Pew Position

Sitting in church as a reflection of our discipleship

11/17/2021

Mk 10:35-45 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." 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 or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

People are very particular about where they like to sit when they go out to different places. If we go to a live Zac Brown concert, for instance, we want to sit as close to the action as possible. If we are lucky, some sweat from the band will drip on us like holy water from heaven. If we attend a Razorback football game, we try to grab a 50 yard-line seat so we can yell at the referees and hopefully change a bad call. And if we come to church on Sunday, we sit as far away from the pulpit and the priest as possible. That reminds me of this little joke.

Back in the days before churches had wireless microphones, a preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mic attached to a long cord. As he preached and moved around the podium, he would jerk the mic cord as he went. Sometimes he might move to one side and get tangled in the cord and trip and jerk the cord again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, “If he gets loose, will he hurt us?” And that is why we sit as far back from the pulpit and priest as possible, because “if he gets loose, he may hurt us.”

In the gospel today, James and John are in search of special seats, too, and they would like to sit close to Christ. They request seats for the Resurrection when Jesus returns in glory, asking: “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” James and John wanted to be close to Jesus like we want to be close to the Zac Brown Band in concert. And Jesus’ sweat in the Garden of Gethsemane really was holy water from heaven because it turned into his most Precious Blood, which we hope will fall on us at Mass.

But like the little girl in the third pew wondered about the danger of getting too close to Christ, so Jesus warned his disciples: “Can you drink the cup that I drink?” He was talking, of course, about the cup of suffering and death. In other words, that little girl was spot on about sitting too close to Christ the High Priest as he preaches from the pulpit of the Cross. If Jesus gets loose in our lives, he may hurt us, by inviting us to carry our cross. So sometimes we sit a safe distance from our Savior as far back in church as possible.

Indeed, Mk 10:45 – the last line in the gospel we heard today – is a succinct summary of the entire second gospel, where Jesus states: “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life (to suffer and die) as a ransom for many.” Before you start jockeying for position at the Parousia at the second coming of Christ, be sure to count the cost of letting Jesus loose in your life.

My friends, I believe that where we sit in general, but especially where we sit in church at Mass, can be a good measure of our discipleship to a large extent. This rule may not apply in every case; nonetheless, it is typically true that when you sit in the last pews in church, your commitment level to Christ may be somewhat minimal. As you move up the body of the church, closer to the altar, however, you begin to feel a stronger faith and concomitant desire to do more.

Who are the people who sit closest to the altar and pulpit? They are the lectors who read the Scriptures, and the Eucharistic Ministers who distribute Holy Communion. And inside the sanctuary itself are the priests, deacons and altar servers. Please don’t misunderstand me – I do not mean to measure anyone’s heart (I don’t even dare to measure my own). But at least in terms of external commitment, we certainly say something about the depth of our discipleship by our pew position at Mass.

Lest you feel I am pointing fingers at others, let me use my own family as an example of what I mean. When I was growing up my family did more or less the minimum, and we sat close to the back of church. We attended Mass on Sunday but that was about it. We did the three things all good Catholics should do: pray, pay and obey. But as my family’s faith grew, so did our level of involvement in church activities.

My father served on the church finance council, my sister Mary leads the RCIA, my sister-in-law Susan is youth minister, my brother Paul teaches confirmation class and serves on the board of the Catholic High school. And me? I am just trying not to get tangle in the microphone cord. Over the years, though, something else has happened to my family: we gradually moved closer to the front pews at Mass. That is, we have sort of let Jesus loose in our lives, and he has not hurt us, but rather he has healed us and helped us to carry our cross as good disciples.

Again, don’t get me wrong: our journey with Jesus is deeply personal and no one else can judge us, except God himself. Still, sometimes we can see small steps of that larger journey with Jesus in our little journey up the center aisle of the church as we pick our pews and where we sit at Mass. As you jockey for position Sunday after Sunday, remember that sitting safely in the back may not be the best way to pick your pew.

Praised be Jesus Christ!