Lectionary Reflection — 23 September 2018
30-32 Leaving there, they went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They’ll murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive.” They didn’t know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it.
33 They came to Capernaum. When he was safe at home, he asked them, “What were you discussing on the road?”
34 The silence was deafening — they had been arguing with one another over who among them was greatest.
35 He sat down and summoned the Twelve. “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.”
36-37 He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, “Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me — God who sent me.”
Other readings: Jeremiah 11.18-20; Psalm 54; James 3.13-4:3, 7-8a
The man in black just bested Vizzini in a battle of wits, rescuing Buttercup. But he didn’t release her. In fact, he’s taking her captive himself.
“I know who you are,” said Buttercup. “You’re the Dread Pirate Roberts. Admit it!”
“With pleasure,” replied the man in black. “What can I do for you?”
“You can die slowly, cut into a thousand pieces.”
“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Not very complimentary, your highness. Why do you sow your venom on me?”
“Because you killed my love.”
“It’s possible,” replied the man in black. “I kill a lot of people.”
“You attacked his ship and the Dread Pirate Roberts never takes prisoners.”
“I can’t make exceptions,” smirked the man in black. “Once word gets out that a pirate’s gone soft, people begin to disobey and then it’s nothing but work, work, work all the time.”
“You mock my pain,” exclaimed Buttercup, her cheeks flushed with anger.
“Life is pain, highness,” replied the man in black coldly. “Anyone who says differently is selling something.”
If one wants to know what it means to follow Jesus, today’s Lectionary reading is another good lesson: “Be the servant of all.”
“You can’t expect us to be a doormat,” someone might object.
Be the servant of all.
“People will walk all over us and take advantage of us,” another may exclaim.
Be the servant of all.
As we saw last week, being a follower of The Way of Jesus means to live a life of self-sacrifice for others. And that can lead to suffering. To paraphrase the man in black, “The Christian life is sacrifice … Anyone who says differently is selling something.” I don’t know about you, but that’s not the lesson I was taught about following The Way of Jesus. I was taught just the opposite, actually. Mine went something more like, “The Christian life is full of blessing! God meets all of your needs! You’ll not want for anything. If anyone tells you differently, they’re trying to lead you astray.”
But as we’ve seen the last couple of weeks, that’s not the message Jesus tells us. And these lessons have brought to my mind a story Jesus told elsewhere —
25-27 One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters — yes, even one’s own self! — can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his or her own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.
28-30 “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘She started something she couldn’t finish.’
31-32 “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce?
33 “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it goodbye, you can’t be my disciple.
34 “Salt is excellent. But if the salt goes flat, it’s useless, good for nothing. Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
That, dear reader, is what following Jesus means. I’ve heard about the “true” gospel or “full” gospel my whole life but I never heard that “full truth” being that following Jesus may cost you everything. That the “full” gospel is one’s willingness to lose everything — “yes, even one’s own self!” — in following Jesus. From the story above, that’s what’s expected — the loss of everything. We must be willing to give everything for The Way of Jesus — friends, family, money, security, safety. Everything. Even our own plans and dreams. Perhaps even our own lives. Following The Way of Jesus means sacrificing all of that for a new way of being truly human.
In another place, we see this story from our Lectionary a little differently. In Mark 10, James and John asked to sit on Jesus’ left and right “in [his] glory.” His “glory” here, from the point of view of James and John, is when Jesus is ruling and reigning, when he’s exercising his rights and responsibilities as King. In other words, their wanting to not only be placed in areas of authority, but they want to be placed in the highest authority only answering to Jesus himself.
After the other disciples caught wind of what James and John were asking of Jesus, he told all of them —
“You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” Jesus said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That’s what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served — and then to give away his life in exchange for those who are held hostage.”
Here we see that Jesus’ understanding of true authority is the same his understanding of true humanity — service. But not just any kind of service. No. As we’ve seen, Jesus is talking about self-sacrificial service. The “giving away” of one’s life for others type of service. Notice again his words, “It’s not going to be that way with you.” That is, the systems of the world — empire, sociopolitical, economic, patriarchy, etc. — “throw their weight around.” They bully people and destroy others just to get more of whatever it is they want. But that’s not The Way of Jesus. That’s not the way of being truly human.
When we decide to follow Jesus, we have to have all the facts. Our plans for life may just be over. Our dreams and goals might come to an end. We might lose family and friends. We might lose property and power. We might even lose our own selves. We’ll have to be willing to sacrifice everything in the service of others. We must be a servant to all. It may be a life of pain and suffering. That’s the cost. That’s what’s expected. And if people tell us differently, well, they might just be selling something.
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In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
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1. Scripture quotations marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
2. As I haven’t read the book, this quote is from the 1987 movie, The Princess Bride. The screenplay was written by the book’s author, William Goldman and was directed by Rob Reiner. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time.
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