Sermon for 17th Sunday after Trinity – “Three money bags” preached at the Eucharist, Sherborne Abbey on Sunday, 22 September 2024 by The Reverend Christopher Huitson. (James Ch 3: v 13 – Ch 4: v 7-8a; Mark Ch 9: v 30 – 37)
In days of yore, when it was possible to consult with a living human being as a bank manager, a customer went to see his bank manager to ask for a loan. After he had taken the particulars the bank manager said: “By rights I should refuse your request, but I will give you a sporting chance. One of my eyes is made of glass. If you can tell me which one it is, I will grant you the loan.”
The customer looked at the other intently for a few moments and then said: “It is your right eye.”
“That is correct” said the bank manager. “How did you guess?” “Well,” replied the customer, “It seemed to be more sympathetic!”
Since the election we have had a series of announcements concerning financial matters which have proved controversial, for people are put out when the government takes money away from them. Then, yesterday, we celebrated the feast day of St. Matthew, the reformed tax collector whose shield therefore has three money bags on it. Not surprisingly Tax Collectors were not popular in the time of Jesus not least because they were collecting money on behalf of the Romans from a population which was subject to them – effectively a vassal state. The collection of taxes was a profitable enterprise and so the highest bidder was successful. He then recouped the outlay from his unfortunate taxpayers.
It seems that wealth and power are closely connected. Those who have large amounts of money seem able to exercise control over the decisions of corporations or governments. But money is an unreliable resource. Once confidence in an institution or a bank is lost then people become anxious and want their money back. Even in modern times there can be a run on the bank and queues of worried customers build up, thus contributing to the disaster they fear. Restoring that confidence is difficult and expensive.
You don’t tend to get a run on churches. People whose confidence and faith in God is badly shaken don’t form disorderly queues to withdraw the support and love they have given him and the church in the past. They don’t cluster at the church door to register their dissatisfaction. Rather they just don’t come anymore.
The twelve disciples were not wealthy so you might think that they had no prospect of being powerful and that therefore getting into an argument with one another about who was the greatest was an unlikely scenario. Today’s gospel makes us think again. For a start there is a thread running through the gospels of the disciples regarding themselves rather as gatekeepers for Jesus. They wanted to protect him from too much attention from the populace and so requests for Jesus to heal people or bless their children or answer difficult theological questions were funnelled through the disciples. Jesus has to assert his authority to show that the disciples did not need to erect this barrier between himself and the people.
Then again, the disciples took to heart what Jesus had to say about the kingdom of heaven and their place within it. They had expectations! If they were going to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel then it would be useful, they thought, to have some idea about the hierarchy and so work out who was the most important hence the conversation they had, as narrated in today’s gospel. Who was the greatest – the most important? Who would be given the most significant post in the heavenly administration? In a few weeks’ time we shall hear about James and John seeking to sit each side of Jesus in the kingdom of heaven. There were stresses and strains amongst the band of disciples as this one and that one seeks promotion. But Jesus tells them that the person who wants to be first must make himself last of all and servant of all and uses as his living parable a little child who is powerless and dependent.
The powerful rulers at the time of Jesus were not very good examples, to put it mildly. The most famous was Herod the Great. The name “Herod” is confusing as a number of kings and rulers had that name. It was Herod the Great who was responsible for beginning the rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem, the Temple Jesus knew and visited on a number of occasions, though Herod the Great died soon after Jesus was born. He married 10 times and at one time had 9 wives all arguing over their positions in the royal household and trying to put forward the interests of their children, so making Herod’s life a misery. It was one of his sons also called Herod, the offspring of wife No. 4 who had been denounced by John the Baptist for marrying the wife of his half-brother Philip, who was the son of Herod the Great and wife No. 3.
As you can see it is all rather complicated. These Herods, kings and rulers as they were, gave into the temptation that made them think that their power and authority would let them do whatever they wanted. It didn’t matter what the consequences were; their will and needs were all important and everybody else had to fit in with their wishes.
Some rulers, of course, ruled well, and not all allowed the temptation of earthly power to corrupt them. The person with ultimate power is God himself. Have you thought, I wonder, that God’s character could have been different. He might have been unreliable. He could have misused his power just as some earthly rulers have. He might have been an unjust and unkind god. But he is not and the excellent qualities which we see in human beings we see much more in God himself. Or, to put it another way, because God is loving and kind and forgiving so we find those qualities to admire in human beings.
Most of us have very little power over our fellow human beings but we can see that such authority carries with it the temptation to misuse it. Our epistle today was written by James reckoned to be the brother of Jesus. James and John seeking the seats each side of Jesus were the sons of Zebedee and so this is a different James. But James the brother of Jesus would have been well aware of the possibility of cracks in the lives of those who took up leadership roles in the early church.
It is St. Paul, writing to Timothy, who urges that petitions, prayers and thanksgivings be offered for all people and for all in high office that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life – words as important today as they were at the time of St. Paul for today’s leaders certainly need our prayers.