WOO! We're Number Last!!

September 16th/2015...
Preview... 

Wooooo!   We're Number Last!

Mark 9:30-37: 

They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again." But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him. Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them,"Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."

I golf like I bowl,  in the sense that I can never break 100.  If you are neither a golfer nor a bowler let me break that down for you....I lose a lot.  Yep I have mastered coming in last in sports related contests.  It used to bother me, now I just focus on the fact that I actually enjoy bowling and golfing (terrible scores aside). Golf for the joy of being out on the course having a nice walk, come in last but enjoy the day and in that way you always win.   I am in good company on this front as Jesus himself said "whoever wants to be first must be last of all".  I know why I am interested in last place but what is Jesus' fascination with Last Place?

Frankly it comes back to golfing...sort of.  A good golfer, as I stated above, is in it for the joy of the sport. He or she plays because it is fun, character building, and active.  You enjoy the walk on the park-like course.  You enjoy the company of your fellow players.  You learn to control your annoyance at the little white ball and by turns become a more patient and focused person.  You learn that control is more important than power and you learn that less is more.  (All of this, by the way was taught to me by my Grandfather on the golf course)  In the end if you are diligent in your practice of these things you become better.  Any good golfer will tell you that the only shot that matters is the one you are taking right now.  That awesome drive that got you 4/5 of the way down the fairway won't get you on the green, the chip shot you are taking now will.  The awful 4 putt on the last green has nothing to do with the drive you are taking from the next tee.  You put all of that behind you or it will cloud your mind, affect your play, and ruin your day.   

For Jesus being last isn't about actively choosing to lose.  It is about not caring about winning in the first place, but doing your best because it feels good to be your best.  The disciples were getting focused on who was doing the best "disciplining" when Jesus just wanted them doing the work at hand and not letting the notion of winning cloud their service and faith.  

Jesus knew that things were about to get really terrifying.  If they were focused on the worldly notion of being winners then Jerusalem was going to decimate them.  Jerusalem was going to be a huge loss in terms of successful ministry.  Let's face it any time your leader is executed it really seems like your whole cause is lost. Jesus needed them focused on the importance of what they were doing for God, and not whether or not people would pat them on the back for it.  

The same is true in our lives.  I know church leaders who become obsessively fixated on how well their ministry is doing based on how many people sit in their pews on a Sunday.  "I have the biggest church in town!"  "Our attendance is up one hundred percent!"  Mega-churches, giant small groups, and mini-denominations....oh my.  But it does little to answer the question of "is that actually good ministry?".  Does it put the needs of the Kingdom first or are there sacrifices, concessions, and compromises being made that diminish the Gospel in favor of enlarging the congregation?  The same is true in our day to day life.  When we pursue our faith, what is our goal?  Approval?  Self-righteousness?  It should be to be the best disciples we can be, regardless of how we are perceived or rewarded.