Posted on 09/19/2009 4:49:20 PM PDT by Charles Henrickson
“From Selfish Ambition to Humble Service” (Mark 9:30-37; James 3:13 – 4:10)
In this long green season of the church year, the so-called non-festival half of the year, the Epistle reading is not chosen to fit the theme of the Holy Gospel, as it is in the festival half of the year. Instead, it’s just a straight reading-through of a particular epistle, and any correlation between the Epistle and Gospel is merely a coincidence. Well, we have such a coincidence today. The Epistle reading from James and the Gospel reading from Mark do have a common theme. It’s the theme of Christians, disciples of Jesus, being called to move “From Selfish Ambition to Humble Service.”
Selfish ambition: That’s what’s going on in the Gospel reading, as Jesus lets his disciples know that he knows they were arguing about who was the greatest, about who would be first. Selfish ambition: That’s what’s going on in the Epistle reading, as James rebukes his Christian hearers for their “bitter jealousy and selfish ambition,” which causes disorder and quarrels and fights among them. Selfish ambition: That’s what’s going on in our hearts, in our lives, in our family, and even in the church. Today you and I are being called to move “From Selfish Ambition to Humble Service,” and we want to heed that call and put it into action, by God’s grace.
But you say, “Selfish ambition? Why, Pastor, that’s not me! I don’t have any ambition at all!” Well, that would be an opposite problem, wouldn’t it? No ambition at all would mean sitting around all day eating bon bons and watching soap operas. That would not be ambitious, but it would still be selfish. A certain amount of ambition--better, a certain kind of ambition--is necessary to make your way in this world and not be a burden to others, and even to make a positive contribution. Ambition, per se, simply means that you’re striving after something, and that can be a good thing. So, for instance, St. Paul could say, “I make it my ambition to preach the gospel.” Paul tells the Corinthians, “We have as our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord.” He tells the Thessalonians, “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life.” So it’s not ambition in itself that is wrong; it’s what kind of ambition it is, when it is selfish ambition.
There are many passages in the New Testament that speak against selfish ambition. Paul tells the Corinthians that he fears he will find among them “contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults.” In Galatians, he lists among the works of the flesh “hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy.” Paul instructs the Philippians, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”
So our text today from James fits right in. He writes: “If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” And then James describes the bitter fruit that this selfish ambition produces: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.”
Selfish ambition is not true to our new nature as Christians. But it does come naturally to our old sinful nature, it is the way of the world, and it does produce fights and quarrels and damaged relationships among us Christians. Can you see it in your life? Do you recognize this selfish ambition in your heart? Recognizing this selfishness in yourself--not in your husband or wife or neighbor, but recognizing selfish ambition in yourself--this is part of repenting of this sin, so that you then are ready to receive the Lord’s forgiveness and his help to live differently. It’s always easier to recognize this trait in others, isn’t it, than to come to grips with it in your own life.
Think about how you try to put your own interests first, to get ahead of others, to get your own way, to get others to serve your desires. This can take many forms, but it is the same underlying spirit. How often this causes quarrels and fights among us--in our marriage, in our home, in our church. So often we are operating from a “me first” spirit, and when two or more “me firsts” collide, there are bound to be conflicts. Hurt and resentment result. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above. This is not God’s wisdom. This is sin. This is you. This is me.
What to do? James tells us: “Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” In other words, in one word, repent. Don’t rationalize your sin; repent of it. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” There you go. This is the way out of our sin that would control us and condemn us to death: Give up. Let God lift you up. Give God your sins, because “he gives more grace.” More grace than all the sins and selfishness that ever were or ever will be--that’s what God gives us freely and superabundantly in his Son, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is, in his person, the embodiment of the wisdom that comes down from above. “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” This describes our Lord Jesus Christ, doesn’t it? This is the life he lived, the ministry of service and unselfishness and self-sacrifice that he practiced. Jesus is the wisdom that comes down from above. For he is God’s Son, who came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation. That’s why he came, to rescue us from our sins and to give us new life and a new spirit as his people. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” “He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” This is the way of the cross that Jesus speaks of in today’s Gospel: “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” It was necessary for Christ to go this lonely way of suffering, in order to save us. There is no other way for us to be saved from sin and death, other than through the atoning death and victorious resurrection of our Savior, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.
We are new people in Christ, free and forgiven! This is how God exalts us, lifts us up. He raises us up to new life and eternal life, through faith in Christ. We are baptized into his death and resurrection. We receive his Spirit, to live as his new people, a community of servanthood, reflecting the character of our Servant-Lord. Jesus schools us in the academy of humble service. He teaches us, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” This sounds upside-down to the ears of selfish ambition but is really life lived rightside-up. This is the wisdom that comes down from above and serves others. This is love. This is you, dear Christian, this is me, in Christ.
How will this play out in your life this week? God will give you opportunities for love and service every time there are people put in your path or that come to your mind. You will be strengthened for that moment, those moments, every time they occur, because you are a Christian, you are baptized, and you were here today to hear the good news and to receive the blessed Sacrament, which strengthens you in faith toward God and in fervent love toward others. So you will be ready to respond in love and humble service. For you know that your position is secure in Christ. There is no need for selfish ambition, for God is the one who lifts you up, exalts you, and will indeed raise you up on the Last Day for a life of eternal joy and bliss. Be secure in that knowledge and sure hope. Now you are free to let go and serve. God will supply the love. Just ask him for more when you run short, for he always gives more grace. By grace you are saved, and by grace you will serve. Receive his grace, live in that grace, love and serve!
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Mark 9:30-37 (ESV)
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
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