Job 38:1-7, 34-41

Psalm 104

Hebrews 5:1-10

Mark 10:35-45

Mt. Zion UMC, Stokesdale, NC

22 October 2006

Phenomenal Cosmic Power… Itty-Bitty Living Space

What did you want to be when you grew up? Well, maybe for some of us it’s still “What do you want to be when you grow up?” From an early age, I wanted to be in a vocation that included a lot of research, reading, and writing. For quite some time, I was bound and determined to be a scientist. Oh, I wasn’t too sure exactly what I was going to be studying. I guess my vision of the scientist I was going to be was much more along the lines of Christopher Lloyd’s character in the Back to the Future trilogy. You know, the scientist who just seems to be knowledgeable of just about everything. I thought that this kind of scientist had a historical precedent… after all, Benjamin Franklin seemed to be this kind of scientist. As years went by, I found that there were different kinds of scientists – each specializing in a particular area of science. I soon found myself gravitating towards Astronomy… and then… Aerospace Engineering. I then discovered that there were many scientists who were also astronauts! That’s so cool! I’d be able to still be a scientist while hurtling thousands of miles per hour outside of the earth’s atmosphere! This was a great plan. I was interested in all the things that scientists and astronauts do… then I made a realization – I really don’t like math. I’m not particularly gifted at algebra and the thought of calculus simply makes me shudder. Apparently, math is a big deal for both scientists and astronauts.

So, where am I years later? I’m a pastor who is discerning the possibility of more school in a few years… and I wouldn’t trade my vocation for the world. I find myself in a vocation that requires a lot of research, reading, and writing. Oh, and very little math. It turns out, that as a young boy dreaming about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I knew a bit about what I wanted and would do, but I really didn’t know it all. Because of this experience, I think I can relate to James and John in our reading from the Gospel of Mark this morning.

Here we find James and John turning to Jesus and asking him for a favor [Mark 10:35]. They asked him that when all of Jesus’ glory is known that they be allowed to sit at his right and left hand… places of honor [Mark 10:37]. They had a vision of what they wanted for themselves when all things came to fruition. Not unlike my vision of being a scientist and astronaut when I grew up. But as with everyplace of honor, there is usually some criteria that must be met before one can assume it. For instance, to be an astronaut, one must go through years of schooling and training… both of which require quite a bit of math… before one can be counted among the names of Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Sally Ride, and a list of other brave men and women who are astronauts. Jesus mentions the criteria that James and John must fulfill – to drink the cup that Christ drinks and to be baptized as Christ is baptized [Mark 10:38]. Of course, their reply is “We are able” [Mark 10:39]. Why wouldn’t it be? They didn’t fully grasp what Christ meant by drinking his cup and being baptized as he is, just as I didn’t fully grasp just how much math is involved in being an astronaut.

Jesus then told James and John, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but is for those for whom it has been prepared” [Mark 10:39-40]. Jesus was affirming that they would be able to do what they claimed to be able to do, but that they may not fully realize exactly what they would become. It’s as if James and John wanted the honor and glory of sitting with Christ without realizing exactly what it all meant to do so. But then, that should be no surprise because God did something very strange with Christ. What’s strange is not that God reconciled humanity with God’s self through Christ, but how God reconciled humanity with God’s self.

God is all-powerful, infinite, and ever-present. In our Psalm today, we sung of God’s majesty and power. God commands things in nature that we humans can’t even predict, let alone control. In our reading from Job, God reminds Job that it was God that created everything. That it’s God who has all wisdom and knowledge. Simply put, God has “phenomenal cosmic power!” [this phrase is from Disney’s animated movie Aladdin]. But then, God does a very weird thing… about 2,000 years ago, God became human and lived among us. Instead of guiding and teaching humanity as God had done in the Old Testament, God became a lowly human as Jesus Christ. God is bigger than we can ever imagine and yet God became a single human. “Phenomenal cosmic power… itty-bitty living space.”

God’s plan for salvation was not to remain powerful by the world’s standards. Instead, it was to be made lowly. It was to become human, to suffer with us, to be tempted with us, to die with us. Yet, despite this “itty-bitty living space” of being human, God was still the “phenomenal cosmic power” somehow and rose from the dead. And God offers us the same life.

We are called to live a life worthy of God’s calling. That calling asks us to drink from Christ’s cup and to be baptized with the baptism Christ was baptized with. This isn’t simply partaking in the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion, although they are an important part of it. It’s also about living a life of service to God. Jesus teaches his disciples after James and John ask for the favor of sitting at Jesus’ right and left, “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many” [Mark 10:43-45]. We’re called to serve God and one another. We’re called to give of ourselves as completely as Christ gave of himself. God set aside the “phenomenal cosmic power” for an “itty-bitty living space” to serve us… to provide us life. What powers do we have that we’re not willing to set aside for God? Money? Time? These things are power that we have some say in here and now.

Of course, it is difficult to live a life of service, particularly when we’re tempted by not only things, but also when we’re tempted by worry… worry about not having enough money or time or patience or strength or courage. Our reading from Hebrews reminds us that Christ knows our temptations and worries firsthand [Hebrews 5:7-10]. If God has “phenomenal cosmic power” to control things that we can’t even imagine, and God has become human as Christ to die for our sin, then God will offer what is needed for us to fulfill God’s callings in our lives.

God works funny. He took me from wanting to be an astronaut and scientist to loving being a pastor and scholar. God went from “phenomenal cosmic power” to an “itty-bitty living space” to serve us. God then calls us to live lives that can be difficult to live because we are to serve when we’d rather be served. It makes me wonder what God’s doing in the parts of my life that don’t seem to make sense or to be going as planned.

SDG