Watch the Sermon VIDEO here
I watched Pope Francis arrive at D.C.’s Capitol Dome
to address a joint session of Congress on Thursday…in a Fiat – a Papal
Fiat! Popes are accustomed to issuing
fiats – or bulls - orders that must be followed. This was the first time I saw a Fiat issuing
a Pope to the front steps of the United States government!
Now, honestly, I wasn’t
going to watch the address, but there’s something about this man’s humble
manner that made me want to listen. It
was a well-spent 45 minutes!
Pope Francis embodies what
Jesus said about a leader being the first in line to serve others.
So Jesus called them
together and said, “You know
that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt
their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must
be your servant, and whoever
wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve
others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45(NLT)
If you
have ever played darts you know the idea is to hit the center of the
target. Some small places on the target
(the bullseye) are worth lots of points, and some are worth a lot less. One thing is obvious; if you want to play
with excellence, you don’t aim at the low scores!
Aiming
at the low score is a great definition of the word pusillanimous. Those
who act pusillanimously take whatever they can get without too much effort. You can throw a dart backwards and get a few
measly points!
By
comparison, those who are magnanimous (people of great
soul or spirit) aim at the bullseye every time; they’re concerned with
excellence – doing their absolute best.
This
is the essence of the living the Christian life as it was intended, doing your
utmost in everything, instead of just settling for what you can get
cheaply. That’s taking the low road of
self-indulgence.
In Mark’s account, James and John had asked Jesus
for a promotion; Jesus told them they didn’t know what they’re getting
themselves into. He reminded them of
times he forecasted persecution and hardship, and asked them: are
you able to bear that? They said “yes,” but they really didn’t
understand; their eyes were glued to the prize of being right and left hand men
to the King.
Pusillanimous!
Easy reward! Instant
gratification!
By
contrast, in Paul’s letter to the Hebrew Christians he speaks of the magnanimous
sacrifice of our great High Priest, Jesus.
It is the incredible upside-down-ness of the Kingdom of God
that is presented – where the first is last, and the meek will be mighty.
It
is the King who dies for the sinner; the Master who serves the slave.
The Principle is: IF YOU’RE GOING TO BE GREAT, LEARN HUMILITY;
SERVE! AND START WITH EACH OTHER!
In
short, Jesus says, Don’t be Pusillanimous; Be Magnanimous!
But
that’s Counter-cultural!
We
live in a society that says forget others – get what you can; if
you follow Jesus and serve, it means you will swim against the tide.
That
takes work.
If
you’re going to live the way Jesus taught the disciples you will have to wage
war on your own tendency towards pusillanimous second-rate living.
I
have to fight that battle every single day.
Consider:
·
When you take a course in school – do you set
your sight on learning…or do you just want a grade; beef-up your GPA?
·
When you go to work – are you building,
producing, adding to value in society…or are you there for a paycheck?
·
When you are asked to be a leader or worker in
the church organization – do you take it seriously, or is it just allowing the
committee to plant your name in one more slot?
Pusillanimous
living builds a resume; Magnanimous living builds character!
And
the choice is ever is to be magnanimous or pusillanimous!
The Application of this Truth – Be a Kingdom person!
To
follow Jesus magnanimously means you must keep the Kingdom of God as
priority.
Jesus
did, and the writer to the Hebrews said Jesus became the source of eternal
salvation.
For
us, individually and corporately as a church body, it means we probably need to
scrap
most of our schedules and to-do lists in favor of what
Jesus told the crowd gathered to hear his Sermon on the Mount:
Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness…Matt 6:33a
Our baptismal covenant
points us in that direction in practical ways that are not hard to understand.
This morning we will come to
the water to be once-again reminded of why we do what we do; we come to
remember and renew our vows of being magnanimous, Christ-honoring people.
In the name of the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit!
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