Psalm 89; Acts 11:27-12:5; Romans 8:28-39
St. Mark 10:35-45
In the name of the Father, and of the T Son,
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
St. James the Elder is not only one of the Twelve but is
part of the inner circle of Jesus. Three Apostles – Peter, James, and John –
are given the unique opportunity to witness the raising of Jairus’s daughter,[1] the glorious Transfiguration of our
Lord and the ensuing conversation with Moses and Elijah,[2] and finally the agony of our Lord in
the Garden of Gethsemane.[3] Of the three, however, we hear very
little from James’ mouth in the New Testament and we have nothing of his
writings. The Epistle bearing the name of “James” was written by the brother of
our Lord, not the brother of John.
The silent James and his poetic brother John seem
embarrassed to ask Jesus for something. It is like a child saying, “Promise not
to be mad, but I…” “We want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
Jesus’ response is the same as most parents, “What do you
want?”
The request of the sons of thunder grates on all of us,
especially because we live in America. “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your
right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.” They are asking to sit
in the two highest seats at the Marriage Feast of the Lamb. They are asking to
be given the highest honor by sitting closest to our Lord in eternity.
Immediately this sounds arrogant. “How dare they presume they can ask such an
honor. What do they think, they are better than us?”[4]
This is precisely the reaction of the other ten apostles.
“Who do those guys think they are? Who are they to rule over us? We have rights
and freedoms, and they are sinners just like us.” It is built into the American
mindset that one man ruling over another is tantamount to a king, dictator, or tyrant,
and inevitably results in horrible abuses of power.
Jesus rebukes the ten because they were seeking to rule
over the sons of thunder. Their desire for equality resulted in tyranny over
their brothers in Christ. By comparison, James and John were rebuked very
gently by our Lord. They may not have understood the full implications of their
request, but they were asking for a good thing – to be close to Christ for all
eternity.
James and John went too far in requesting the highest
seats of honor in Christ’s kingdom but at least theirs is a pious desire: to be
in Christ’s kingdom, at his side, and at hand to serve him. The ten, not the
two, are revealed to be arrogant. They demand equality for all. None shall rise
above them and should anyone stand out for any reason, they must be crushed.
Soon, no one desires to ask Christ to be near them because such a desire is
considered selfish. Where would the world be if no one desired Christ to be
near?
The fantasy of democracy is that all people are equal in
all ways. They are granted equal opportunity in every way and to deny such
opportunities is a sin against democracy. It is easy for us to consider the
virtues of such a governance, but the vices often lie in our blind spot. Other
democracies have risen and fallen – fallen for economic reasons, fallen for
wicked tyrants, fallen from invasion. In our country, democracy has allowed for
abortion to be legal and funded by your taxes. Democracy has allowed homosexuals
to claim a right to marriage and force Christians to lose their livelihood.
Democracy has allowed pornographic scenes onto cable networks during prime
time. The insistence on freedom of opportunity and equality has turned
violations of the Ten Commandments into laws and immorality into justice.
Trust not in princes, they are but mortals. No system of
governance is without flaw; most have their merits but all have shortfalls. The
sin of Adam ensures that man will always desire the downfall of other men. “I
may not be able to earn more money or become more successful, but if I can’t do
it, no one else should either.”
Repent. Repent of such arrogance and judgment against
your neighbor. “Not only are you not better than other people, but there are,
in fact, people better than you, people smarter, harder working, busier,
kinder, more generous. Don’t take that away from them. Don’t try to pretend it
isn’t so. Instead, strive to be like them.”[5]
The rebuke of James and John is gentler. Christ asks what
seems to be a rhetorical question, “Are you able to drink the cup that I drink,
and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” The brothers, still
focused on their desire and with no consideration for Jesus’ perspective in the
question, respond, “We are able. Yes we can.”
One might assume that Jesus would say, “Wrong. You can’t
because I’m God.” But he doesn’t. He says, “Yes, you will drink the cup I drink
and be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. You will suffer in
this world. You will suffer physically, emotionally, and spiritually. When
things are the worst and you cry out to your heavenly Father, he will not
intervene to stop your suffering. James, you will be martyred. John, you will
die a natural death, but you will be beaten and spend years in isolation.”
You, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, will also
suffer. Cancer will grow. Depression and anxiety will turn your thoughts
against you. Your body will begin to fail. Your eyes grow dim. Your children
and grandchildren will abandon the faith. Death will come for you and for your
loved ones. Like James and John, you will drink the cup of Christ’s suffering.
Your flesh will be drowned and die when you daily return to your baptism. Repentance
involves suffering because it involves looking at sin and being made sad
because of it; recognizing what your own sins have wrought in the world.
Repent and open your eyes to the Word of God. You are not
better than your Master. He was crucified and has called you to take up your
cross and follow him. You do not get to choose your cross, you must bear the
cross he has given you. In the depth of suffering, trust that God is good even
when you cannot see it. Know that he is chastising your sin so that you will be
made white as a virgin bride.
Your
suffering realigns your heart to recognize the one thing needful – the Blood of
Christ shed for the forgiveness of sins. Whatever we are denied in this life is
for the sake of turning us toward trust in Christ. Whatever harm we endure is
for the sake of making us to rely on the Great Physician to heal us in body and
soul. This chastisement is Christ still fighting for you against the sin which
plagues even the faithful on this side of glory. It is not punishment, it is the
last stages of victory, being won on your behalf in your own flesh.
Also, like James and John, this cup is not given to you alone.
You will drink from the cup of suffering, but Christ has finished the cup of
God’s wrath. Christ has swallowed the cup of wrath to the dregs. You are never
alone in your suffering. You follow in the footsteps of Christ when you bear
the cross of suffering. He is calling you to himself, to Mount Calvary, where
you may kneel before his throne of glory.
In his glory, that place where James and John desire to
be, we see that Jesus Christ is above every one of you. He is without sin and
yet became sin on your behalf. The most perfect human being, the Almighty and
All-powerful God of creation, became less than a slave, lower than a worm, to
atone for your sin. He did not come to be served by fancy vestments, beautiful
old words, or the smoke of incense. He came to serve you by enduring the
torment of hell for you, by dying for you, by rising again and ascending to the
Father that a place would be prepared for you in eternity. To this day he
serves you by chastising your sin and proclaiming his Word of forgiveness from
this pulpit and that lectern. Jesus serves you by instructing you in the way of
the Lord, that you would know what it is to live as the creation he made you to
be. Christ serves you through the hands of a sinful man who distributes to you
the single most valuable and precious objects in the universe – the Holy Body
and Precious Blood of God.
This is far superior to being equal. It is better than
having equality of opportunity or freedoms, or rights. The Resurrection on the
Last Day will see the New Heavens and New Earth full of individuals. We will
all look different. We will all have different abilities and personalities. We
will be free to be who we are, and we will be pure in ourselves. This is the
glory of man in the Resurrection.
In the Resurrection, we will rejoice in the Marriage
Feast of the Lamb. Some will sit closer to Christ. Some will sit further away.
All will rejoice to be in the presence of Christ and we will celebrate the
blessings of those sitting above us at table. It would be a joyous irony if St.
James and St. John were seated on Christ’s eternal right and left sides. If they
are, it would be cause for rejoicing. If not, it would be a cause for
rejoicing. Because no matter who is on either side, the Lamb is on the throne.
In
T Jesus’ name. Amen.
[1]
Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51.
[2]
Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28.
[3]
Matthew 26:37; Mark 14:33.
[4]
From this point on, this sermon is based on a sermon by Pastor David H.
Petersen, delivered on July 24, 2010, especially the comparison between the ten
and our system of government. The sermon may be found here: https://cyberstones.org/sermon/st-james-the-elder/
[5]
Petersen, “St. James the Elder 2010,” https://cyberstones.org/sermon/st-james-the-elder/
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