Feast of Gregory the Great, Thursday, March 12, 2015, St. Matthew’s Cathedral Home Eucharist, Dallas, Texas.

Lessons for the Day: 1 Chronicles 25:1a,6-8; Psalm 57:6-11; Psalm 33:1-5,20-21; Mark 10:42-45

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I. Example of Pope Gregory of Rome

Today we celebrate the feast day of Pope Gregory I of Rome, known as Saint Gregory the Great, who served as pope in the late 6^th century.

The collect for today highlights his work: “Almighty and merciful God, you raised up Gregory of Rome to be a servant of the servants of God, and inspired him to send missionaries to preach the Gospel to the English people…”

A. He is credited with re-energizing the Church’s missionary work among the non-Christian peoples of northern Europe, starting in England.

B. He saw his role as imparting God’s gifts of mercy to his subjects: He said, “Almighty God places good men in authority that He may impart through them the gifts of His mercy to their subjects.”

C. He was the first to use the title “Servant of the Servants of God” as a papal title. By it, he meant that was the chief servant of all of God’s people (Pope Gregory I; wikipedia; 3/9/15).

II. Gospel Reading in Mark

Jesus called his disciples and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but 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 10:42-45)

A. Contrast between the rulers of the Gentiles and rulers in Christ

Turning to the gospel reading for today, we see a contrast between the rulers of the Gentiles and the rulers in Christ.

1. The Rulers of the Gentiles lord it over their subjects; they are tyrants over them. Plato and Aristotle, two centuries earlier, defined a tyrant as “one who rules without law, looks to his own advantage rather than that of his subjects…” (Tyrant; Wikipedia; 3/9/15).
2. But for Rulers who are in Christ, the greatest is a servant, a slave of all. Jesus said, “whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44).

B. Context of John and James’ Request

Jesus’s statement that “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant” comes in response to John and James, the sons of Zebedee, asking Jesus to grant that they sit, one at his right hand and one at his left when he’s in his glory (Mark 10:35-41).

Son of Man prophecy in Daniel 7 of the Messiah:

Now John and James would have in their minds the prophecy from Daniel of the messiah, called the Son of Man, a title which Jesus uses for himself, even in our passage today. Daniel chapter 7 says:

“And to [[the Son of Man]] was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:14)

John and James want a share—to mark their place—to have a place of honor as his disciples.

But they misunderstand his kingdom—he won’t come to be served, like was expected of the Son of Man, but to serve.

He won’t rule as the Gentiles do, as earthly rulers do, but in a new and unexpected way—as a servant, as the Suffering Servant of Isaiah was prophesied to do.

So we see that, in the kingdom of God, power comes through service.

C. The Purpose of Jesus’ Coming 

Jesus goes on to tell us the purpose of his coming.

1. First, he came not to be served (like expected) but to serve.
2. And second, to give his life as a ransom for many. 

Jesus saw his life as releasing the many from bondage. He was a substitute for them. A ransom, at that time, was something paid to release someone from bondage—whether they were a prisoner of war, a slave, or in debt. Someone could pay a ransom to free them from their bondage to that debt.

Jesus says this is why he has come. He comes to pay what we cannot pay so that we can go free (John Piper sermon; “The Son of Man Came to Give His Life a Ransom for Many”; Accessed 3/10/15).

But the cost is his life; this is the ultimate act of service; giving his life for our freedom from the bondage to sin, slavery to it.

D. Application for Us

Now we may not think of ourselves as slaves to anything in this day and age, much less to sin, but Scripture tells us that we are slaves to it, if we’re not in Christ.

We see that we can be bound to things today that enslave us. These things are not bad in and of themselves. But we can become bound to them when we allow them to exert an undue influence in our lives.

For example, Today we can become enslaved to our careers, to making the right next step, to getting the promotion, to money, to getting a bigger house, to trying to please others, to getting married, to wishing our marriage were as happy as our friends’ marriages all seem to be, to wanting a family, to wanting our kids to get the best education and the right career.

Think of the things that keep you awake at night…

Christ came to set us free from the power of these things to control our lives.

His life paid the bondage price for our bondage to sin;

His life ransomed us so we can be free from serving these things.

Because he gave his life, we don’t have to lose ours.

Because he gave his life, we live lives of service to him. Not out of duty or because we owe him, but because he first served us. We live differently out of love and thankfulness for what he did for us.

To be first in his kingdom is to be a servant of others.

Let us see our roles as followers of Christ, as rulers in Christ, to be as Pope Gregory the Great saw his role—as servants of the servants of God.

-Homily Delivered Thursday, March 12, 2015 at a Home Eucharist

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