“What is Greatness”

Doug Lambert 22/09/2024

Readings - Amos 5:21 - 24, James 3: 13 - 4: 3, 7-8a, Mark : 9 30-37

There are some delightful images in the Old Testament, ones which bring a smile to the face and joy to the heart.  The final sentence of the reading from Amos is one of them, “But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” 

Written nearly three millennia ago it remains prophetic in its call for a complete change of heart, for a genuine religious spirit.  One based upon moral and ethical goodness, rather than religious affiliation as a form of cult worship.  ‘Nod to God’ is neither genuine or satisfactory.  Genuine religiosity demands that one’s commitment to God is reflected in every aspect of one's life.

 The communities in which Amos and later Jesus lived were dependent upon manual labour, and family cohesion.  The justice system whilst structured and principled, was open to significant abuse.  These relationships form the background to Amos and his call for true justice.  Concern for the poor and the powerless is not restricted to the Old Testament it is an ever flowing stream through the Gospels and the Epistles.

Australians believe that the government should provide support for those in need.  To achieve this end we have constructed a complex,  expensive, and bureaucratic social support system; whether or not it actually meets the needs of the poor is highly questionable.  We also have a sophisticated and competent legal system committed to the rule of law, although participants need to have courageously deep pockets.  The nature of the penal system is in the hands of our parliaments which generally succumb to popularism.  It’s notable that 38% of the national prison population are low risk non-violent offenders.  In the face of this fact, the combined parliaments of Australia seemingly prefer to spend $6 billion every year on the construction and operation of prisons, as opposed to other less expensive and far more effective alternatives.

The church has not been the sole voice through the centuries calling attention to the poor and the powerless.  The novels of Charles Dickens pursue these issues - Oliver Twist has real parallels with Amos.  Art too has played a role in making prophetic comment on social conditions, Pablo Picasso’s Guernica is a splendid example.  One must also include Martin Luther King Jr and his many addresses to the American people.

The reading from James introduces the closely related issue of our attitudes towards one another.  Bill Loader observes -

“….  ….  the matter of whether you take a compassionate attitude towards people and behave accordingly is much more than a matter of doing what is right or being good. It is about embodying the wisdom which comes from God; it is about embodying God.”

We live in a community that has become increasingly fractious.  It engages in public discourse which is positively visceral and seemingly empty of any real desire to embrace some actual facts, give timely consideration to the issue, or listen constructively to other opinions.

James questions why it is that people are driven to such divisiveness, to putting other people down.  Why do some seek to sustain their identity only by diminishing the identity and worth of others?  James seems to be saying that such people have embraced goals or desires which they believe will bring them satisfaction, but their goals are incompatible with good news for others and even for themselves.  

Again Bill Loader notes -

“The message of the good news assumes we have such desires and that they can be legitimate in themselves.  After all, the good news is that there is a way where our desires, God's desires and others’ desires - at least what God desires for them - can jell together into a peaceable unity.”

Mark also wrote about greatness, about people wanting to use power to establish their own value, about power as a measure of the value of human beings.  Jesus subverted these measures with his life and witness.  In the passage read for us Jesus was heading towards Jerusalem and the ultimate confrontation, along the way he was trying to teach the disciples what he was really on about and the potential consequences.  He was clearly not getting through.

Our worth as individuals does not depend on building up our merits in competition with others, but in being genuinely ourselves, then we will be free to relate generously toward others.  When we do this we are never far away from God because that is God's very nature: self-giving, choosing not to take up the whole space, giving space for others to be, to evolve, and to grow.

Following in His way means a commitment to the service of others, creating a community which provides mutual caring and support.  A people in community and in communion.

            Amen