Monday 29 October 2018

The Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost ----- 21 October 2018


Mark 10:35-45
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 slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?
·       Zebedee’s boys, James and John, ask for something they probably haven’t thought through: Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. I wonder if Jesus rolled his eyes at this request or if he smiled a little smile and chuckled to himself or if he was truly shocked. His response is You do not know what you are asking. Then he asked if they were ready to really walk in his footsteps. Of course they said “Yes! We can!” To that, Jesus says “Okay, you’ll do that. Count on it. But the seating chart… well, it isn’t mine to change.”
·       The rest of the inner circle of disciples overhear this and get rather steamed. Sure, now is the perfect time for a lesson on kingdom relationships.
·       Just to be clear, the cup Jesus refers to is usually taken to be his Passion (My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.  Matthew 26:39) The baptism he speaks of is the crucifixion. None of this seems glorious in the usual sense of the word. To many, it appears to be a defeat.
·       What this does reflect is our constant desire is for glory. Yet we get the opposite, because what we get is the cross. However we don’t see this cross as a defeat.
·       In the history of the Christian Church, this has been a constant struggle. It is often referred to as the theology of glory vs. the theology of the Cross. One jumps to the victory without taking into account any of the pain of the Cross. The focus in on the rewards of victory rather than the costs of that victory. In reality, one focuses on “me” and what I can do for God or what I can do to attain what God has promised. The theology of the Cross focuses on what God in Jesus has done for us and what this means in our lives.
·       Glory speaks of escaping sin and suffering. The Cross tells us of repentance and forgiveness and the acceptance of suffering as a joining to Christ.
·       To put it simply, the theology of glory is about our ascent to God and us saving ourselves while the theology of the Cross is about God’s descent to us and God’s mercy and grace.
·       Salvation by moralism is an example of the theology of glory. Salvation by mystical experiences and special revelations are the theology of glory. Salvation by some philosophical thinking is the theology of glory. All we are left with is salvation by the grace and mercy of God, the centre and key idea of the theology of the Cross.
·       Since theology is often seen as an abstract thing, favoured by the sort of people we call “theologians”, is there a way to translate this into how we live our lives? In fact, in the latter part of the reading, the words of Jesus illuminate this.
·       Tyranny vs. servanthood are ways that these opposing theologies are lived out. If we are dedicated to have our own way and making ourselves great, we live out the theology of glory… and the one we glorify is that creature we call “me.” This sounds pretty selfish and it does not reflect Jesus Christ. The opposite stance is often called “servant leadership”, which does NOT mean doing what everyone else wants. That would be a situation of anarchy and no leadership at all. It really means true service and a life modeled on Jesus’ own life.
·       For Jesus summed up his life like this: For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

W

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