Reflection: "Not to be Served, but to Serve"The sign outside the church asked:
“LOOKING FOR PEACE IN LIFE? WORRIED ABOUT THE FUTURE?” And underneath the questions, the author, probably the local minister, had written: “JESUS IS THE ANSWER” So often, in today’s hectic world, this is the predominate presentation of the Christian message. We all have some sort of wants and needs - perhaps it’s for peace in a troubled life, or for greater hope and confidence in the future - and we’re told that Jesus is the answer. This style of ministry is called "evangelism" and it’s an attempt to draw people toward the gospel, to win people to Christ, by putting forth all the benefits of following Jesus. Looking for meaning in life? “Jesus has got it for you.” A sense of serenity and hope in an often difficult and demanding world “Jesus has got you covered.” Years ago, I heard of a church who hired a consultant to teach the ministry team how they could grow their congregation and he advised: "First find where people itch; then find a way for the church to scratch that itch." "The church is here to meet people's wants and needs," he said. In today’s reading from Mark's gospel, we see that Mark certainly wants to reach people with the message of Christ. It begins with the words: "Here is the good news of Jesus Christ" - often called the gospel of Jesus. Remarkably, when compared with the way we talk about Jesus today, Mark has little to say about our wants and needs, our struggles and our difficulties. Mark mainly just talks about Jesus - and when he talks about Jesus, it's not about Jesus as the answer to our problems, but rather Jesus as an enigmatic and demanding Lord. We read that, as the disciples walk along with Jesus, a couple of them say, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” They knew that those who sit next to the boss are those who share power with him. In other words, "Jesus, when we get you elected Messiah and your Kingdom is here, we want to sit on your inner Cabinet – and at the top seats, no less!" It’s an understandable request for the disciples to make of Jesus. After all, they were the ones who’d left everything they had, to follow him, to walk with him along his way. Do you ever wonder why it was that they committed to following Jesus? Well, unlike a lot of people of the time, they probably believed that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah, the great leader who would come in, probably raise an army, kick out the Romans out of Judea and set up Israel again as the most powerful nation in the world. It hadn’t been easy for them, following Jesus all over Judea, so, their request was really quite understandable: "Lord, when you finally get everything together and win your kingdom, let us sit beside you and rule with you." Maybe what they should have said was: “Lord, when at last you bring peace on earth, let that peace first be in my heart, in my marriage, in my family.” But they didn’t. And Jesus replied to their perfectly understandable request by saying: "You don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? Are you able to be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with?" With hindsight, we know that the disciples didn't really have a clue about what Jesus was actually saying. The road that Jesus walked is a road that leads to torture and death on a cross. The "cup" that Jesus would drink, was the cup of his horrible death. The "baptism" that would drown him, is the baptism of his death as he suffocates on the cross. The disciples show how clueless they are, when they respond: "Sure! We can do that! We’re able to drink your cup and be baptised with your baptism! No problem!" At times, I think that we’re a bit like those "sturdy dreamers". Are we able to receive the peace, the benefits, the joy, the sense of deeper meaning and the reassurance of God? "Oh, sure! We’re able!" we enthusiastically answer. Are we able to be crucified like Jesus was crucified, suffer, be rejected and disappointed like he was? And we reply, "Sure! We can do that!" I guess, deep down, we expect Jesus to say, "You idiots! Here we are, a fair way down the road, in the middle of Mark’s gospel and you’re still clueless. You show by your response that you don't have the foggiest idea of what I've been talking about all along the road, do you?" And maybe Jesus was thinking that, but what he actually said was, “The cup that I drink, you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.” Jesus doesn’t promise his disciples that they’ll be in glory with him, rewarded and happy. He promises that if they follow him, they’ll share with him in his sufferings and challenges. Two of the disciples ask to sit next to Jesus in his glory, one on his right, one on his left. In actual fact, when Jesus came into his "glory", it wasn’t on a throne - it was on a cross, and the two people on his right, and on his left, were not disciples, but common criminals, thieves. This is the message that contemporary followers of Jesus have been reluctant to proclaim to the world, perhaps because we're reluctant to hear this message ourselves! Jesus isn’t a technique for getting what we want out of God; Jesus is God's way of getting what God wants out of us. God wants a world, a world redeemed, restored to him and the way God gets that, is with ordinary people like you and me, who are willing to walk like Jesus, talk like Jesus, and yes, even, to suffer like him, if needs be. I've always thought it would have been enough of a challenge if Jesus had only said, "Even though I’m the Messiah, the Son of God, Saviour of the world, I’m still going to be nailed to a cross and killed." But, unfortunately for us, Jesus also said, “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, to give his life a ransom for many.” And there it is - that's the real gospel, the Good News, the real, honest to goodness, Good News. Is that the sort of Good News that you’re looking for? Are you willing to follow Jesus through all his trials and tribulations and suffer them yourself, devoting your life to serving, rather than bring served? It certainly isn’t an easy life, but we’re assured that the rewards are out of this world. Pastor Rick
3 Comments
beryl
16/10/2021 08:41:31 am
Hi Rick,
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Peter Andrews
16/10/2021 02:00:35 pm
''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, to give his life a ransom for many.”
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Karen Paull
24/10/2021 10:07:11 am
A strong and relevant message for today
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