We live in a world of "instants". We have instant tea, instant coffee, instant puddings, instant meals that you only put in your microwave and they're ready to eat in just a few minutes. Everything is geared to the time factor - the quicker the better. Many people dislike the 55 mph speed limit because it slows us down in our quest to get form point A to point B in the shortest possible time.

All of us can appreciate that time is a precious commodity, and in our time conscious world it is easy for us to desire instant success as well. We want to get to the top immediately. We want everything and we want it now! To use Jesus' expression, we want the place of honor, and we want it now. To start at the bottom and work our way up doesn't interest us very much. We want to be at the top, and we want it now!

Yet our society didn't invent this attitude. In fact, Jesus recognized this same attitude in His day. It was present in the guests who scrambled for the best seats at the banquet, and it was present even among those closest to Him.

It was present in James and John when they approached Jesus and said, "When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left." They wanted the seats of honor. They sought to be glorified, lifted up above all others.

Yet, as Jesus pointed out to them, they had not thought about what that meant. Jesus responded, "You don't know what you are asking for. Can you drink the cup of suffering that I must drink? Can you be baptized in the way I must be baptized?" All James and John saw was the glory, the honor that those seats would bring. They gave no thought to the kind of discipleship that would be required to earn those seats of honor. They were not ready to think that Jesus would face extreme suffering and then death, and that to follow Him would mean that they too must be willing to walk in those dark places.

With confidence born in their ignorance of what lay ahead, they responded to Jesus, "We can". No problem, of course we can handle those things. It was easy for them to be confident, for theirs was the confidence of optimism. They never expected to face real difficulties. They never really expected what lay ahead.

Jesus knowing their innocence about what lay ahead, and knowing that earning the places of honor was not that easy, let them off gently by saying "It is God who will give these places to those for whom they have been prepared".

Then as the other disciples gather around, they become angry with James and John. These two have asked for the places of honor, and the other disciples are angry for they too hope for those very places. They are angry because two of the followers tried to cut in line ahead of them, to sneak in and grab the prize of success that they all secretly hoped would be theirs. It was then that Jesus took their ambitions and turned them upside down by saying, "If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest; and if one of you wants to be first, he must be the slave of all."

Jesus took the standards of the world - of both their society and ours - and flipped those standards on their head. We all know that the great are served by others. Because of their wealth, they can hire people to do anything they don't want to be bothered with, or because of their position, a certain level of service goes with the job. Can you imagine the President preparing his own tax return, mowing the White House lawn, vacuuming the carpet, or preparing his own supper. Of course not! People are hired to all of those jobs and more. It is assumed that with power and wealth comes privilege. There is even a rationale behind these perks - the President has more important things to do. The President can't waste time with those things that are a normal part of life for most of us.

I am using the Office of President as an example, and I don't mean to pick on our President. Rather it is a convenient example of a position of power and authority, a position that carries with it a great deal of status, and many "perks", as well as the image of success. Losers don't become President. You have to be a winner.

The Office of President carries with it the images that Jesus talks about of being great, of being first, and it also reminds us that the great are served rather than serving others. Of course while they are candidates for the office they talk a great deal about serving, but in recent decades we have been reminded time after time, in administration after administration, that many of our public officials believe that they are above the law, that they can do whatever they want, and that only lip service is given to the concept of being a public servant.

The last shall be first, it's a concept that seems foreign to us. The first shall be first and the last shall be last. We want to be first!

Wendell White in his book title, Psychology in Living told of a man who died suddenly in an explosion. When he reached the next world, he found a pleasant attendant asking him for the third time in a few hours if he could do anything for the new arrival, the man answered, "no, no" and then suddenly, "Well, yes, I believe I would like to play some golf now. Will you show me the golf course?" "We have no golf course here." "Oh", the man replied, and then added, "what are those men at the end of my cottage doing?" "They are just completing work on it. We weren't expecting you yet." "I'll go over and help them." the man said. "No," said the attendant, "they will complete it for you."

"Well then, I'll plant some vegetables now. I always grew some of the finest on earth." "I know you did, but here your vegetables will be cultivated and gathered for you." "All right", the man replied, "I'll grow flowers. I have always enjoyed doing so." "We have a flower gardener for you." "Why, of course, I should have realized that up here there is something else for me to do. What is it?" "Nothing" was the reply. "I don't understand. No golf, and I'm not to do any work. If I'm not to do anything here, what's heaven for?" "Oh mister", said the attendant, "You're not in heaven!"

We want to be first. We want to be served, but we also want to be in charge. This man found hell to be a place where he could not serve, where he could not do anything.

I suspect that those people who have made the biggest impact upon the world are those people who have truly tried to serve others. Look at the impact that people like Albert Schweizter, Madame Curie or Mother Theresa had upon the world. But let's not stop there. Think about people that we know here in our community and right within our congregation that are always busy serving others. These are the people who make a real difference! These are people who find meaning and purpose, happiness and blessing, for they are living the way that God intended.

The challenge that God places before each of us is to let the power of God use us, that we might serve faithfully. When we do so we live lives of service, service to God. In that context, all of a sudden Jesus' words begin to make sense, for those who are truly great are those who serve God, and the last shall be first, for the last are those who have been too busy serving God to get in line!

Amen.