Seeking Prominence
This week’s text is Mark 10:35-45. The scene opens with the Apostles James and John asking Jesus to be able to sit at His side in His glory. That is they are asking to sit at Jesus’s side for all eternity in Heaven. Go big or go home right! Many of us would feel uncomfortable asking for a corner office at work.
Jesus, as is so often the case, responds very patiently with His faithful, yet extremely bold followers. He informs them that they do not know what they are asking. He questions them to see if they are able to “drink the cup that I drink”, which is to say, are you ready to sacrifice. They of course respond positively. Jesus informs them that they will, in fact, be able to do this. In the end, this proves to be true, as most of the Apostles became martyrs for following Jesus. Yet, Jesus demurs about granting them their request. It is not His to grant them, it belongs to His Father. The Father will prepare all this. Remember Jesus does not think equality with God is a thing to be grasped (Philippians 2:6-8).
A Lesson About True Leadership
Once again Jesus takes this opportunity to deliver a lesson about what real leadership looks like. In the midst of the Apostles arguing about the request of James and John, Jesus points out that those who do not believe recognize as leaders those who lord it over them. But for His faithful this is not to be the case. If you wish to be great then first serve. It is always for Jesus about what we can do for the other, particularly the least among us. Jesus points out that even He came not to be served, but to serve. Indeed, this is the whole point of Jesus’s ministry, to sacrifice Himself upon the cross, then to show us the way to eternal life via the resurrection and our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
In the end we are to trust God. Trust in the promises He has made through His Son. Trust in our place as loved and treasured children of His. It does not matter who sits at Jesus’s right or left in the forever. What matters is that we all have a place in the arms of a loving and most merciful God who will bring all His faithful home in the end, forever. True leadership is to serve God, and trust in Him. Believe in this, then go about your obedient business.
Praise Be to God
