Succession

Pentecost 18, Proper 20

September 22, 2024

Fr. Tim Nunez

May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

This morning, we join Jesus and his disciples as they are working their way south through Galilee. Jesus is keeping a low profile at this point because he is teaching his disciples about the very hard road ahead at Jerusalem.

Jesus says he will be handed over, and we know it will be by a friend, Judas, one of his 12 closest disciples, his intimate leadership team. This is a striking betrayal of friendship.

He will be handed over to “human hands.” The High Priest, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders who will interrogate and condemn him are meant to administer God’s mercy and judgment. But instead, they administer their own judgment because Jesus challenges their leadership and authority. Despite their religious appearance, there is no indication that they are following the scriptures or being led by prayer. These are indeed “human hands” as are the Roman soldiers who “will kill him.”

Jesus adds that three days after they kill him, he will rise. Clearly, the disciples aren’t quite getting that part. Nor do they seem to get the “son of man” reference. Most often that just means “human being,” except in Daniel 7:13-14, which Jesus will quote at his trial. But we aren’t there yet. The disciples are confused on that part, which is completely understandable. It’s also understandable that they are afraid to ask questions because that “Get behind me Satan” burn is still fresh on Peter. And they don’t have ointment for that.

The part they do hear clearly is that Jesus is going to die. What then?

Succession planning is important. It shows up in formal and informal ways. This election season, for example, is a grand exercise in succession planning with primaries, nominations, and votes. At the top, the presidential candidates have running mates, so we have a built-in succession plan right there. (The same thing is true in gubernatorial races, which I note because it’s fun to say “gubernatorial” and how often do you get to say gubernatorial in a sermon? Gubernatorial.)

Businesses and organizations of all sorts have succession plans, and if they don’t, they often realize they need them. Family leadership rolls forward from generation to generation.

So, it’s natural, if unseemly, for the disciples to start thinking about who is going to be in charge once Jesus dies.

They come back to Capernaum, back to the city and house where they began. Jesus doesn’t seem to be angry with them, but he uses their questions as a teaching moment to impart a lesson that will guide them after he dies, after he rises and after he ascends and they see him no more.

Jesus’ greatest act of service, of love, will come on the cross. His next greatest service will come through the lives of these disciples and the church that will form around their testimony to Jesus and his victory over sin and death.

The disciples won’t be able to do that by electing officers, taking control or by arguing with each other. Organizational structures are helpful, even necessary, if they embody this principle, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and must be servant of all,” which at heart is the posture for loving your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus did it. He owned nothing. He had no home, only the clothes on his back. He served everyone. He taught those who wanted to learn. He comforted the suffering and healed people from their afflictions. He fed the hungry and welcomed the outcasts. His disciples did it. They left everything to testify to him and do what he did. They suffered and died for it. We must carry it forward. But how does that work? Jesus wasn’t a doormat.

Jesus took a little child in his arms as a model for their ministry. When we welcome a child, we care for the child as the child needs. A four-year-old needs different care than a ten-year-old. But in any case, what the child needs, the child needs.

I preach a children’s sermon whenever there are children in the service because they are members and visitors of the church just the same as a anyone else. We put them physically at the center of the parish hall so that during meals and receptions we can watch and protect them. We need to meet them where they are and as they are, in all their enchanting honesty.

One lesson I’ve learned over the years from working with kids at Camp Wingmann is that when a child is unable to flow with the structure of the camp, they either have something very wrong at home or a medical mental health issue or both. Many teachers and mental health professionals have affirmed that observation over the years.

As we grow, we take on responsibility for our decisions, our actions and our inaction. People are different. Some are more different than others. We are not naive. Not everyone is of good will and purpose. But that principle applies to most. We at least have to encounter people with that same generosity of spirit. We want the spiritually lost to come here. We want the broken and the lonely to come here. We want the confused and difficult to come here. We are a hospital for sinners. Our love isn’t meant to merely tolerate each other, but as God’s love flowing through us, to heal, restore and reconcile.

And that is the posture we must carry into our interactions with people, generally. Remember that most of the difficulties we have with people are not born out of malice or bad intent. Most often people are broken by current or past struggles or medical issues. Indulgence isn’t love, I’m not saying that. But our confidence in Christ enables us navigate those issues with grace, the same grace Jesus showed us when he chose to die for us, “while we were yet sinners.”

Here’s a bit more from that passage in Romans chapter 5.

“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:6-8)

That’s the path to being a servant of all. Remember what God has done and is doing for you, and recognize he wants to work through you to save others from being lost and suffering.

AMEN!