October 21/22, 2006
Plant/Grow/Harvest & Proper 24
Mark 10:35-45 / Isaiah 53

A TALE OF TWO BROTHERS

Two weeks ago Pr Steve told the story of two brothers, brothers who farmed together, split the profits evenly, but at night- unbeknownst to the other - each one secretly carried a bag of grain to his brother's storehouse. Each of these brothers felt the other one needed it more than he did. Of course, in the morning each brother was continually surprised to see that his generosity of the night before hadn't really cost him anything because he had as much as he'd ever had.

One night, though, they happened to cross paths and they met halfway between their two homes, each with a sack of grain to give the other. When they both realized what was going on, they dropped their loads and laughed, embraced and rejoiced.

Pr Steve told that story - and you probably have heard it elsewhere, too - but I can add to it from wherever I found it. My source for the same story says that the Jewish rabbis who first told it believed that the place where the brothers met that night was the very spot where ancient King Solomon built the first temple - because that was holy ground... holy, the rabbis said, because it's in such unselfish generosity that God is truly real and with us and effective.

The gospel of Mark gives us a different tale of two brothers today. They, too, stick together... over against the others... but their sense of generosity is limited to what they stand to gain if someone is generous to them... "someone" being Jesus when he attains his - their - ambitions.

His answer - and one sentence in particular - captures the essence of the Christian life... well, half of it, anyway. Personally, this is a sentence that has haunted me for years and it's in this story. It sticks with me because it's the crunch place in the intersection of my life and my faith. I don't measure up to it and yet it draws me forward. It tells me where I am to go with what I believe. I think it's one of the most powerful one-liners in the entire New Testament.

Here it is: "It is not that way among you." Jesus said to his disciples - to all of them, not just the ambitious ones - they're talking about how to rise to the top, how to get your place and keep your place (but it could be about lots of things, including money, relationships, violence) - he told them, "It is not that way among you."

And it's not, because it's not God's way. His way: "He was despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief... He has carried our infirmities and he has known our fears... We all, like sheep, have strayed and wandered. We have, every one of us, turned to our own way. And the Lord has laid on him the sins of us all."

The way of Jesus is the life of a servant, so much on our side that he will die for us. That's an "ambition" none of us can meet. None of us are adequate to that deep level of sacrifice. But! rising from his sacrifice - planted there, if you will - we grow toward the harvest of a life changed (or at least, changing, eh?). In the words of Jesus, looking at the wealth and ambition that is so tempting even (or especially) for disciples - as he says - "It is not that way among you." That's a statement of fact. Other people may have their own values, but we don't act like that. [1] Disciples of Jesus don't operate with the system that runs the rest of the world. It is not God's way.

Friends, money, for example, does not mean - for disciples - what it does for everyone else. That's all I'm going to say about it, because during these Plant/Grow/Harvest weeks, you have to ask yourself, how does "That's not our way..." translate into your personal stewardship? Think it over; because of your faith, how is money different for you and your family? What do you want to teach your children about it?

If you take me seriously with these words of Jesus, I trust whatever you come up with. You have to think it out, though; I can't do it for you. "It is not that way among you" haunts me like a ghost, a Holy Spirit from above. May it haunt you, too...

...so that you and I meet, here, between where you live and where I live, right here, this holy place - brothers, sisters, bearing burdens for each other... and we meet God, for in his own generosity, God's here, too.

Nathan Castens
Chanhassen, Minnesota

[1] For this insight, thanks to Stephen B. Chapman, "Upside-down world," in Living the Word, Christian Century 10-17-06