The Sin Struggle of Disciples—Then and Now

Rev. Dr. Mark Porizky

9/24/06

Mark 9:30-37

They went on from there and passed through Galilee . And he would not have any one know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise."  But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him.  And they came to Caper'na-um; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?"  But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest.  And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all."  And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."

      Envy.  That's the name of a recent book by Joseph Epstein.  I heard Epstein interviewed on PBS as I was driving out to Old Saybrook last week to attend a Presbytery meeting.  The interview was so engaging that I sat in my car in the parking lot for twenty minutes to let the interview finish.  Upon driving home I immediately stopped by the library to check out the book. 

      Envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, a list that dates from Gregory the Great in the 6th century and has been refined somewhat since then.  These seven behaviors or attitudes have been singled out because it seems that every destructive aspect of human life is rooted in one of them.  They cause alienation from God and one another, and destroy the goodness for which we were created.  The seven that are considered the root of all other sins are: Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Anger and Sloth. 

      So what is envy?   Well, first, envy is not the same as jealously.  Although this is an oversimplification, consider the difference.  We are jealous about what we have, and envious of what other people have, or of what we believe them to have. 

      For example, we are jealous of our parents' love, our girlfriend's attention, our boss's admiration.  Nor is jealousy always bad:  we can be jealous of our dignity, the freedoms associated with democracy, our integrity.  We can be zealously jealous in our desire to hold onto and protect these virtues. 

      But except for the type of envy that leads us to imitate admirable qualities in another, envy is always negative.  Envy is also less about what we lack than about what other people have.  Nor is envy the same as a general yearning, such as wanting to be younger or in better shape.  Envy is usually particular and specific.  And part of what makes it so insidious and destructive is that it operates in secret.   

      We don't want to admit envy to anyone, even to ourselves unless it's something as small as that which Epstein calls entree envy. That's when you go out to dinner and everyone else's entree looks better than yours.  Most of us can admit to that one.  It's the bigger ones that we don't want to mention to anyone, and the most painful ones we work hard to hide from ourselves.  Lastly - and this is why it is so hard for good, loving, upright Christian people to acknowledge - envy has an element of malice, aggression, or hatred in it that wants to see the other person brought down not only to our own level, but if we are honest, a notch below.  Envy, at its most vicious wants its object destroyed.   

      In his book, Epstein tells a joke that shows how envy works.  An Englishman, a Frenchman, and a Russian are each given a single wish by one of those genies who pops out of bottles. 

      The Englishman says, "My friend has a charming cottage in the Cotswolds.  I want a cottage like his, but with two extra bedrooms and a second bath, and a brook running in front of it." 

      The Frenchman says, "My best friend has a beautiful blonde mistress.  I want a mistress like that, but a redhead instead of a blonde, with longer legs, a bit more cultured and more chic.” 

      The Russian, when asked what he would like, says, "My neighbor has a cow that gives a gives a vast quantity of the richest milk, which yields the heaviest cream and the purest butter.  I want that cow dead." 

      That is envy.

       Every one of us knows the tug of envy, and each of us needs an antidote.  Envy is such a basic part of the human condition that it can only be alleviated by our resting in God with an attitude of humility, dependence and gratitude.

      I repeat, the antidote for envy is humility, dependence and gratitude.

      In this morning's Gospel lesson, Jesus provides us the recipe for that antidote.  His disciples seem to be in a state of full-blown envy, each wanting to take Jesus' place after he's gone, each exaggerating his own attributes and highlighting the others' flaws.

      Jesus turns their notion of greatness, and ours, on its head, upside down and backwards.  "The last will be first," he says, "not those who bite and claw their way greedily to the top.  The greatest are those who can truly welcome little children as representatives of God."  

      Jesus is talking about radical surgery here, about turning our hearts upside down, about looking at the world from a totally different angle.  In the preceding days, Jesus has told the disciples that he is going to be killed.  He has already told them that they, too, must take up their cross and follow him.  He has already modeled compassion and humility, strength and love, hospitality and welcome. 

      But they still didn't get it.  Or maybe, as we do, they did get the message periodically and then lost track of it again.  They are still trying to step over and on one another to get to the top of the heap.  They are still letting envy, pride and greed rule their hearts.

      Imagine the scene: a group of six to twelve full-grown, strong men arguing about who is going to take over as leader, who will be number 2, Jesus’ right hand man.  The very air gets tense and charged with aggression.  Jesus walks over to them and asks what they are arguing about.  Naturally, no one will 'fess up.'

      So Jesus tells them all to sit down.  Then he takes a child, not a teenager, but a little child, we're told. He puts that little child on his lap, enfolding that child in his arms, and in the midst of these men whose blood pressure is still probably really high, and whose faces are still red, says, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.  This is the criterion of greatness."   

      I imagine that Jesus sat for awhile holding that child, talking to her, asking her about her family and friends and what she liked to do.  I imagine he let those disciples just sit for awhile and think about why such a little child could be so important to God.  I imagine the disciples saw how safe and loved and welcomed that child felt, and the ease with which Jesus communicated with her as he held her to himself.  I imagine that at least some of them felt the difference between their envious rivalry and Jesus' humble graciousness.  I imagine they felt the difference as clearly as the difference between a cloudy midnight and the noonday sun.

      Now, please, it's not that children are free of envy or jealousy, or incapable of being mean to others.  Jesus' point, however, is that there are aspects of being a child that we tend to lose as we grow up, aspects that we need to reclaim and develop in ourselves if we are to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ.  These include humility, dependency, and gratitude.

      Children look at the world with wonder.  They can spend hours exploring what is under rocks, or mixing colors and painting images that only they fully understand.  They notice stars and trees, ants and grass, and are filled with amazement and curiosity.   Unless they have been terribly traumatized, a child's basic approach to the world is wonder and gratitude.  Children haven't asked for this world or fought with anyone for it.  For them it just is, and their role is to explore it and enjoy it.  Before they know the word, they live it:  gratitude. 

      Children are also dependent.  They have no choice about dependency in the way we adults try to fool ourselves into thinking we do.  For the first year of life, a child is dependent on the breast or the bottle for nourishment and life.  For years they are dependent upon adults for safety and protection, for nurture and comfort.  They crawl, then walk away from their parents, then run back to make sure out that mom or dad is still there when they return.  Children are basically loving and trusting by nature, and if their world is responsive and caring enough, they learn to love freely and openly, to trust that their needs will be met, and that they can help to meet the needs of others. 

      I invite you to sit with Jesus this morning, as he invited the disciples so long ago.  Calm the passions of your heart, the envy that leads to anger and resentment, aggression and hurt, by doing what Jesus told the disciples. 

      Set aside your envy not only by welcoming the children you will meet today, but at this moment by welcoming the child within yourself. 

      Let yourself feel a childlike wonder at the complexities of a leaf, childlike awe for the hugeness of sky.  Let your breath be taken away with childlike wonder when you hear the glorious sounds of the organ. Welcome that little child inside you who knows how to be satisfied for hours playing with just a hose and a bucket of dirt, and feel your envious desire for more be washed away.

      It’s become a trite phrase in psychological circles, even a little silly really.  But the truth remains:  Welcome the child within yourself, and let yourself feel small instead of needing to be always big and mighty and powerful.  Let yourself feel small and trust that you can climb up on Jesus' lap, fully welcomed, fully loved.  Let yourself feel small and trust that you are held in the strong and tender arms of the God who gave you birth. 

      Dare to stop struggling and grasping, biting and clawing for what you think you need, and receive instead the love and sustenance of God that is sufficient for all your needs.    

      The antidote for envy?  Welcome the children among us.  Welcome gratefully the child within you and the gifts he or she brings.  For the child will lead you to Jesus, and then to God, who is the antidote for every illness that afflicts the human heart. 

      Ten days ago.  Bike ride…Friday, September 15^th .  Rain.  Cancellation?

      I came home cleansed.  I had so many important things to do.  But the most important thing I needed to do was to be child-like for just a few moments, to recapture the joy of simply being alive.  As I sat in the shower for what seemed like hours trying to get the mud out of places that I didn’t know mud could get to, I laughed. 

      For just a few moments I wasn’t envious of someone else’s superior sermons or better programs or more successful ministries or any of the other secret jealousies I harbor from time to time.  I was simply God’s child playing in the mud and being held in the loving embrace of my gracious Father.

      I felt loved by this world, and blessed by my God.

      I look forward to getting back there again.  The little child in me will lead the way.  And, by the way for you..

      The antidote for envy?  Humility, dependence and gratitude.  These are the most important gifts that Jesus offers those who place their faith in him.  Children find such traits easy.  You and I have to revisit them consciously.

      “Then Jesus took a little child and put it among them; and taking it to his arms, he said to the envious ones, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

      Will you pray with me now?

(Thanks to Rev. Dr. Barbara Anderson for the ideas that generated this sermon.)

St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Groton , CT

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