in Wesley Chapel. No doubt, both ministries were daunting concepts which were expected to become realities. In reflection, if I knew what I know now about planting two churches at once, I am certain that I was able, but I’m not sure that I would have been willing. I am grateful, that I have no idea what I’m agreeing to when God calls me to serve, because I might have the heart for the ministry, but having the guts is another story.
And yet, I stand before you as your servant, having walked this journey with you, fueled by my willingness to be obedient to God’s will, even in the midst of ongoing uncertainty. Being obedient requires walking in faith, when there seems to be no ground ahead, and it takes guts.
We do not get brownie points for being obedient to God’s commands that we like or that cause us no discomfort or grief. True obedience is exemplified in Jesus’ choice to walk in love with his disciples on the way to fulfilling God’s purpose for his life here on earth—to suffer and die for our salvation. For those of us who are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus, such is the path we walk, individually and collectively. Often times, we don’t know what God is calling us to do; we only know that we are called by God to serve God and God’s people and to do so with the servant heart of Jesus.
We are in the middle of our stewardship season. Stewardship is not solely about the giving of financial treasures. Stewardship is about “surround sound” offering—the giving of yourself in service to the church. Sunday Mass happens because many of the same servants give of their time to serve in ministries week by week; we need more. There is a poster in the narthex with the faces of all of the leaders who serve in church governance, and we need more. There are ministries, also, that don’t function on Sundays that desperately need servant leaders.
There’s no question whether or not the people of St. Paul’s have the hearts for ministry. The question that each of us must ask of ourselves, is whether or not we have the guts to be obedient to God’s will. Do we have the guts to be faithful stewards of this still very new and vulnerable church as we move deeper into unknown waters—waters of both death and resurrection? Do we have the guts to be involved in the life and legacy of this church so that it may exist for the sake of the gospel?
The last seven years of planting this church has been really hard work. And, as we have grown from the faithful few founding members to faith community gathered here in this space, there is no denying that the work God has called us to do together, has always been heart work.
May the Holy Spirit empower us, not to be served, but to serve, in the name of Christ our Lord. And, may we commit daily to walk faithfully, and obediently, in both the hard work and the heart work, as we go about building God’s kingdom on Earth.
Amen.
