WHO'S THE GOAT?

 

WHO’S THE “GOAT?”

The greatest of all time

 

Who’s the goat- the greatest of all time- and how do we know? How do we even know what the term “great” means? The dictionary tells us that “great” often means very large in amount or degree. “The temptation was too large for Johnny. Her paintings cost a great deal.” “Great” may also mean something like “wonderful” of “fantastic,” like “it’s great to be home,” her meal was “great,” or pastor Ken does a “great” job of preaching.

 

Great means big, impressive, better than, and in some sense, more worthy of an honor or a position. It’s a competitive term. I see that Hank Aaron is the GOAT of the MLB, that Jerry Rice is the GOAT of the NFL, and that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s GOAT. Thomas Edison is the GOAT inventor, but Steve Jobs and Nikola Tesla were close. When it comes to singing, who’s the GOAT? Or painting?

 

The GOAT is bigger than, better than, more memorable than, and more important than those who are not the GOAT. But what if we are measuring service, sacrifice, tears, love shown… instead of home runs and touchdowns? What if we’re talking about giving instead of getting, listening instead of talking? Who is the GOAT- the greatest of all-time at the United Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, IL.? I see the stained glass windows and the names that are identified, but I don’t know if one of them is our GOAT. Praise God for those who keep our beautiful old building in repair, for those who stock and distribute food, for those who visit and pray for others, for those few who work in our resale shop, and quilt, and prepare and deliver our holiday food baskets, and for those who show up and help us carry a tune! Thank God for the faithful, but who knows who are GOAT is, or if there can even be a GOAT in heaven?

The New Testament world was filled with slaves and free persons. A doulos was a slave. Slaves did a variety of jobs, but they were always owned and never free to choose for themselves. According to Matthew and Mark, you had to become a doulos to be first in the kingdom of heaven. You had to surrender entirely and “die to yourself,” as Bonhoeffer said. But to be “great” in the kingdom, you had to be a servant, a diakonos, a deacon. A diakonos was free to come and go, but he/she always worked in service of someone else! The ancient Greeks saw service as undignified, but in the kingdom of God, being a servant is great!  Paul was proud to call himself a servant of God.

This brings us to our passage: “Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the way?’ (Because they had been bickering on the way back home). And there was a awkward silence because they were embarrassed to say that they had been arguing about which one of them was the “greatest.” So he sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last, and doulos of all.” In the kingdom of God everyone is a servant- kings, pastors, elders, deacons, teachers, healers, visitors, pray-ers, and everyone else!

And so, James, John and Peter… and Mary, Julie, Harold, Ken… and any other would-be GOATS in the kingdom of God, it turns out that God doesn’t see greatness in the same way we do… because being “great” is not about us! We can’t be great! A great servant is something of an oxymoron, but we can be faithful! We can be “of use” to our Lord by serving the least among us… as if they were Jesus himself. I’ve always liked 1 Cor. 13 because it reminds me that it is all about love… and unfortunately for those who want to be the GOAT, love doesn’t keep score! If I speak in tongues, Paul noted, but do not have love, I am only a clanging cymbal. ² If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is not self-seeking! And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

If we love, forgive, empower, and love some more, and do it… until the cows come home, we may hear our master say, “Well done, good and faithful (servant) diakonos,” but if we do these things in hope of being the GOAT, we will be nothing! Amen!

 

 

 

 

 

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT HE IS?

 

There comes a time in any relationship when we have to get down to business and deal with what it really means. There comes a time when we need to state what our relationship is with someone we love. So, when they reached Caesarea Philippi (in the north of Israel), Jesus asked his disciples to tell him what people were saying about him. Well, (they may have replied) people say a lot of things. Some say that you are a teacher, some say that you are a physician, some say that you are a philosopher, some say that you are Mary’s boy, some say that you are a carpenter. People say a lot of things.

 

But then Jesus got to the crux of the matter and asked his disciples- "Who do you say I am?" Who do you say I am? Be careful when you answer because your answer will speak to your relationship with Jesus and in some sense, it will define who you are as we travel together. Of all of the Bible's profound questions, this is surely at the top of the list!  Who do you say I am? It's a life-changing question and Jesus asks me and you the same question today- who do you say I am? Well, Simon bar Jonah (the son of John) shouted it out, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!" Wow! What a marvelous answer. You, my friend and teacher... are the anointed one of God. You are the man who has come to set us free. You are the Son of the Living God! It was an awesome answer, and Jesus affirmed it, saying. "Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah" for my Father in Heaven has revealed this to you. "And I tell you that you are Petros (Peter) and on this rock (petra) I will build my church…!"
     

Christ said that he would build his church on such faith, but from that time on Jesus began to talk about his suffering, death, and resurrection plainly. He began to tell his followers what it really meant to be a leader, but “Peter the Rock,” would have none of it! In a bold and inappropriate move, Peter took Jesus to the side and told him to quit talking about things suffering and dying. Peter was bold enough to re-define what it meant to be God's Messiah. In plain English, Peter told Jesus to "knock off" his talk about suffering and dying. He wanted Jesus to embrace an easier and softer way- a way without sacrifice- and Jesus had already heard this temptation in the wilderness. So he turned to Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan, because you are a stumbling block to me!” Get behind me, Rocky! Go back with the other followers... and fix your mind on the things of God!
     

Then Jesus said to all of them, "If anyone wishes to follow me, (s)he must deny himself and pick up his cross." We don't have to follow Jesus. We don't have to get involved, but if we choose to, we will need to be a follower! We will find our purpose and joy in life by going where Jesus leads us. We may encounter a leper on the edge of town, we may meet a widow who is burying her son, we may be asked to take a stand against injustice, we may find ourselves dining with the least among us. No one knows exactly where Christ will lead them, but we do know that if we sign-on for the journey, we must follow... with a cross on our back! Our cross is a cross of surrender, service, and love, that we pick up daily, because we cannot follow Christ on our own terms! No one can, of course, and the cross we carry is a daily reminder that we have chosen the road less traveled... AND a purpose-driven life that will store our treasure up in heaven.
     

Some people insist on a small god- a god whose greatest desire is to make them happy and comfortable. Some people want a God who is little more than a good friend. Some people want a God who asks nothing from them, but this is NOT the God of the Bible… or the God of the Cross! The journey to life begins see it clearly and shout out- you are the Christ and the Son of God! Amen!

 

WHO WOULD YOU LEAVE OUT?

 

When he finished debating the Pharisees about the necessity of hand-washing, he told those who were gathered around him… that the source of all sin is lodged in their hearts. Then he left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre, which was then in Phoenicia. Tyre, now in Lebanon, was an important costal city in its day, and although its citizens worshiped a god named Malku, they did have some contact with their Jewish neighbors.

 

One of them was a man named Jesus who quietly entered the town one day- to rest, and get away from the mobs who clamored for him to meet their needs and also the Pharisees, who were harassing him as he moved from town to town in Israel. Tyre was populated by “unclean” people and the entire region was “off-limits” to orthodox Jews… but for reasons of his own, Jesus went to Tyre, and entered a house there.

 

He wanted to a little rest, but his fame had already spread to Tyre. People there were aware of his work as a healer and as soon as Jesus arrived a Syrophonecian woman confronted him face-to-face. She was desperate because her “little girl” was “beside herself.” She was no longer in her “right mind,” and her family could see that she was in the hands of a destructive spirit. Things were getting worse and so, this unnamed woman traveled to Jesus… and begged him to heal her daughter.

 

She was respectful. She fell at Jesus’ feet and begged, but she was there… talking to a man, talking to Jewish man, and she seemed to be unaware that she was way out of her league. She seemed to believe that Jesus could and would heal her daughter, not withstanding the boundaries that governed the ways in which men and women, and Jews and Gentiles… were expected to interact. She seemed to believe that she was as entitled to a miracle as anyone else would be. So she begged Jesus to heal her daughter!

But Jesus demurred, saying that he had been sent to minister to the Jews. I’ve been sent to minister to the children of Israel and that’s where my focus and efforts must be. It wasn’t a matter of empathy, but a matter of priorities. “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” Yes, the dogs because dogs were “unclean” and when they were free to speak, many Jews called Gentiles- “dogs.” Jesus’ answer was “no,” or at best, “not now,” but the woman held her ground.

 

She didn’t slink away without saying a word, and she didn’t suggest that she and her daughter should be at the table. She knew that they were not first in line… but she insisted that even the dogs under the table received crumbs of food. Everyone, even the dogs, ought to share in the bread of life. Even if they weren’t at the head table, they should receive God’s love, grace, and healing, even if its only in the form of crumbs. The woman didn’t quarrel with Jesus’ mission, or with the blessings the Jews were receiving… but she was sure that she counted too. Then Jesus told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

 

Faith is strongest when it finds its form in action, and this foreign woman embodied the very definition of faith, She came to Jesus, believing it seems, that she had a right to speak to him. She was asking for her daughter, not demanding, but begging. She knew that if Jesus responded, it would be a “gift of grace.” But out of desperation for her little girl, she asked humbly… and when Jesus demurred she held her ground and presented her case… which was not a matter of what we deserve or even who should be first. It’s simply believing that grace cannot be limited in any way and that God really does love… all the children of the world.

 

Jesus loves the little children/ All the children of the world/ Red and yellow, black and white, girls and boys, gay and straight, blessed and troubled, in all sizes and shapes, Hebrew, Presbyterian, and Lebanese… Jesus loves the little children of the world. Amen!