The Lutheran Hour
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"Grasping At Greatness"
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Text: Matthew 18:1-3
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! God’s grace, His gifts, His greatness are shown in the victory of His Son over sin, death, and devil. Today, we give thanks that through the Savior’s sacrifice we, God’s children, are enabled to enter the kingdom of heaven.
When the runner from Tanzania limped into the Olympic Stadium, it had been hours since the winner of the marathon had received his Olympic gold medal. The stands were almost empty and the fans had moved on to more interesting events. Bleeding and bandaged from a fall earlier in the race, the runner limped into the arena. The small part of the crowd that was still in the amphitheatre cheered him on as he crossed the finish line. Later, the runner was asked, “Why? Why did you stay in the race once you had lost? Why did you risk causing injury to your leg?” “Simple,” he replied, “My country did not send me 7000 miles to start the race. They sent me 7000 miles to finish it. ” Almost every Olympics has a story such as that. They are called human-interest stories. Those stories provide a backdrop for what the world, when it is honest, considers to be the really important point of the Olympics: finding out who is the best. We want to know who is the best runner, swimmer, diver, pole-vaulter, archer, gymnast. We want to know which country has produced the athletes who are the fittest, strongest, swiftest… the best.
Do you want an argument? Go to the clubhouse of any golf course, any golf course, and say, “So-and-so is, without a doubt, the greatest golfer who ever lived.” You know what will happen. You will have an argument. Say that Babe Ruth was the greatest, and the Ty Cobb fans are going to come out of the woodwork… not to mention the folks who support Ted Williams, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron. In fact, I’m going to get letters from listeners who say, “You don’t know nuthin’ about baseball. Your guy’s a bum. If you want to know the best ball player, you need to look at…” And then they’ll give me a five page letter telling me why their candidate is the one who should be called “the best.” We grasp for greatness. Watch the riots after a soccer match; look at what happens when a victorious team returns from a world championship; keep a close eye on the parents who are in attendance at their child’s baseball or basketball game, or their kid’s gymnastics or wrestling tournament.
If you didn’t believe it before, you’ll soon find out… not many people would argue with legendary football coach Vince Lombardi whose line: “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing” let the whole world know that taking second place is just another name for losing. Composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein allowed that first place was important – even in a symphony orchestra. When he was asked, “What is the hardest instrument to play?” Bernstein, giving every indication that he had considered that question before, without hesitation, replied, “Second fiddle. I can always get plenty of first violinists. But to find one who plays second violin with as much enthusiasm… now that’s a problem! ” And it is. We live in a world where, as a general rule, only the gold medal, first-place winners are revered, while everyone forgets the also-rans, the second-placers, the no shows, the losers.
People grasp at greatness. So powerful is the desire to be great, so strong the desire to be number one, people are willing to undertake some pretty peculiar stunts. We grasp at greatness. St. Matthew’s Secondary School in Ontario, Canada, is the greatest at giving a group hug. They hold the world record with 5,117 students, staff, and friends coming together to claim, against all comers, the world’s record.
That’s enough. The case is made: people grasp at greatness. It has, almost since the beginning of time, been that way. Scripture implies that it was a desire to be as great as God that caused Satan to stumble into his sin of rebellion. It was a wish to be as knowledgeable as the Lord, which led our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, to take a bite out of the forbidden fruit. Their fruitless search for greatness introduced into this world, into our lives, the sins of envy, greed, lust, prejudice, and hatred… sins which have their source and substance, which draw their sustenance, from being greater than someone else.
Look through Scripture and it is positively filled with people who got involved with issues of greatness. The brothers Isaac and Esau got into a family feud as to which would receive a special blessing. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery because they believed he considered himself to be better than they. King Saul struggled for supremacy over David. Not even Jesus’ disciples managed to escape an ongoing debate about greatness. The eighteenth chapter of Matthew shows the Twelve jockeying for the #1 position. Jesus was telling them that He was on the heavenly Father’s mission to seek and save the lost, to bring light to those in darkness; to be the way to heaven; the truth to those who had deep questions about the purpose of life. Jesus kept telling them that He was headed to Jerusalem where He would be arrested, tried, crucified, and murdered to save the world from its sins. And with the Christ’s prophetic promise ringing in their ears, what did the disciples do? They did a very short-sighted thing, a very human thing: they ignored Jesus. They ignored His pain and His passion; they ignored His suffering and sacrifice; they paid no attention to His hurt and the horror He would endure for them.
In the face of Jesus’ need, their thoughts, their conversations, their arguments centered around themselves. Rather than seeing Jesus as the only person this world has produced who is truly worthy of the title, “Great,” they fought and they feuded; they argued and got angry. Rather than seeing Jesus as the innocent Son of God who was sacrificing Himself for their eternal salvation, they wanted to know which of them was going to sit closest to the mashed potatoes at supper. They wanted to know who was going to drive the Cadillac and who was going to sit behind the wheel of the Edsel. And, please, Edsel owners, don’t write and tell me how the Edsel is the greatest car ever made.
Eventually Jesus had enough and He asked the disciples to tell Him what they were talking about. Shamefacedly, hesitatingly they asked, “Lord, we were sort of wonderin,’ which of us is going to be Your right hand man, and which of us ought to be sending out our resumes?” It is to the Lord’s credit that He didn’t dump those disciples right then and there. It is a mark of the Savior’s long-suffering that He didn’t start searching for some students who might get a glimmer, might get a glimpse of God’s gracious plan of salvation which was being unfolded in front of their self-centered eyes. I pray that you, my friends, may see what the disciples, because of their habitual hunger for greatness, could not: I pray you may see, and by the Holy Spirit’s power believe that Jesus was, through His perfect life, rescuing you from the condemnation of the Law; through His innocent death He was substituting Himself for you and lifting the lost out of hellfire; by His resurrection He would give the assurance of an eternity in heaven to all of us who are led to acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord.
To those of you who, this Lord’s Day, don’t recognize Jesus as your Savior, let me say, don’t blindly follow the disciples. Do not let your pursuit of self-glory and personal greatness stop you from seeing the Lord of life who stepped down from heaven’s high throne and became one of us so that we might be lifted up to heaven for all eternity. Do not let life’s little pursuits and this world’s promises of grandeur keep you from belief in Jesus Christ who humbled Himself, even to death upon the cross, so that you might be forgiven and free of condemnation. See the greatness of God’s Son who, although all-powerful, was sacrificed as a gentle lamb so you might be given victory over death and grave. See the compassion of the Christ, who, with a word, brought life into this world, but spoke no word in His defense so His heavenly Father might, by His Son’s substitution declare you innocent of all wrong-doing.
Of course, you, like the disciples, may opt to focus exclusively upon your wants, zero in on your needs, be preoccupied with your desires, your goals, and an ongoing search for the fake, fly-by-night glory that the world wrongfully suggests is real greatness. If that is your position, let me tell you how Jesus answered the disciples question, “Tell us, who’s #1?” The Savior started out saying: “Friends, if you want to be great, the first thing you have to do is stop worrying about it, talking about it, being concerned about it, and pursuing it. If you want to be great, you’ve got to be a servant.” Then Jesus asked a little child to come and stand right in the middle of all those adults. It had to be an intimidating experience for that child to be the focus of attention of so many adults. Maybe, but Scripture doesn’t record any hesitation or reluctance. He or she did as Jesus asked. Then Jesus said, “If you want to know the truth, if you don’t get changed and become like a child, you won’t make it into heaven.”
Now that had to be a bucket of cold water on the discussion of Jesus’ disciples. Up until that moment it had never crossed their minds that they might not be given numbers 1 through 12 in Jesus’ government. Until that second, they just knew that they were Jesus’ first draft choices for leadership and glory. There was no question that they were the baddest, the suavest, the coolest, the neatest, the most in style GQ disciples that this world had ever seen. Jesus punctured that balloon. “Be like a little child,” Jesus said. And those disciples that a second before had felt gloriously great, now were depressed. “Be like the little child. What does He mean by that?” they must have asked themselves.
They might have come up with more than one opinion as to what Jesus meant. I know that, because today people are still confused as to how believers are supposed to be like a little child. Some think Jesus meant we were to be pure and innocent and unselfish like a little child. I don’t think that’s it. Now, I’ll admit every baby, especially yours, is a great gift from God. I will concede every child, especially yours, is the most beautiful, most wonderful, most intelligent child that this sad and sorry world has ever seen. But I draw the line when you tell me your child, my child, any child is innocent and unselfish.
The truth is, those cute, cuddly little children are self-centered, self-absorbed, and selfish. A baby wants what it wants, when it wants. A baby doesn’t care if you have a catastrophe or crisis; it doesn’t take into consideration your pains or problems, needs or necessities. A baby doesn’t care about you. A baby wants what it wants now, and its cries are designated to override any and all of your objections. And, even if it were true that children were innocent, how can you turn back the clock and make yourself innocent? I don’t know how anybody can be born again on their own. I don’t know how we can start over with a clean slate. There has been too much water, and too many sins under, over, and around the bridge for us to be able to do that.
So what did Jesus mean when He said we should be like a little child? Did He mean that we should be obedient like a little child, following all of God’s laws like a child follows all of his parents’ rules? That idea is so ridiculous that I have a hard time saying it without cracking up. Now there are babies who are good babies, and there are children who hardly ever need a scolding… but I have yet to see a child who does what is right all the time. Even the best of children occasionally will make a mistake and sin a sin. How could they not? After all, that child was born with a sinner for a mother, and a transgressor for a father. With that kind of genetic makeup, with that kind of heritage, perfect obedience simply is out of the question – for them and for us.
So how are we to be like little children? I think, my friends, the answer is twofold. First, we need to be like children and have the humility that comes from helplessness. That’s right, the humility of helplessness. From birth, a child is helpless. If he’s going to be fed, that food will come from an outside source. If she is going to be changed or bathed, someone else will have to do it. A runny nose, fingernails that need clipping, hair that needs cutting, medicine that needs to be given… everything comes from someone who loves that child. That is something we need to know. Sure, we big, grown-up adults feel that we are masters of our fate and captains of our souls. Don’t you believe it. Every bite of food we eat ultimately comes from the Lord’s hand. Every breath we take, every beat of our heart, every synapse that fires a memory, a dream, a hope in our brains is a gift from God. Our today, our tomorrows, our eternity, begin, live, and end by His love and with His permission. You are not in control. God is. Without Him, without His love and care, no matter how big, famous, rich, or wise we think we are, without Him, we would be goners before this sentence ends.
Are you still there? You made it past the end of the sentence? Good. With a humble heart give thanks that the Lord brought you to this moment in the message. Yes, there’s more. The Lord wants you to have faith, to trust like a child trusts those he loves. A good number of years ago, before such action was really deemed dangerous, I can recall watching a father play with his little boy. Dad threw the boy into the air and caught him. “One more time, daddy, one more time” was what the child kept calling through his laughter. That little boy soared and flew, seemingly without a care in the world. I remember thinking that if somebody did that to me, I’d be frozen with fear. When I asked the father, how come his son wasn’t screaming, he said, “I don’t know. I guess it’s because we have a history together. We’ve played this game before, and I’ve never dropped him.” The boy trusted a father that never dropped him. The boy’s trust was complete, total, and absolute.
That’s the way that we forgiven sinners should trust our Lord. True, events happen, things occur which might lead us to think we’re not grounded, that should make us afraid, that we’ve got nobody out there to catch us when we fall. It’s not so. God will always be there. He will always catch us. How do I know? I know because He has made a promise. I know because He sent His Son to show us that His promises could be trusted. I know because God and humanity have a long history together. And I know because our great God has never dropped anyone who has trusted Him; who has had faith in Him and His Son.
Years ago a little child was hurt and the family requested the prayers of everybody around them. It wasn’t too long before someone suggested they might ask for the prayers of a blacksmith who had the reputation of having a great faith. One of the family friends was sent to the man’s shop. He came in and began his request by saying, “Excuse me. Sir, are you the blacksmith with the great faith?” The blacksmith replied, “No, sir, I am not. I am not the blacksmith with the great faith. I’m the blacksmith with the little faith in the great God. ” I like that blacksmith. He understood real greatness, lasting greatness, belongs to God. If you would like to know this great God, our crucified and risen Savior, then you should, call us today at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for September 18, 2005
Topic: Reading CardsANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer
KLAUS: Hi, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: A listener wants to know: is it a sin to read tarot cards and will she go to hell for doing so?
KLAUS: Interesting question. Let’s give a short answer first.
ANNOUNCER: All right.
KLAUS: “Is tarot card reading a sin?” The answer is, “yes.” To say that anyone who has ever read such cards is going to hell, well, that’s simply not true. That leaves no room for repentance and the forgiveness Christ earned for us through His cross and resurrection.
ANNOUNCER: And I trust that your answer has solid Biblical backing?
KLAUS: Oh, absolutely. Deuteronomy 18 says, “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist who consults the dead.”
ANNOUNCER: Now I didn’t hear anything about reading tarot cards.
KLAUS: That’s true. What God was saying is that all kinds of divination are wrong.
ANNOUNCER: And what is divination?
KLAUS: Divination is a catch-all term that describes any human attempt to use supernatural powers to determine, control, or gain insight into things that would normally be kept hidden from us. And that would include the future. It’s human to want to know the future. Every generation and every culture, therefore, has produced individuals who want to help folks do an “end run” around God.
ANNOUNCER: So this is not a recent phenomenon?
KLAUS: Not at all. Future-telling goes way back. Of course, it was the Babylonians and the Assyrians who raised it to an art form. They used hepatoscopy to determine the future.
ANNOUNCER: What was that word again?
KLAUS: Sorry, hepatoscopy is trying to find the future by signs found in the liver of a sacrificed animal.
ANNOUNCER: An animal liver?
KLAUS: A liver. The ancients considered the liver to be the source of life, and specially trained priests would try to determine the future by looking at the liver. And people would have a liver read before making any important decision. Of course, there are other methods that people use in order to see the future. There was augury. It used natural signs like watching the way birds flew, or how a chicken eats its food; hydromancy tried to read the future by mixing liquids. We have a first-cousin to that in tea-leaf reading. Casting of lots, astrology, consulting the dead in a séance…
ANNOUNCER: And the list goes on.
KLAUS: Yeah, I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface. But rather than trying to go over the entire list, let’s simply say that God doesn’t want us to do such things. In the Bible, God’s chosen people were clearly and firmly told not to go that way. Leviticus 19:(26) says, “Do not practice divination or sorcery.” That’s pretty simple and straightforward.
ANNOUNCER: And why would God give such a command? Was He afraid?
KLAUS: Yes. God is afraid. Not for Himself, but for us. He’s afraid His people will listen to these demonic voices and be lured away from faith in Him. When a person looks to the occult, including divination, they are searching for some other force, other than God, to direct their lives. That’s idolatry. It’s rebellion against the Lord, His will, His wisdom, His handiwork, His direction. And if that’s left to continue, the person ends up substituting this satanic wisdom for God’s Gospel, and that ultimately becomes a damnable sin.
ANNOUNCER: Anything else you could say on this subject?
KLAUS: Yes, Mark. The occult is, and has always been, a satanic trap. It begins with “fun,” or “something exciting,” and souls are drawn to this kind of thing like the proverbial moth to a flame. But, make no mistake — Satan is the power behind divination. He is the father of lies, and he will use partial truths or temporary truths to woo people away from God’s eternal truths. You can count on the information the devil offers to be distorted or completely false.
Far better, I think, to look to Scripture. In the Bible, God tells us all we need to know about what tomorrow is going to bring. Psalm 37 says it: “Commit your way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.” If we trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, as revealed in God’s Word, we do not have to turn to the occult for assistance. When we trust God, then we can truly pray: “Thy will be done,” and trust that it will be.
ANNOUNCER: This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections from this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Salvation Unto Us Has Come” by Hugo Distler. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“O First and Greatest of All Servants” by Henry Gerike. From Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice by the Concordia Seminary Chorus (© 1988 Concordia Seminary) Used by permission
“Rejoice, the Lord Is King” From Magnificent Christian Hymns, vol. 1 by Timothy Moke (© 2002 T. Moke Recordings) Used by permission
“Es ist das Heil uns kommen her” by J.S. Bach. From Orgelbüchlein by Robert Clark and John David Peterson (© 1997 Calcante Recordings, Ltd.)