October 21, 2012 21st Sunday After Pentecost

Mark 10:35-45

5 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
 39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

   41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

“To Give His Life As A Ransom For Many”

The disciples were good at missing the point.  cf Mk 8:31-33, 9:30-35; 10:32-37,41-45.

It is hard to accept suffering as necessary.  The only way to live without suffering is to not live...not touch anyone, love, hope, care, trust, get close to anyone.

Suffering belongs to the very nature of our world and our lives; it is not something we simply eliminate.  it is something we accept, grow in, and find meaning through.  It is a part of the paradox of life.

Suffering is holy ground. We don’t go looking for it, but we are to let it become redemptive when it comes to us.  It is an integral part of the good that happens in our lives.  It brings out the best in people, it draws us together, it enriches life, it even causes us to discover a deep thankfulness.  It enables us to discover the most enduring love.  And when we discover this we have discovered something of the love of God in Christ, who suffered that we might be saved.


“Not to Be Served But To Serve”

James and John asked Jesus to be given the favorite spots in the Kingdom.  They wanted to know what they were going to get before they gave too much of themselves.
They wanted to be promised a special spot in the Kingdom before then served long and hard, and suffered much.

But God shows no partiality.  God has no favorites.
Grace does not make us favorites with God.  It equips us to be servants of God.

To be great in the Kingdom is to be a servant.
To be first is to be last.
To really live is to lose oneself in life in serving Jesus Christ.
Don’t ask what you can get, but what you can give.

Being a servant is more in step with Jesus then being a mighty one.
Servant means lowly in our world.  In God’s Kingdom it is the highest office one can hold.
A servant is one who “finds grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16b

Greatness, honor, deep meaning and fulfillment in life comes, in Jesus terms, 
”...not in self-seeking, but in solidarity....not in accruing status, but in benefiting others,,,not in hoarding, but in giving...not in ruling, but in serving.”

Mother Teresa:  “Humble as you are, it must be an extraordinary thing to be a vehicle of God’s grace in the world.  But it is His work.  I think God wants to show His greatness by using nothingness.”