October 28th:
What I Want
Call: Job 42: 1-6
Text: Mark 10: 35-45
Read: W&S 77
What I Want
A Clarkson math major could not possibly calculate the number of times
That I have reread a familiar scripture
And discovered that there was something in it
That "wasn't there the last time I read it."
This week, it happened again. [read Mark 10: 35-45]
For years I have had such a reaction to parts of this scripture
That my entire focus has been on them
And I have never even noticed a section in the middle
That not only makes the parts I focused on more powerful
But also is a valuable lesson in and of itself.
In my defense, I think that my failure is understandable.
For in the first part of the text
We encounter James and John going to Jesus to make a demand
"We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
Can you imagine going to Jesus and saying,
"Do for me what ever it is that I want!"
And while you and I do ask Jesus for favors all the time
We would never dream of asking Him what they did.
For what James and John asked was outrageous
They demanded to sit on His right and on His left
In his kingdom.
Giving us a remarkably arrogant demonstration of their sense of self importance.
These two brothers wanted to sit in the two places of honor
Placing them above Peter and Andrew
Above Thomas and Bartholomew
And above the other six of the special twelve.
It would have been bad enough if naïve strangers had asked him
for those positions of honor
Perhaps offering to make a large donation.
At least then our outrage could be tempered
by the recognition that the stranger simply did not understand
what Jesus had been teaching by his words and his example.
But James and John they should have known!
They been with him since they pulled their nets out of the Sea of Galilee and followed him
They were part of Jesus' twelve key disciples
In fact, they were part of Jesus' three closest associates
"Peter, James, and John?"
If anybody should have grasped what Jesus was all about
It was those three.
But in this part of the scripture we find that 2/3 of them didn't.
In the past when I have reflected on this scripture
I have had two powerful reactions,
First, I got ticked off at James and John
Second. I was awed and impressed
that Jesus handled them so much better than I would have.
I wanted to tell them off
Or at least tell them to get out of my sight until they had had time
to reflect on what a ridiculous request they had made
to reflect on what kind of trouble their request
(even though not granted)
Could cause among the rest of the disciples
And therefore, how damaging it would be to Christ's ministry.
But instead of getting ticked off
(or at least instead of responding in a way that would let them know he was ticked off)
Jesus simply took this as a teaching opportunity, telling them
"The leaders over the gentiles lord it over them
Their great ones are tyrants
But that is not how we do things.
In our community of believers
For in our community
Whoever wants to become great must be a servant
Whoever wants to be first among you must be slave of all"
"Jimmy and Johnny," I hear him saying "you are my followers
And I came not to be served but to serve
And to give my life as a ransom for many."
"Therefore
The greatest of my followers will be servants to the others
Not persons seeking honors and glory."
As I read His words,
I can hear the patience and heartfelt desire to teach them:
He handled his self important disciples
calmly and without losing his temper.
Jesus gave a far, far, far better response than I would have
To the demands J&J made on Him
Because He lovingly instructed them
rather than harshly scolding them
His answer and His example continue to ring loud and true
To us sitting in the pews and standing in the pulpit
You know, the ones often saying "Jesus, this is what I want."
My frustration with the two miscreants
And my awe at Jesus' calm response
Were so powerful and moving
That they obscured another message in that response.
For before asking them what they wanted
Jesus, told them that they knew not what they were asking
And He asked them,
"Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?"
"Are you able to be baptized by the baptism I am baptized with?"
And these two seemingly self centered disciples responded,
"We are able."
In other words, Jesus asked the two brothers
whether they would be willing to suffer what he was to suffer
And both James and John said that they would
Jesus believed them and He said,
"The cup that I will drink, you will drink."
"With the baptism with which I am baptized,
you will be baptized."
And James and John did not withdraw their answer
even when Jesus said to them,
That those promises would not earn them the right and left hand seats.
Those seats were for whomever God chose.
Being his followers would earn them
Not glorious positions of honor
But the cup and baptism of death"
Even knowing that, James and John continued to follow him
And while we don't know what happened to John.
Acts 12:2 tells us that James was martyred in Jerusalem
Put to death by Herod Agrippa.
These two brothers were sincere followers
But like their successors in today's church
They got sidetracked by human desires
And needed Christ to bring them back to the message.
And thus Christ, in speaking to James and John,
Was speaking to you and me.
For even today, if we really want to be his followers
we had better be servants to each other - and to all;
we cannot allow ourselves to be motivated or inspired
by human desires for positions of honor, glory, and fame;
and we have to be prepared to suffer and sacrifice along the way.
Instead of focusing on chastising James and John for their demand
You and I had are better off hearing and obeying
That lesson of suffering and sacrifice
so we can truly be followers of - not demanders of -
Jesus the Christ
Our attitude must be one of
What we can do for Him and each other
rather than an attitude of "What I want."