Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Greatness in the Shadow of the Cross

Unedited Transcript Follows:

Name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy. Amen. Well, this week shohei Otani. Became the first player in history. To steal over 50 bases and hit over 50 home. Runs in the same season. So, he did it with kind of a A a ridiculous stat line completely unprecedented.

So he went six for six. He had two stolen bases, two doubles, three home runs and ten RBIs. No one in the history of baseball has even. Come close to a game like that. Now, I mean he was playing the Florida Marlins and they're kind of like a minor league baseball team.

But it was definitely the greatest individual game in the history of Major League Baseball. Um, and in sports. There's a lot of talk about greatness, right? Athletes work around the clock, to become the best. They can possibly be at their sport. Show. A seems like he might be on track to be the greatest baseball player to ever play the game, right?

But what I was considering this week is that. This kind of pursuit of greatness is actually a good thing. It isn't bad to pursue. Greatness. It's what every coach is coaching their teams to do. It's what every teacher is exhorting, her students towards It's what every homeschool mom is challenging her family toward That being said, Greatness looks completely different in the Kingdom of God than in a sporting event.

Or in a chess tournament. And it's because Christians pursue greatness in the shadow of the Cross. In this passage, we see the Disciples of Jesus pursuing greatness by the world standards in the shadow of the Cross. And it looks rather foolish, doesn't it? As Jesus gives a prediction of his death, the disciples discuss, who is the greatest?

That's pretty funny actually like, uh, when you when you see that contrast happening, One thing that's interesting though is that Jesus doesn't condemn the pursuit of greatness instead. He teaches his disciples in the Kingdom what the pursuit of greatness looks like So he acknowledges the pursuit, he doesn't condemn the pursuit of greatness, right?

He acknowledges. It's a normal desire. And in fact in verse 35, he says, if any of you desires to be first, Before he goes on, right? This isn't, this isn't the only time that Jesus acknowledges the pursuit of greatness. He speaks just a couple chapters later. I'm sure we'll read it in our lectionary.

But of lording, it over the Gentiles lording it over when they pursue greatness rather than the way that the disciples are to pursue greatness, right? Why is that? Because The reason Jesus is like this is because human beings are great. You know that human beings are great. You and I were made in the image of God.

We were made to look like God. The creation mandate is to fill the Earth and to subdue it. This is how. The glory and beauty of God is extended over the face of the world in the program and this is how God designed it. Is that as human beings?

Be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth and subdue it. They're extending God's glory and his Beauty over the face of the world. And the reason why we look at human beings and we see such creativity and such beauty and such intelligence and such strength. Is because God made them.

And he put his image in them and he caused them to shine with all the radiance that comes from being made in God's image. And it's plenty. Human beings are great. Now, this was Mart of the fall when we rebelled against God, but it wasn't lost. Human beings are still great.

So the problem isn't the pursuit of greatness pursuing greatness. Is good pursuing greatness is what we were made to do. We were made great and made to be great. Okay, that's well in good. Father James but if you're not a complete moron, You can tell that the disciples aren't commended for what they're doing in this passage, right?

It's not like like we all read it and it's not like they're like, it's not like Jesus is like hey good job with that arguing about who's the greatest when I'm talking about how I'm going to die, right? The passage has them arguing just as Jesus. The one who is the greatest has told them that he will be delivered over and killed in a horrific way, right?

The text tells us the disciples were silent. Because they knew how stupid their discussion was. So much that they didn't even want to answer him, right? So if the problem isn't the pursuit of greatness is what, which is what I'm telling you, it's not that they wanted to be great.

What is it? Because I think we all know we're certainly not supposed to look at this text and say I want to be just like the disciples are being right now, right? So the problem is that they didn't recognize the way toward greatness in God's kingdom. The way toward greatness in God's kingdom is.

It's actually getting lower. Because being great in the shadow of the Cross means, Getting lower. The way to our greatness in the world is completely opposite of that. The way toward greatness in the world is get higher be better. The fact, the only way that we Define greatness is in comparison with other people, right?

When you look at the Olympic podiums, One, two three. Right? The whole point is to be higher to be the highest one. And even number three, on, that bronze medal is higher than everyone else, right? It's this is how we Define greatness in the world get higher be be better than other people, right?

Have you ever thought about why someone can't say they enjoy the Harry Potter series without immediately? Being asked if they think it's better than the Lord of the Rings? It's not by the way, definitely. Uh, but but you realize, like you can't just enjoy something in itself. There's always a comparison element, right?

You say someone's the greatest baseball player of all time immediately, you think they're better than this person, right? This is how this is, how we do greatness. This is how we Define. Greatness greatness is defined in relationship to others. And in a comparison game, that's how we do it.

That's why the disciples weren't just discussing, the idea of greatness, they were wondering what who's the greatest. Because this is how the world defines greatness. Greatness is defined by being better than someone else and there's only one greatest of all time. That's why it's called greatest, right? And so like that, you can't have two

In this world. That's how we measure greatness. And Saint James tells us what this type of pursuit of this type of greatness results in. And he says, what causes quarrels And what causes fights among you, we write a day. Is it? Not this that your passions are at war within you?

You desire and do not have so you murder. You Covenant. Cannot obtain. So you fight and quarrel And this here's the deal, when it comes to Greatness, this is where Christianity asks us to think entirely different than the world system about what greatness looks like.

Why does Christianity ask us to think entirely differently? And instead of making a comparison game It's it's it's about something else. It's because like James tells us our passions are at war within us. None of us are great on our own. This is what this is, what makes Christianity different from every system in the world.

They're saying, hey, none of you can be great. None of you can achieve Christianity tells us to recognize that our achievement isn't intrinsic to us. None of us can distinguish ourselves in a single way that matters, why? Because James tells us your passions are at war within you. You're a victim of the fall.

You've received the same disease. Everyone else has. You will rebel against God. You will turn away from him. You're not distinguished, you're not special, no one is All of us. Are in the shadow. Of the Cross. Greatness in the Kingdom. Doesn't look like our own self-actualization at all.

The words of Rihanna's 2012. Hit, tell us tell listen tells listeners to shine bright like a diamond right? Shine bright like a diamond over and over. Uh yeah, over and over goodness but uh but she tells us to shine bright like a diamond. But here's the deal, the shadow of the Cross in Christian in the Christian faith.

It's so powerful that even a diamond has nothing left to shine brightly. The shadow that cross looms and it's dark. The shadow of the Cross puts us in our place. It helps us to recognize that despite being made for greatness our sin makes shining bright impossible. And it makes it necessary for the only one with intrinsic greatness.

The only one that is truly great to die in our place. And they gave us his greatness. So our, so our like pursuit of greatness is fine, but the pursuit of greatness isn't by comparison without like, I'm a little bit better than the other people that are in the shadow of the Cross pursuing greatness is about.

Identifying with Jesus. That's what it looks like to be great in the shadow of the Cross. It looks like throwing in our lot and identifying, with Jesus, he describes, Jesus tells us how to be great in this shadow of the Holy Cross, right? He describes greatness. As being first, but he tells us to be first.

We have to be last And then he tells us we must be servants. He does something pretty cool after that, right? He brings a child in In our culture that, uh, that might not have the same effect that it would have in his when a, when like a baby comes in the room, they're kind of the star in our culture.

It's just how we kind of built it. So like, if I brought a baby up here, right now, all you guys would be like, oh, baby, you know, you'd be like like looking at the baby making funny faces the baby trying to get the baby to laugh, but you'd be doing all that we do with babies.

That wasn't necessarily the case in their culture, they were like excited about a baby or a child. The child was more representation of something weak vulnerable, which is still true. I mean babies are obviously weak and vulnerable and dependent right? But that was more what this was a relationship about and so when him bringing a child wasn't like hey let's bring a cute little baby.

It was more like let's bring an example of someone that's weak and vulnerable and needy. Looks like to be great in the Kingdom. Weak. Vulnerable needy. So don't think like cute. Yeah. Happy innocent. He's saying no weak, vulnerable needy, that's what it looks like. Making yourself, lower and making yourself, weak, and vulnerable and needy.

Or recognizing your weakness, your vulnerability, and your neediness is probably a better way to say it, you know, make yourself that you just are that, and it's about recognizing that and that's what greatness looks like in the Kingdom.

So he tells us to be great, we have to become less. This doesn't mean false humility. It doesn't mean to be pretending to be bad at things. We're good at, right? But it's about a proper recognition of where we are. We stand in the shadow of the Cross. Our sin is taken away, any hope of us being standouts, can you imagine something over there?

Like, can you imagine a burning building? Someone's a firefighter rushing into a burning building to save someone right to save someone who's trapped in the burning building. And can you imagine that as they're being saved from the burning building? They're like, am I the best rescue you've ever had?

Like, I'm super good at this getting rescued bit, right? Like I am. I am the best at getting rescued. I'm way better at getting rescued than anyone else. You've ever rescued, right? Can you realize that like that would be so stupid, right? And this is what this is, what arguing about who's the best in the shadow of the Cross.

Looks like, like, in the shadow of the cross, we recognize all of us are the ones who need someone to come in the burning building and rescue us. We all realize that without God like coming and saving us and dying in our place, putting his life in our place.

None of us can take a single step toward God. All of us are desperately needy and in need of rescue and so it takes away any hope of us being like look, but I'm a little like less needy than that person, right? All of us just need God to come save us.

Look without him. And so it means when we pursue greatness, we don't pursue it by trying to distinguish ourselves from other people. But by identification with the man who's hanging on the cross that we stand in the shadow of

Jesus tells us do you want to be great? Good. I made you to be great. But there's one way. Toward greatness in the shadow of the Cross. Identify with me. Throw in your lot with me and make your life. About pointing toward me. Rather than you. See, it's a pretty funny passage.

We read today, we had we seen Jesus, Describe his coming death for the sins of the world as the disciples argue amongst themselves about who is the greatest, right? The pursuit of greatness isn't the problem here though. God created something great when he made human beings and it's perfectly natural for us to desire to achieve greatness.

The world's way of understanding greatness though, is all about being distinguished from others. There's no understanding greatness a part of being better than someone else and comparing ourselves with them, right? But Jesus tells us that in the shadow of the Cross that route toward greatness will never work. True, greatness is unattainable for all people who have fallen into sin, whose passions are at work within them and you need a redeemer to save them.

People who need saving like, all of us do are not in a position to Define greatness in relation to other desperate people who are in need of saving. Instead greatness in the Kingdom comes by getting real, it comes by being aware of the desperate. Need that all of us are in because of our sin, it comes from standing in the shadow of the Cross.

Recognizing that in the cross's Shadow, no one stands out or shines bright. As we get real. We necessarily get lower and we're willing to take the role of servant or last because there's no other role to take. More importantly, when we get real, we identify with the man who is hanging on that cross and the, the same cross that overshadows all of us.

This man, although he had all riches became poor, although he was the author of life, he took on death, and although he had all righteousness, he became sin in our place. May we strive to identify with him. So that we might achieve. The only true greatness that exists in the shadow of the Cross.

Amen.