___Servanthood And The Domination System___

Prop 25a.05         October 30, 2005

Jesus didn’t have time to talk about anything trivial.
When he speaks, he’s getting at something important.
Today’s lesson isn’t really about honorific titles or
         ecclesiastical fashion – the width of phylacteries
                 or the length of fringe on prayer shawls.
It isn’t about the protocol of where to sit
         in the synagogue or at a banquet.

Jesus is using those examples to get at a point that matters.
It has to do with how people relate to each other.
The world works according to what New Testament scholar
         Walter Wink calls “the domination system.”
He means top-down power.
The boss gives orders to the straw boss
         who gives orders to the workers,
                 who do what they’re told.

Corporations, universities, schools, and churches
         run by the domination system.
Armies, hospitals, courts, and service clubs
         run by the domination system.
This system dehumanizes everyone.
It forms those at the top into willful autocrats,
         and those at the bottom into drones
         taking direction instead of using creativity and imagination.

We spend too much of our lives giving and following orders.
Jesus rejected the domination system
         with its hierarchy and pomposity.
He offers instead the kingdom of God – a way of being
         that turns the domination system upside down.
“The first shall be last and the last, first.”

He said to the disciples,

         “The Gentiles establish their importance
                  by lording it over each other,
                  by ordering each other around.
          It shall not be so with you.
          The greatest among you will be the one who serves.”
We hear that last line echoed in today’s lesson,

         “The greatest among you will be your servant.
         All who exalt themselves will be humbled
                 and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The first Christians followed the gospel message
         and organized themselves in egalitarian ways,
         with different but equal orders of ministry

                 – teachers, healers, prophets, and liturgical ministers.
Bishops and elders coordinated the various ministers
         and together they all formed the Body of Christ.
Communion was more than a ritual.
It was being a community of equals.

It was a way of being in the world,
         that celebrated the diversity of people
                  and encouraged everyone to develop their talents
                           to be shared for the common good.

It wasn’t idyllic. Disputes arose, sometimes heated disputes.
But the basic model was mutuality.
Being part of a faith community like that
         was a life-changing experience.
People were affirmed and encouraged to grow.
And they practiced affirming and encouraging others.

When Christianity became the official religion of the Empire,
         it reorganized itself to look like the Empire,
                  to act like the Empire.
It developed a hierarchy – and became just another example
         of the domination system.

Throughout history there have been movements
         to restore Jesus’ original message of God’s kingdom
                  in which everyone is valued,
                  in which we all share our gifts,
                  and no ones gift is dishonored.

There were the Brothers of the Common Life in Holland,
         the Quakers and the Little Gidding Community in England,
         Celtic Christianity in Ireland, Scotand, and Wales
                  and the Franciscans in Italy.
These were all exercises in living the gospel

         – the good news that each and every person on this earth
                  is a word of God deserving to be heard.

Today we are seeing this gospel spirit
        flourishing as new forms of leadership.
Everywhere from corporate boardrooms to college campuses,
        and even in the military,
                 leadership is being redefined.
One of the best examples is the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.
The story of this remarkable group of musicians
        is told in the book, Leadership Ensemble.
It begins,

        “. . . (O)ne of the first things one notices about Orpheus
        is that there is no conductor signaling with baton . . .
                 how the music is to be played.
        Yet Orpheus is anything but a leaderless orchestra.
        It has . . . more leadership than virtually any organization
        I have seen in over a decade of research on group behavior . . .
        Precisely because there is no conductor,
        each player must help decide about musical interpretation.

Each one must take responsibility for ensuring
        that musical entrances are together,
        that themes are passed smoothly from section to section,
        that the composer’s vision for a piece is realized . . .”

This way of working together goes by various names.
John Greenleaf, our former Bishop Bennet Simms,
and our own Bruce Bridges and Catherine Meeks
        call it “servant leadership.”
Jesus called it the Kingdom.
By any name, it means working with each other as equals
        to carry out a mission we share.
That’s Communion in action.
That’s being the Body of Christ.

If we practice this way of working together in the Church,
        it will change our way of relating to people
                in all parts of our lives.
It will transform our families, our jobs, and our friendships.

But we, as a church, will have to find new ways
        of carrying out our mission.
We’ve been sucked into the domination system for a long time.

As a result, churches are usually made up of rulers and do-ers.
The rulers make decisions, and the do-ers carry them out.
Sometimes we make ourselves both ruler and do-er
        by making the decision and then carrying it out ourselves.
We call that Lone Ranger Ministry.

What we need for the new way of the Kingdom isn’t rulers or do-ers.
We need leaders

        – leaders who don’t dominate, but invite and encourage

        – leaders who come up with ideas, vet the ideas with others,
                 then invite people to participate.

The new shawl-knitting ministry started by Ann O’Neal
        is a perfect example.
The bread baking guild started by Barbara Thompson
        is another.

If we want the gospel of the Kingdom to transform us,
        to really make a difference in our lives,
        it won’t happen though listening to sermons.
All of that stays right up in our heads.

To change our hearts, we have to practice relationship.
Sermons don’t change people.
People change people.
Relationships change people.
We can grow together, strengthen each other,
        encourage each other in ways
                that will empower us to live as strong, creative,
                caring people in all parts of our lives.

That’s what the Church is for.
But to be the Church, we have to interact with each other
        in a way that looks like the Kingdom,

                – not the domination system.
We have to learn to listen to each other, to value each other,
        to encourage each other, and to stand on our own feet
                and speak our own truth.

                                                    Amen.