Mark 10:35-40 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then 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 hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

Do y’all know what it means to call dibs?

“I’ve got dibs on that last piece of sugar cream pie?” Means I get the last piece of pie. Or, “I’ve got dibs on the television,” means I get to pick the shows to watch that evening.

One thing people traditionally call dibs on is riding in the front seat of the car. This particular dibs has its own phraseology. It is known as “calling shotgun.”

Anybody here ever called shotgun?

The phrase alludes to the old west where stagecoach drivers hired somebody to sit beside them with a shotgun on their lap to deter any robbers in the area.

In modern times, calling shotgun simply means calling dibs on the front seat.

However, it may not be so simple. Calling shotgun, it turns out is a fairly complex proposition.

I hold in my hand a 4000 word document titled, “Riding Shotgun — The Official Rules of Order”

4000 words . . .thay is more than 3 times as long as one of my sermons.

The document shares 26 rules that one should know if one wants to yell out, “I got shotgun.”

The first and most important rule of shotgun is that you must call it out loud. You have to say it like you mean it. Let’s practice, “I got shotgun.”

There are many things to know about calling shotgun.

You may only call shotgun when the driver is in earshot.

Furthermore, both you and the driver must have already exited the establishment from which you are departing.

Both driver and would-be potential shotgunee must be within eyeshot of the vehicle.

If two people call shotgun at the same time, the tie is broken by a footrace. The first of the competitors to make contact with the passenger-side door handle wins the tiebreaker, and thus, rides shotgun.

The are default shotgunners who will always get to ride shot gun- Spouses, significant others, a person with a physical limitation.

One default shotgunner is the driver. And If the driver has to stop driving, (like they need to sleep or something) they automatically becomes shotgun.

The statement. . . “With great power comes great responsibility,” certainly applies to shotgun riders.

If you are Riding shotgun,

You are the riders first mate.

You are the chief navigator.

You control the music. While the driver has dibs as to listening preferences, you are to control the radio. If the driver doesn’t have a preference, it becomes your domain.

You are in charge of the driver’s phone. You text on their phone as instructed, you respond to texts, and you answer the phone if it rings.

You are in charge of opening stuff for the driver, you open all of their water bottles, unwrap all candy bars, and unsheath all beef jerkies, etc.

You pump gas.

You must remain conscious. A good shotgun rider will not fall asleep on the driver.

You are on constant police car watch.

You are not allowed to be critical of the driver’s style. While you may certainly point out hazards, you may not criticize the driver.

Overall, your primary job as shotgun is just to be cool. As it says in “Riding Shotgun - The Official Rules of Order,” “This is perhaps the rule most vulnerable to individual interpretation. At its core, the provision states that the shotgun rider must make all efforts to be cool.

Spending significant portions of the ride yammering on your cell phone is not cool. Constantly and indiscriminately fiddling with the air conditioner, defogger, and windows to the discomfort of all other passengers is not cool.

As the beholder of shotgun, you are the liaison between driver and backseat passengers, the tissue that binds the car together, the Ringo to the rest of the Beatles. Say what you want about Ringo but the dude is cool. And the other Beatles liked hanging out with him. Be like Ringo. Be cool and the whole car will be cool with you. Act like a tool and you’ll be in the back seat faster than you can say “Pete Best.”

Again, with great power comes great responsibility, and if you as the shot gun rider blow it, you can be demoted to the backseat, wherein the driver can personally choose a new shot gun.

As the Manuel states, ‘Riding shotgun is a great honor. But it is an honor you must earn.”

James and John want to ride shotgun, they are calling dibs on leadership positions in the new Kingdom once Jesus has declared it.

From the gospel of Mark, “James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?”

And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

They replied, “We are able.”

Then 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 hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So Jesus called them 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 servant δουλος of all.”

James and John are desiring the honor of riding shotgun without any clue as to the responsibilities of riding shotgun. And so Jesus calls them on it.

Just a quick aside. In Matthew’s gospel, it is James and John’s mother who makes this request. I’ll let you decide who’s covering for who.

In Mark, these two men ask rather boldly if they might share a close advisory role in Jesus’ New Kingdom’s cabinet.

And they could make a good case for it.

They were among the very first disciples.

They, along with Peter, seem to make up Jesus’ inner circle.

They, along with Peter, were the only ones there when Jesus raised a girl from the dead.

Jesus had given them a nickname- the sons of thunder.

They, along with Peter, were alone with Jesus at the Transfiguration.

Perhaps it was at the Transfiguration, where Jesus hangs out with Moses and Elijah, that James and John begin to think in these big picture Kingdom terms.

Obviously, they were two of the three people on earth closest to Jesus, and Peter was always putting his foot in his mouth so he wouldn’t be selected, and perhaps they surmised that if Jesus was indeed the Messiah, and he did just meet with Moses and Elijah after all, that it was time to call dibs on positions of power and authority in the earthly kingdom they assumed Jesus was initiating.

Jesus response is chilling.- you haven’t a clue as to what you are asking. Do you think you have what it takes to be in trenches with me? Can you drink from my cup, and be baptized with my baptism?”

James and John, thinking in terms of wine and water and not in terms of sacrifice and service respond,

“Yes we can.”

The image I have in my head here is Jesus shaking his head, sighing, and saying, “You will drink the wine of sacrifice and you will be baptized with service of your life to others, but I am in no position to grant you requests that you don’t understand as you ask them.”

It strikes me that Jesus isn’t mad at them, or even frustrated with them, but understands that they haven’t quite figured it out yet.

By kingdom definition, those who lead must serve, and those who are last will be first.

Jesus is telling his dear friends, and soon the other disciples,

“Don’t focus on power and prestige, focus on service. Don’t envision yourself as being in control, of having authority over others. See yourself as one who gives, as one who sacrifices, as one who makes a difference in the lives of others.”

After all, that’s how the Kingdom works.

Amen.