21st Sunday After Pentecost                  October 18, 2015

Mark 10:35 – 45

Hi! I want to tell you a story. But first, I want to introduce myself. My name is Reality. I am the father of two sons. My oldest son is named Suffering, and my other son is named Strife.

My son Suffering sits on my right hand, while Strife sits on my left. Suffering is married to his wife Agony, and they have two sons, one named Discomfort and the other named Distress.

My son Strife is married to his wife Conflict, and they have four children, named Discord, Dispute, Disagreement, and Dissension.

I am the ruler of my own kingdom named after me, of course – it is called Reality.

Now, I have two brothers. The next in line is named Fantasy. Fantasy also has two sons, the oldest is named Clueless, and the younger Ignorant. Clueless sits at the right hand of his father Fantasy, and Ignorant sits at his left.

His son Clueless is married to his wife Oblivious, and they have two sons, named Unaware and Unmindful. Ignorant is also married to his wife Rude, and they have triplet boys named Ill-mannered, Ill-behaved, and Impolite.

One day, my brother Fantasy’s two sons Clueless and Ignorant asked their father,

“Father Fantasy, why are we not more powerful than our cousins, Strife and Suffering? After all, we are greater in every other way. When we hold court, not only do our children Unaware, Unmindful, Ill-mannered, Ill-behaved and Impolite sit at our feet, but most of the known world comes to hear our judgments and decrees.

Clueless chimed in, “It is true father Fantasy, I tell people to chase after fame, spend all of their money on face lifts, and body sculpting, and spend it at the casino. I tell them there is no need to save their money, but instead they should buy more stuff – and you should hear the people cheer us.”

Ignorant continued, “Me too father Fantasy, I tell the people not to worry about helping the homeless, those who need a door held or a kind word. I tell them ‘Let them fend for themselves’. Instead you should worry only about yourself, close your eyes to the needy, the sick, the poor – they are such a nuisance. And, like my brother, the people cheer us so loudly.”

Father Fantasy smiled, for he was proud of the kingdom his children were helping him to establish. He called this kingdom “Fantasy Land”. He often thought warmly of the accomplishments not only of his children, but his grandchildren as well.

There was Unaware, who while spreading his message realized that the people had no ideas of their own. It was almost as if they were, oh what is the word, oh yes…Oblivious, just like their mother. And then there was his twin brother Unmindful, who was spreading the word about apathy. Don’t worry about creation, or disease, or pollution, or politics. Don’t be mindful of these frivolous things.

And then there were his other grandchildren:

Ill-mannered found his message was so welcome, it was so easy to get people to treat each other poorly, but of course we know that people are inherently selfish, and only worried about themselves. And Ill-behaved and Impolite, well the three of them make up the Trinity of human selfishness. It takes so little effort to get people to sing our philosophy:

“I, I, I… ME, ME, ME, The more things I get, the happier I will be”

Buy, Buy, Buy…Take, Take, Take, If you worry about yourself, the more you will make”

Father Fantasy smiled as he wallowed in the success of his kingdom, how their message had established such a kingdom, just like the many kingdoms before him…Imagination Kingdom, and Make-believe Kingdom, and of course there was the kingdom of old, Fantasia, but there is so little heard about it because…no one talks in Fantasia….

But that got Fantasy thinking about his older brother Reality. His smile slowly passed to a sneer, and then a frown, and finally to just an expressionless face. He hadn’t talked to his brother Reality since the great Schism. It seemed to him as if it happened just yesterday – truth was, Fantasy and his brother Reality hadn’t talked to each other for thousands of years. Here is their story…

Reality and his sons Suffering and Strife were walking along one day when they ran into Fantasy and his sons. They just stood there, staring at the ground, standing in that uncomfortable moment where no one quite knows what to say. But, of course it was Clueless who spoke up first..

“Hey, Uncle Reality, can Ignorant and I sit at your right and left hand just as we do in our father’s kingdom?”

Of course it would be Clueless who would speak first, he was the impetuous one. Father Reality allowed the question to sink in – it is amazing how much a few moments of quiet can be so unsettling – and in this case there was an awkward, awkward silence. Then Reality spoke:

“Clueless, you do not know what you are asking. Do you really understand how different my kingdom is from your father’s Fantasy World? Do you understand that this world is not as you perceive. It is nothing like the kingdom your father Fantasy and mother Oblivious have devised – yours is a kingdom based on lies. It is driven by greed and selfishness, deception and misunderstanding.

To live in a world where you only think of yourself, where your possessions are your greatest claim in life, where the ego thrives, where love of neighbor has been transformed into “To hell with your neighbor”, where someone questioning your motives is condemned as an assault on your right to “Lord it over others”, where you must always be first and everyone is taught to suck on the marrow of self-righteousness. – that world is truly a “Fantasy Land”. But Fantasy Land is doomed from the start – doomed because Reality always has a greater power – because it comes from a greater awareness.”

The sons of Fantasy, Clueless and Ignorant both shouted, “Uncle Reality, where does your power come from? Give us some of your power?”

Reality laughed a slow, knowing laugh….quietly he said:

“My kingdom, Reality, will always be greater than your Fantasy Land because my world, my kingdom begins with my sons Suffering and Strife. Life is borne out of Suffering and Strife. We come into this world in the pangs of child-birth, from our borning cry we breathe in strife. We fight for each breath, we struggle for each meal, we suffer adversity, we experience set-backs, and strangely enough, we grow stronger. We grow stronger because we do not seek glory and adulation, but instead seek to help our brother and sisters, see to their needs, share out of our abundance, and carry each other’s burdens.

Your fantasy world, where each person only cares about themselves will never match our power because, the reality of life is we need one another – we need community – we need relationships – we need church – and we cannot, we will not set one person above another – we will not set the wealthy above the poor – the haves against the have-nots.

The Reality is this – everywhere there is Suffering – Suffering has met Agony – they have born discomfort and distress. Each person who has come to this world, who comes to know Reality, knows that we all experience crushing pain – but out of anguish they have also found light.

The Reality is also this – everywhere there is Strife – Strife has met Conflict – they together have born Discord, Discomfort, Dissension, and Disagreement. Each person who has come to this world, who comes to know Reality, has found distress – but out of distress comes hope.”

Clueless shouts, “How can this be? How can “hope” and “light” be born out of suffering and strife?”

Reality said, “Because I taught them – I showed them that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces patience. I showed them that strife produces knowledge, and knowledge produces understanding. And suffering and strife together build a community of will – people working together to serve, not to be served. People working together putting others first, and putting themselves last.

This is where our power comes from – it comes from self-giving service—not taking and hoarding, but giving out of our abundance. So, Clueless and Ignorant, go back to your Fantasy Land, go back to your selfish ways, where you argue over who is greater, because in Reality, Greatness comes from serving those who are suffering, and easing the burdens of the Strife-stricken. Greatness comes when we share our abundance, not hoard our stuff. Not stepping over and onto others, but being a slave to all.”

My friends this was meant to be a story, but it must be said that James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, were living in their own Fantasy Land. They believed that sitting on the right and left hand of Jesus would mean glory and power. You could say they really were clueless and ignorant. Jesus was going to set them back on the right path – his Reality – the Reality that he, Jesus, was born into suffering, was sent to suffer, and we can emulate his suffering, but we will never achieve his suffering. But this world gives us plenty of suffering and strife, agony and conflict, as well as discomfort, discord and disagreement. And Jesus’ call to discipleship has it all – the reality that life has good and bad, and we can share the love of Jesus with all we meet through service and love. But, through all of the suffering and strife, as well as love and life, we find union and communion with Christ, who promises us, not a Fantasy Land, but his Kingdom of Reality, a kingdom of power and the reality of unconditional love, unconditional mercy and unconditional grace.