“One Does Not Presume to Take This Honor”

Job 38:1-7, 34-41; Mark 10:35-45

Job 38:1-7, 34-41

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind: ² “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? ³ Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

⁴ “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. ⁵ Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? ⁶ On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone ⁷ when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

³⁴ “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, so that a flood of waters may cover you? ³⁵ Can you send forth lightnings, so that they may go and say to you, ‘Here we are’? ³⁶ Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind? ³⁷ Who has the wisdom to number the clouds? Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens, ³⁸ when the dust runs into a mass and the clods cling together?

³⁹ “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, ⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens, or lie in wait in their covert? ⁴¹ Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?

Hebrews 5:1-5

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ² He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; ³ and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. ⁴ And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. ⁵ So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you.”

Mark 10:35-45

³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward 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 is it 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 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” ³⁹ They replied, “We are able.” Then 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 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. ⁴² So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³ But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

The Sermon

Every year, in the Springtime, we look at the list of questions Frederick Buechner drew up for reflection during Lent. One of those questions is, “If you had only one [message for] the handful of people who are most important to you, what would it be in twenty-five words or less?”

Another is, “Is there any person in the world, or any cause, that if circumstances called for it, you would be willing to die for?”

Those are a couple of ways of asking a question that runs through the Old and New Testaments and down through the history of the Church all the way up to your participation in it today: Who are you?

I was going to quote the song by the Who, called “Who Are You,” but it goes,

Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?

Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?

Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?

I really want to know!

Who are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?

And I was afraid I would feel like an idiot reciting that. And I have just realized I was right.

James and John came forward to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.”

They were asking for glory, but they didn’t seem to have much grasp of the suffering and sacrifice, the total self-denial, the complete subservience to the needs of an undeserving world, that would lead to Jesus’ glory.

Are you able to drink this cup?

James and John: who are you? Are you all set to put on your golden crown and bask in glory? Or are you a humble servant of God?

It makes you wonder if they remembered the great, expansive poem which is known as the book of Job, the story of a righteous man who suffers undeserved loss and grief and pain and dares to ask why. It is in some ways the most powerful book of the Old Testament because of the vital, human question that it asks; and in some ways it’s the least satisfying book of the Bible because—as in the reality of human life—the question is never satisfactorily answered.

But in the course of making his righteous complaints, and his demand that God speak to him with clarity that a mere mortal is capable of comprehending, Job puts God to the test, and the response is shattering:

Where were you, Job, when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Who determined its measurements?

Who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the heavenly beings shouted for joy?

Who has put wisdom in the inward parts, or given understanding to the mind? Who provides for the raven its prey, when its young ones cry to God, and wander about for lack of food?

In a word, Job: Who do you think I am—and who are you? Are you in a position to go toe to toe with the Almighty; are you even in a position to comprehend when the Creator of the Universe speaks?

Or are you a humble servant of God?

The Presbyterian Book of Order is kind of the manual that all PC(USA) churches follow, although “manual” may be misleading because it’s not an optional guidebook, but it’s our governing document.

The chapter on ordination of elders and pastors begins:

“The purpose and pattern of leadership in the church in all its forms of ministry shall be understood not in terms of power but of service, after the manner of the servant ministry of Jesus Christ.”

In other words, each of us faces the question: who are you? Are you interested in amassing power, establishing control, imposing your will on others? Or are you a humble servant of God?

Pablo Casals was born in the late 1800s; he became perhaps the greatest cellist the world has ever known. He lived for almost a century, and in that century, he was witness to some of the most devastating events in human history: World War I, with its mechanized carnage destroying human flesh at levels never previously imagined; World War II and concentration camps; tyrannies over hundreds of millions of human lives.

Late in his storied life, Pablo Casals said,

“Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again… And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France.

“When will we also teach them what they are?

“We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move.

“You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel?

Who are you?

Hopefully we wrestle with that question every time we are faced with a decision, or a crisis, or a moment where something special and wonderful and healing can happen if we choose to make it so.

Because this is stewardship season, I am compelled to draw some attention to the fact that next week we will bring our pledge cards forward and offer them as a prayer to God. What you write on that card, which is entirely a matter of personal and private faithfulness between you and God—what you write on that card will reflect your answer to the question: who are you?

Some will give a little, out of a sense of obligation—and what they give will be holy and blessed.

Some will have much, much less, and their pledge amount will seem to them to be almost too small to bother with. But there was a widow who walked into the Temple and gave a tiny amount of money but all she had was a tiny amount of money. And when Jesus saw her contribution, he saw not a small offering in the coffers. He saw a woman who recognized that her life was given by God, that she had a place in the world that was made by God, that her life was all about God, and that it was her free decision to live as a humble servant of God.

The people in that story who had a little more money and wherewithal were, unfortunately, not as faithful as she was.

But it makes you think: what if they were? How do you suppose God could be glorified? How many people’s lives could have been touched? How many more children of all ages could have been told who they are, and how special they are, what a marvel they are, to have been made in the image of God?

Who are you? Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you.

You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel.