Mark 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them 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.”
You know that among the Gentiles (those outside of the faith), those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and the ones they call “great” are tyrants over them… But it is not so among you. IT IS NOT SO AMONG YOU!
Tyrants are as old as the ages. In Jesus’ day the Roman Empire was ruled by tyrants who in turn found local rulers who were more than willing to lord their power over the people with threats, violence, and fear. That doesn’t sound like something that would be very popular, but on the contrary, Jesus tells us that much of the world out there believes that tyrants are actually the greatest kind of leaders. Jesus, however, tells us… those who do our best to cling to the faith… to walk through this world on the Jesus Way… Jesus tells us that when it comes to embracing the ways of a tyrant… IT IS NOT SO AMONG YOU!
Martin Niemöller came to stand against Hitler, the Nazis, fascism, and the Third Reich in their tyranny. He would say that in hindsight he was slower to stand against them than he should have been, but in the end, he recognized it all for what was, and confronted that tyranny in spite of the consequences. His preaching and his actions reflected the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel for his time: “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!
Decades ago, as I really began to dig into these words of Jesus and the stories of Niemöller in seminary… people who dared to confront the tyrants of their age, I was in awe of what they did… in awe of their faith… in awe of their courage. I thought, way back then at the close of the 20th century, that should anything like that ever happen on my watch, I hoped that I too would do the right thing… the scary thing, yes… but also the faithful thing… the courageous thing. Back then though, it seemed to be a thought experiment. A hypothetical. Not something that would happen in real life!
But now, here we are. What we are facing today is no mere thought experiment and it is more exactly like what Niemöller stood against in his day than I ever thought remotely possible. This past week saw swastika flags at a Trump rally in Florida and no one at that rally lifted a finger to take them down. As someone on the internet said, “Remember: if you go to a rally and there is even a single Nazi flag that no one is demanding the removal of, you are at a Nazi rally.” That unthinkable reality is born out in Trump’s words as well. He has embraced the Nazi play book, dehumanizing entire groups of people to give his followers a group of “others” to hate. Remember Martin Niemöller’s famous poem… In his time the targeted “others” were socialists, trade unionists, and Jews. In our time it is Mulsims, brown and black people, and immigrants.
The would-be tryant of our age is doing EXACTLY what Niemöller ended up regretting speaking out against in the moment... when speaking out mattered most. This candidate for the office of President of the United States is telling his crowds that all their problems are because of these “others”. He is saying that they, along with their Democratic accomplices, must be rounded up, deported, or executed, with the help of the military. This language is directly from the Nazi playbook. He now promises that he alone can save the country from the people he is actively de-humanizing by calling them “animals,” “stone cold killers,” the “worst people,” and the “enemy from within.” This is nothing less than a full-throated embrace of Nazi “race science” and fascism. General Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (and certainly no flaming liberal) agrees. He says “Trump is the most dangerous person ever… I realize he’s a total fascist… A fascist to the core.”
Those words from Jesus about the ways of tyrants should be ringing out loud and clear from every pulpit… from every deacon, priest, pastor, and bishop, lest they find themselves on the other side of this time in history needing to confess, “I didn’t speak out for them and eventually there was no one left to speak for me.” These words of Jesus from today’s Gospel, should be preached and proclaimed as clearly and firmly as Jesus spoke them to the disciples… as clearly as they must have rung in Niemöller’s ears! These words of Jesus that we read in today’s Gospel must be made to ring in our ears and be shouted from our mouths in these days, because for those of us who strive to follow Jesus… for those of us who do our best to walk the Jesus Way through this life we have been given… That way of Tyrants… That way of fascism… That way of endless lies, endless hate, endless violence and endless fear … THAT WAY IS NOT SO AMONG YOU! IT IS NOT… SO… AMONG… YOU!
I know I am preaching to the choir. But this moment calls for all of us to do more than simply preach to our fellow converts. This moment calls for all of us to proclaim from the rooftops and make clear to the entire world, that although tyranny is an option on the ballot… for followers of Jesus, the way of tyranny is not so among you. Amen.
Note: I will not tell anyone who they should vote for or against. I will speak against the sin of lying, fascism, hate, racism, oppression, and tyranny.
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