Lucky Charm or Lord--March 26, 2021

 Lucky Charm or Lord?--March 26, 2021

"Jesus called [the 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]

There was a three or four week period in my junior high school days when I carried around a rabbit foot key chain on my backpack--you know, for good luck.

Did I really believe that the rabbit's foot would do anything for me?  Probably not... but I figured it wouldn't hurt.  Right?  I mean, sure, chances are, it's just a bunch of nonsense that the preserved paw of a woodland creature, now dyed in some unnatural shade of flourescent yellow-green, would grant me good fortune... but hey, if it turned out to be really powerful, well, who wouldn't want to hedge their bets?

That's the thing about a lucky charm: the "magic" comes without any claims on us.  You can use its power (if it had any real power) for whatever you like, whatever you wish, and the object doesn't get a vote or a veto.  It doesn't get a say about what you do, how you channel its lucky energy, or why you want to harness it.  The reason we love the idea, the myth, of lucky charms, from rabbit feet to horseshoes to lucky pennies to wishbones, is that there are no strings attached--the magic items have to endorse our own personal wants and wishes, however frivolous, silly, or selfish they are.  So, even if they usually turn out to be a bust, we keep trying... because we want the kind of power that just gives us what we want, but never calls us to do something with what we have.

I'd like to suggest--although it is not pleasant at all to have to say it--that for a lot of us, our favorite lucky charm isn't the seventh-grade rabbit's foot keychain or the trinket you keep in your pocket.  It's Jesus.  

Or rather, we want to treat Jesus like he is just a lucky charm--even though the real and living Jesus insists that he is no such thing.  It's not just us, it turns out.  From the beginning, like literally since the days of Jesus walking around ancient Palestine with a bunch of unschooled fishermen, his followers have been wanting to turn him into their righteous rabbit's food.  From James and John asking for the places of honor at Jesus' right and left hand, to other ten who were upset that they hadn't thought of this plan first, the followers of Jesus have been trying to tap Jesus' power to do whatever we want from him like he was a living lucky charm.  We have treated the phrase, "In Jesus' name" like it was a magical incantation that could give us whatever we want, and we've often treated the sign of the cross like some mystical runes that will make our businesses prosper if we slap it on our signage or grant us special privileges.

To be honest, we would rather have Jesus as our mascot than our master--we would rather tell him where to go, what to say, and what to do to endorse all of our projects and plans, rather than letting him set the agenda in our lives.  And most certainly, we are tempted to try and use Jesus to get advantages for ourselves--we imagine that just waving around Jesus' name should get us preferred status in society, or that he'll increase our second-quarter profits or help our team to win if we speak his name enough, or that if a political candidate or party drapes themselves enough with the symbols or language of religion, then they must have God's blessing on them for their policy agendas.  It's all rabbit's foot theology--and it's a load of rubbish.

Jesus himself tells his disciples that he's not their lucky charm or mascot, here simply to drum up energy to help their personal causes.  Rather, it's just the opposite.  They are being called into a new way of living where we are all called to serve others rather than aim for positions of privilege.  Jesus calls his disciples--long ago and today as well--to put ourselves last and others first, rather than making "Me and My Group First" our priority, with Jesus along for the ride to bless our agenda.  And he points to himself as the supreme example of this upside-down way of living: he, the very Son of God and Son of Man, has come, not to be serve, but to serve.  He doesn't use his divine power as a lucky charm even for himself--he doesn't keep himself out of danger or keep himself in luxury.  And then he calls us, who follow him, into the same way of life, where we give ourselves away because of Jesus' name, rather than using it as a magical talisman for making ourselves rich or happy or lucky.

As we prepare to hear again the central story of our faith in the coming days--the cross and resurrection of Jesus--it's worth remembering how Jesus himself understands those events.  Jesus doesn't see the cross as a trademarked brand, a logo for a team, or a mascot to endorse our selfishness, but the as the model for how we are called to build our lives around the good of others, rather than ourselves.  There are no rabbit's feet in the Christian life--only the wounded human ones of Jesus, leading us to follow in his steps in the way of self-giving.

It's worth remembering that today, next week, and for all our lives.

Lord Jesus, keep us from trying to treat you as a lucky charm, and instead enable us to follow you as our Lord... including on the way to the cross.