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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