“UPSIDE DOWN AND BACKWARDS”
Mark 10:35-45

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
36 And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?”
37 And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38 Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
39 And they said to him, “We are able.” And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized,
40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

One of my most vivid memories as a little girl was learning how to sew. As a child I spent hours watching my mother leaning over her 1949 Singer Sewing Machine. She often told us proudly it was model # 201 “the best Singer machine ever made". For many years I remember each spring mother making my sister and me matching Easter outfits complete with hats and coats. She made sewing appear to be easy. I loved hearing the purr of her machine while she worked. Its soothing hum would speed up or slow down depending on the length of a seam.
When I was in middle school I asked my mother to teach me to sew. She had infinite patience. Over and over she would explain the process of sewing from pattern and fabric to a wearable garment. She talked of seams, and lining up the pattern with the selvage edge before pinning. She showed me how to thread the machine and to use the leg peddle to make the needle move up and down. Yet, it wasn’t the most pleasant experience because of the sheer frustration I felt not being able to do what looked so easy for my mother. I wanted to make a jumpsuit, popular at the time, and was having trouble attaching the yoke to the main piece. I became aggravated and taking the yoke in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other, I preceded to cut it into tiny pieces. No more sewing for me.
Soon after this dramatic display of frustration I got up my courage to try again. Looking more carefully at the pattern I realized that if I turned it upside down and backwards, I could sew the yoke to the jumpsuit. This was the key. I was seeing from a different perspective.
Reading today’s Gospel message from Mark I am drawn to the struggle the Disciples continue to have understanding what it means to take up the yoke that Jesus is teaching. For the third time, we hear Jesus announce that his life will be given up in sacrifice yet the Disciples just don’t to get it. Instead they continue to see from the perspective of their world, concerned with their own ambition.
The scene opens with James and John walking up to Jesus away from the other disciples. Their action seems secretive or a little sneaky. I can almost hear them whispering so the others will not hear, “Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask you.” I hear Jesus reply to their command in a patient loving voice, “What do you want me to do for you?” It is then we hear the truth behind their question. James and John want to be picked out of the group. They have their own vision. Their hearts desire is for a position of greatness, prestige, and honor. They want to sit to the left and the right of Jesus after he triumphantly enters Jerusalem. Looking back we know that the brothers along with Peter are witnesses to the transfiguration of Jesus on top of the mountain. The three men are personally selected by Jesus to be there alone with him. They have a life changing religious experience watching Jesus transforming into the Christ and witness his face turn dazzling white similar to the shining sun. And, they even get to see Moses and Elijah.

Meanwhile, down in the valley, the nine disciples left behind haven’t been successful in healing the spirit possessed little boy. When Jesus returns and learns they have not healed the child he rebukes them for their lack of faith. I think James and John, full of their importance after their mountain top experience, may have a little swagger in their walk, feeling greater than the others. Even knowing that Jesus, the Messiah is going to Jerusalem to bring the Kingdom of God, they still seek their own glory.
When we look at what happened that day, it's clear that James and John were very ambitious people. I think we can all relate to their drive of ambition. Now, ambition is not necessarily bad or wrong. It is ambition that can push us to work harder to accomplish our goals like becoming a better student, getting a promotion at work or a prize for our athletic abilities. The difficulty comes when we get so wrapped up in our own ambition that we become self centered and less aware of our family, our friends and our neighbors. Self centered ambition is never satisfied causing us to move further away from God’s love. As we reach for our own glory it becomes easier to lose sight of our desire to live in the Kingdom of God. This type of ambition can be viewed as Eros. Eros is a Greek word meaning a love that focuses on the desire and longing of the self or the me. It is this all important me, me, me love of this world that has contributed to creating the state of our present day economic problems.
Yet we can choose to be ambitious in a different way. We can have the ambition to reach out to others in Agape, another Greek word meaning a love that seeks to center ones life on the well being of others. This kind of ambition gives humbly in service in order to be the heart and the hands of God. Jesus clearly tells us that in order to follow his path we are to surrender to our own interest for those of others. To take up his yoke, to be great, we must be servants to all, to be his hands in order to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, find a room for the homeless, give clothes to the shivering, and visit the sick and the prisoner.
Ambition in the service for others in the form of Agape is a beautiful thing to witness. This Body of Christ, Union Congregational Church, being together at the Lobster Bisque luncheon to raise money for Christian Community Service, was witness to the heart and hands of Jesus working among us. As God's servants we saw the love and care that went into making the gallons of creamy lobster bisque, the baking of the delicious chocolate brownies, the setting up and taking down of the tables and chairs, greeting visitor, scooping ice cream, washing dishes, and sweeping all done to raise money that will serve others is our extended community. This ambition, this work of giving of time and resources for the need of others, is the yoke that Jesus asks each of us to take up. The work of David Heim from Marlborough MA is another example of ambition in the form of Agape. In a newspaper article this week we learn this ambitious man, best known as the "Wheelchair recycler" has spent the past 11 year fixing power chairs for the people with his greatest need. Permanently paralyzed in a car accident in 1995 David Heim knows what a wheelchair means for a disabled person: "Independence. That's the greatest thing." His nonprofit organization refurbishes used wheelchairs and sells them for a portion of what a chair would usually cost. Heim has helped over 500 people across the country and internationally since he started his company. Though his business is struggling to break even, he often gives away chairs and services to people who can't pay.
Ahhh, AGAPE, the ambition of our abundant God. You know it when you see. It shines like a glorious beacon of light for the entire world to behold.
This light, the Christ that James and John walked to Jerusalem with, will never give up on us. Like my mother's infinite patience when teaching me to sew, Jesus waits for us as we seek to see from a different perspective. Like James and John we are learning that for Jesus the Kingdom of God is upside down and backwards. The best and greatest and most important are the ones who humble themselves, set their needs and desire asides, and selflessly serve others. Amen Student Minister – Katherine Pinkham
October, 18, 2009