In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     In our gospel reading today, Jesus and his disciples are passing through Galilee, and arrive at Capernaum. Upon their arrival, and settling into a home, Jesus, aware that something had been going on between his disciples on the way, asked them, "What were you arguing about?" But they were silent, because on the way, they had argued about who was the greatest.

     Now, I've not heard a lot of folks in church-at least not our church, arguing about who is greatest. But I was reminded recently where that kind of thing does go on-regularly-at school reunions! Over Labor Day weekend, Susan and I were pleased to be able to attend her 30th high school reunion in Fort Dodge, Iowa-and without realizing it, probably without intending to-there was a lot of discussion about who had turned out to be the greatest in life. Oh, no one comes right out and says, "well, certainly, I have been the most successful, the most productive, the most prominent member of our graduating class." No one would be so arrogant as to say that. It's more the off-hand comments that imply it. "Well, yes, I have a successful law practice in the Twin Cities." "Well, yes, I have a beautiful home in Sioux Falls, and a summer home out on the lake, and we just returned from traveling in Europe." Let me keep myself out of trouble by adding here, I'm not thinking of anyone in particular at Susan's reunion-I had a delightful time, myself-and I'm looking forward to her 35th reunion. It wasn't just this reunion-it's all the reunions I've been to. My high school reunions are very much like that-as no one wants to look like a loser, no one wants to look like they've done nothing with their lives, everyone wants to appear, as if they were the one who should've been described in the yearbook as, "most likely to succeed". And trust me, the reunions where that happens as much or more than any other school gathering, is at seminary class reunions! The fact is, the average Lutheran church in America worships 50-100 folks on Sunday, has a modest budget, is struggling just to keep the doors open, and doesn't grow all that much. By the same token, most Lutheran pastors serve average congregations, doing solid, basic ministry, never getting written up in the national magazine, never being quoted in the news, never being elected bishop. But at reunions, few are the pastors who ever say, "you know, my entire ministry, I've served average, ordinary congregations that didn't really grow, but always stayed about the same." Instead, most often, you hear stories from the pastor who served this parish that went from 10 to 10,000 members in a year; the pastor classmate who serves the parish which has been featured in Time magazine as one of the 100 best parishes in America; the pastor who has been elected bishop of the largest synod in the country. Pastor Baese was telling me recently about one of their seminary class gatherings where a pastor was just truthful and honest, and told everyone that he was serving pretty much a dying parish. But that doesn't happen too often-because bottom line is, pastors, like everyone else in the world-want to be the greatest-want to be on top-want to be respected and honored and acknowledged. We call it the theology of glory-that humans want to be best, and greatest at everything, so that folks will see that we are successful, and effective and powerful. It is part of our sinful human nature that we seek human recognition and glory, and it's no wonder that even Jesus' disciples argued here about who was the greatest, and elsewhere, about who would sit at Jesus' right and left, when He would come into His Kingdom. This desire for glory is so ingrained in us, that even Christians-even Christians today-find it not all that difficult or distasteful to weave the theology of glory, into our message and ministry. When the message suggests that God wants you to have that fancy new car-that God expects your church to be the best-that God loves winners, that is a theology of glory being preached, and beware, because it is enticing, and draws people in like moths to a flame-because it feeds our desire to be the greatest. When you build a church building, and plan for it to be the largest in town; when your focus becomes numbers and size and influence; when the worship of your church becomes congregation focused and seeks to satisfy the member's wishes and wants and desires-watch out-because a theology of glory is at work-and a theology of glory is dangerous, in the church as well as in daily life-because it's so seductive, it lures us in, it plays on our human lust to be the best, and can leave us arguing about who is the greatest, while Jesus listens in. And what does Jesus think of the theology of glory? How does Jesus respond to our human desire for greatness, to the exclusion of others? What does Jesus think of disciples and congregations who are self-centered and self-focused? Jesus opposes our theology of glory-offering instead, the theology of the cross!

     In our gospel account, the real slap-in-the-face to the disciples, comes from the fact that first, while on the road, Jesus had been talking with them about-His path to the cross, how he would be betrayed into human hands, they would kill him, and three days after being killed, he would rise again. As we heard last week, just a short time before this, Jesus had made his first prediction of the passion, telling his disciples that he would suffer, be rejected, and be killed, and then he called his followers to also take up their cross and follow him on the same path. All of this Jesus taught his disciples, so that they would understand the cross, and understand what was to happen, to him and to them. Jesus was laying out for them, the theology of the cross. Yet St. Mark tells us, "they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him." And not only did they not understand, just after, Jesus catches them arguing-not discussing, but arguing about who was the greatest! It's a real slap-in-the face for the disciples, because we, and the whole world-- see how foolish and ambitious they were. In our reading from James, Jesus' brother writes about this condition, saying, "where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness.those conflicts and disputes among you.they come from your cravings that are at war within you." But in light of these words from James, isn't this something of a slap-in-the-face to us, as well? Wouldn't we benefit from a helpful, well-meant slap-in-the-face, to wake us up, and get our attention, and show us the truth, that we, too, get caught up in a theology of glory-we, too, suffer from envy and selfish ambition, that issue forth in disorder and wickedness, conflicts and disputes, that come from the cravings-the desires that are at war within us. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us, if not all of us, have those secret thoughts and desires that push us, not just to want to do our best and to be proud of our best efforts-but that push us to be better than others, not for the sake of our own good intentions, but for recognition, for position, for prestige. If we just wanted to do the best we could, for its own sake, that's godly-that's how God created us. When our desire for greatness and recognition creates division and strife, and disorder and conflict and disputes, whether at home, at work, in the neighborhood, at church-then we are striving for glory, and seeking glory for ourselves, is contrary to the cross. Which is Jesus' point, in teaching his disciples.

     Jesus' point is, there is something glorious, about being a servant. There is something great, about serving others-if we glory at all, we are to glory in the Cross, which has to do with loving others, and caring for others, and humbling yourself-putting someone else in need, before your own needs-even someone so, innocent and unassuming, as a little child. And why is the theology of the cross so important, so critical, to Jesus, and to us? Because in the cross, there is freedom! As strange as that may sound to modern ears, it is living the cross, not glory, that brings true freedom-freedom from striving, from lusting, from craving, more and more and more. Because Jesus died on the cross, he has not only forgiven us our sin, but sets us free from our human desire to be the greatest and the best at all costs. Yes, strive to be the best you can be, the best God has created you to be-but realize, the good news is, you don't have to be better than everyone else! You don't have to make more than anyone else! You don't have to work more hours than anyone else in the office! You don't have to be more successful than everyone else in your graduation class! Because none of this will save you, ultimately! Because you are saved, affirmed, accepted, ultimately, by Christ, who gave His life on the cross, to purchase your entire life, for God the Father. So that now, one way or another, no matter what happens to you in life, no matter how successful or unsuccessful, no matter how far you move up, or down the corporate ladders-now, you are loved, you are accepted for who you are, by God, in Christ. And in that love, there is freedom-freedom to love and to serve others, not for human recognition or praise, but only because you are loved and have been served by Christ. Martin Luther said in his Treatise on Christian Liberty, "From faith (in Christ), flow forth love and joy in the Lord, and from love, a joyful, willing and free mind that serves one's neighbor willingly and takes no account of gratitude or ingratitude, of praise or blame, of gain or loss. For a man does not serve others, that he may put them under obligation, he does not distinguish between friends and enemies, nor does he anticipate their thankfulness or un-thankfulness; but most freely and most willingly, he spends himself and all that he has.without concern for whether he gain a reward. For as his Father does, distributing all things to all people richly and freely, so also does the child of God do all things and suffer all things for the sake of others, freely bestowing joy which is his delight when through Christ, he sees it in God, the dispenser of such great benefits."

     The theology of glory, does not seek the neighbor's good, but only my own position, power, reward. The theology of glory has as its aim, my own upward mobility, my own desire to move up higher, take a higher seat, sit next to Christ in His Kingdom. The theology of the cross has as its aim, my neighbor's good, for the sake of my neighbor. The theology of the cross frees me to love and care for and serve my neighbor, my spouse, my children, my friend and my enemy, not to gain something for myself, but simply, to gain something for someone else-to help someone in need. And, oddly enough, this, Jesus says, is where true greatness lies. Not in worldly glory, but in the way of the cross. Not in envy and selfish ambition, but in serving others-truly, being a servant of all. Let us, then, do all things and suffer all things for the sake of others, freely bestowing joy, which is our delight, when through Christ, we see that joy, in God, who is Himself, the dispenser of such great benefits!

     In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.