Mark 10:35-45
Here we go again. At least it seems that way. The disciples again are misunderstanding what it it that Jesus is about to do. They haven't learned from the beginning of this whole thing what it is to be a disciple. They tend to think about it in ways of who does it best, who is most important, who gets to wear the crown and yet they are not so different from us.
In our own baptismal vows we say we will persevere in resisting evil and whenever we sin we will repent and return to God and yet we stumble and fall all the time. We tend to run by our fears, or our own self importance, or our own way thinking we are doing God's way, but we never ask God whether it is or not because we know.
Just when we think we can critique these disciples in their misunderstanding we don't understand as well. God, Jesus tells us, wants us to stop thinking in terms of greatness or who is the best disciple and worry more about becoming a servant to all. Think of it, a servant of everyone.
Yes, this means everyone. We don't go far enough in our net sometimes. We always seem to fall just a little short of truly going all the way. We fear someone may see what we do and associate us with that person. We fear what others may say and forget to wonder what Christ may say. We are supposed to watch out for the least of these and we try to find a way to watch out only for ourselves. It's not that much different from what James and John are asking.
Being a servant is not an easy thing. There are many who have been called upon to be servants and they almost make it, but somehow they miss the mark. Immaculee Ilibagiza writes about how a pastor saved her and other women from being hacked to death during the Rwandan genocide, but she also writes about how this same pastor would preach to them about how evil the Tutsi's were and maybe he shouldn't be hiding them. Was he a servant or did he in some way fall short of the mark?
We are asked every day to believe that someone is evil and yet we are to be the servant of all. Is this person really evil? Is what they stand for really evil? or is it more realistic that evil comes in the door of trying to separate each other by these definitions?
Being a disciple is serving. Serving all people no matter who they might be, what they might believe, or who they may support. Serving does not require the litmus test of whether people listened to Caesar or not. Jesus never made that a test on who he healed, whom he loved or who he let follow him. Just last week the rich young man was loved by Jesus. To be rich with Rome as the Empire he had to be listening to what the empire was saying and yet what he lacked was not condemning this.
We have to look beyond this and into the divine spark which resides in all people, in all of creation. God created each and every part of it. This is what it means to be a Christian. To take all of this in and to make sure we try our hardest to serve not only each other, but everyone we meet.
It could mean we see someone struggling and we carry something for them. It could mean helping someone who is short in line paying the groceries. It could mean giving a smile to someone who is down and needs a little kindness.
The thing we seem to have gotten from these last few weeks of Mark is that discipleship is really hard. Yet the wonderful thing about it is Jesus is patient. He doesn't tell them what idiots they are or send them packing. No, Jesus patiently says what needs to be taught and he waits. Knowing they won't understand the arrest and the cross. Knowing they will desert him. Yet knowing too one day they will get it and mirror just what Jesus has done. Thank you Jesus for waiting and loving us all.
Here we go again. At least it seems that way. The disciples again are misunderstanding what it it that Jesus is about to do. They haven't learned from the beginning of this whole thing what it is to be a disciple. They tend to think about it in ways of who does it best, who is most important, who gets to wear the crown and yet they are not so different from us.
In our own baptismal vows we say we will persevere in resisting evil and whenever we sin we will repent and return to God and yet we stumble and fall all the time. We tend to run by our fears, or our own self importance, or our own way thinking we are doing God's way, but we never ask God whether it is or not because we know.
Just when we think we can critique these disciples in their misunderstanding we don't understand as well. God, Jesus tells us, wants us to stop thinking in terms of greatness or who is the best disciple and worry more about becoming a servant to all. Think of it, a servant of everyone.
Yes, this means everyone. We don't go far enough in our net sometimes. We always seem to fall just a little short of truly going all the way. We fear someone may see what we do and associate us with that person. We fear what others may say and forget to wonder what Christ may say. We are supposed to watch out for the least of these and we try to find a way to watch out only for ourselves. It's not that much different from what James and John are asking.
Being a servant is not an easy thing. There are many who have been called upon to be servants and they almost make it, but somehow they miss the mark. Immaculee Ilibagiza writes about how a pastor saved her and other women from being hacked to death during the Rwandan genocide, but she also writes about how this same pastor would preach to them about how evil the Tutsi's were and maybe he shouldn't be hiding them. Was he a servant or did he in some way fall short of the mark?
We are asked every day to believe that someone is evil and yet we are to be the servant of all. Is this person really evil? Is what they stand for really evil? or is it more realistic that evil comes in the door of trying to separate each other by these definitions?
Being a disciple is serving. Serving all people no matter who they might be, what they might believe, or who they may support. Serving does not require the litmus test of whether people listened to Caesar or not. Jesus never made that a test on who he healed, whom he loved or who he let follow him. Just last week the rich young man was loved by Jesus. To be rich with Rome as the Empire he had to be listening to what the empire was saying and yet what he lacked was not condemning this.
We have to look beyond this and into the divine spark which resides in all people, in all of creation. God created each and every part of it. This is what it means to be a Christian. To take all of this in and to make sure we try our hardest to serve not only each other, but everyone we meet.
It could mean we see someone struggling and we carry something for them. It could mean helping someone who is short in line paying the groceries. It could mean giving a smile to someone who is down and needs a little kindness.
The thing we seem to have gotten from these last few weeks of Mark is that discipleship is really hard. Yet the wonderful thing about it is Jesus is patient. He doesn't tell them what idiots they are or send them packing. No, Jesus patiently says what needs to be taught and he waits. Knowing they won't understand the arrest and the cross. Knowing they will desert him. Yet knowing too one day they will get it and mirror just what Jesus has done. Thank you Jesus for waiting and loving us all.
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