Do you have phrases stuck in your head that your grandparents used when you were a kid? These down-to-earth tidbits of elder wisdom are priceless core memories that can instantly take you right back to Grandma’s dining room table laden with Thanksgiving dinner delights whenever you hear them. I recently had a conversation with a friend who was bemoaning the fight in her neighborhood between the HOA and a separate governing board. We talked through the issues and finally she threw up her hands and said, “They’ve all just become too big for their britches!” Grandma would have loved that. It was one of her favorite sayings! Indeed, the ego driven arrogance of some of these “leaders” in that neighborhood fits that description. Paul would say, “They think more highly of themselves than they ought.” And you know the problem of becoming too big for your britches: You risk splitting the back seam of your pants and showing your … um … core memory.

Today’s passage is a classic tale of two brothers who had gotten way too big for their britches, or robes in this case:

Mark 4 (Common English Bible)

³⁵ James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

³⁶ “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

³⁷ They said, “Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left when you enter your glory.”

³⁸ Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup I drink or receive the baptism I receive?”

³⁹ “We can,” they answered.

How conceited was that response? They had no idea what drinking the cup and receiving the baptism meant, but they were absolutely positive that they were big enough to handle it. In their limited thinking, sitting at places of honor in Jesus’ kingdom would be amazing. In truth, it would involve drinking from the cup of sorrow and receiving a baptism of suffering, death, and resurrection.

Jesus said, “You will drink the cup I drink and receive the baptism I receive, ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom it has been prepared.”

I wonder if when Jesus told them they will drink the cup and receive the baptism they smiled and high-fived each other, thinking they had won something. But I am sure that Jesus did not participate in their celebration, as he knew exactly what would happen. James was the first disciple to be martyred according to Acts 12, and tradition suggests that John survived an attempted murder when he was submerged in a vat of boiling oil. In truth, the baptism they received was a baptism of fire.

⁴¹ Now when the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with James and John. ⁴² Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. ⁴³ But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant.⁴⁴ Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all,⁴⁵ for the Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”

Jesus dressed them all down and then redressed them in pants that fit their mission. They were called to be humble servants of each other and greatness would be defined by how well and faithfully they served. In this way, they took on the servanthood appearance of our Lord, who humbled himself even unto death.

Is God trying to humble you? Do you need to take a step back and see where you might serve someone in quiet kindness and gentle generosity?

The only way to be first in Jesus’ kingdom is to choose to be last.

Serving the Hungry at Fayetteville United Methodist Church by Kathy Schumacher