We Want To Be First

Jesus and his disciples continue their journey. As they are heading to Capernaum (Mark 9: 30-37) Jesus again teaches them about his future: “the Son of Man will be betrayed into human hands. They will kill him and three days later, he will rise again.” Scripture tells us that “they did not understand, and they were afraid to ask.” I am pretty sure I would have reacted as they did.

Once they arrive at the house in Capernaum, Jesus asks them what they had been talking about on the road. They are silent because they had been arguing about who was to be the greatest. He then explains to them that if they want to be the greatest, if they want to be first, then they must be last of all and servant of all: To use their gifts and talents and privilege to serve others.

The call to be last of all applies firstly to those aspects of our lives where we hold some privilege or have some skills and abilities. Our privilege may be financial privilege, racial privilege, education privilege, gender privilege or unique skills or talents. Being last or servant does not imply that we are to be doormats, or that we are to be quiet in the face of oppression: not at all. It is a call for us to use our privilege and our abilities to serve those who do not have them. As I read this week in Sojourners Magazine, “we are only last in those places where we are first, and only servants where we have the ability to lead.”

What does this look like in real life? I share two examples to get you started thinking. First, Bill Gates, Founder and former CEO of Microsoft Corporation and his wife Melinda started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which is worth $50.7 Billion Dollars. They use their money and their gifts and their blessings to fight disease, poverty and poor education around the world.

Second, The Very Reverend Tracey Lind, former Dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio. She was Dean of the Cathedral for seventeen years, as it grew to over 1000 members and devoted many of its resources to the benefit of the citizens of the city. She also has a Masters Degree in Urban Planning and volunteered with organizations that served the city in that capacity as well. In 2016 at a Baseball Game she went to the ladies room, looked in the mirror and did not recognize the person looking back at her. In November of that year she was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Lobe Degeneration (FTD). Her life and that of her spouse, Emily Ingalls, changed dramatically. After her early retirement, she and Emily spent time in Paris, France with a friend who was Dean of the American Episcopal Cathedral there. Her friend asked what next? Over the next few months they answered the question by deciding that their ministry would be to travel the country and world sharing their story of “Dementia from the Inside out and Upside Down” for as long as they could. They have been doing this for the past two years, and I was privileged and blessed last week to meet them and hear their story at a Clergy Conference. They are making a difference in the lives of victims of Dementia and their partners/care givers all over the world. They have truly followed Jesus’ command to become last of all and servant of all.

May we use our gifts and privilege to become the servant of all.