But It Shall Not Be So Among You

March 3, 2010

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

Heed me, O LORD, and listen to what my adversaries say. Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them. Jeremiah 18:19-20

But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." Matthew 20:25-28

Piety

Free me from the net they have set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, LORD, faithful God… I hear the whispers of the crowd; terrors are all around me. They conspire against me; they plot to take my life. But I trust in you, LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands; rescue me from my enemies, from the hands of my pursuers. Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16

Study

Matthew starts out today with the third and final prediction of the passion and death of Jesus. "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."

Imagine hearing this prediction for the third time and applying worldly judgment to this scenario. Why would the son of an all-powerful God meet this kind of end? In a world isolated from the prophetic scriptures of the Hebrew Bible, this would not make sense. However, to those people who are familiar with the words of Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, they would understand. Would they not?

Yet these disciples were not recruited from the scholars in the temple. They were fishermen, tax collectors and other regular citizens. So they were not yet connecting Jesus and his life to the prophecies of Hebrew tradition. That may be another reason Jesus had to continue to repeat this – just so they would recognize the salvation story as it unfolded.

Jesus knew how hard it is to understand. Yet, despite his warnings, the apostles remained woefully ill-prepared as the story unfolded. That is why the awkward query made by the mother of James and John fits in so well with the same kind of disconnect we see in scripture during Holy Week. As connected as Jesus is to his followers, they remain fairly disconnected from the pinnacle of his message.

God’s world order has everything downside up. So often we are consumed by moving ahead in life, in our professional careers, in the collection of material possessions. Yet, when the mother of James and John tries to advance the cause and honor of her two sons, Jesus sets her straight about servant leadership.

But it shall not be so among you.

His example is his own life. Jesus, speaking of himself in the third person, explains that the Messiah did not come to be honored but to be served. So, the disciples must be imitators of Christ, not imitators of secular rulers or even church rulers.

Action

Where do we put our trust to protect us and save us? Are we like the Psalmist who omnisciently sings a song that alludes to the words Jesus will pray in Gethsemane? “Free me from the net they have set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, LORD, faithful God.”

Our sisters and brothers are now the hands of God to each other. If God is our refuge, then we must rely upon our Christian sisters and brothers to do His work.

This week, another winter Hypothermia Shelter project is nearing a successful conclusion. In Fairfax County, there are not enough beds to protect the homeless from the cruel elements of one of the most severe winters ever recorded. So to supplement the publicly available warm beds and shelter for the homeless, churches have once again opened their doors every night of the winter to assure that no homeless person dies on the streets, under the bridges or in the woods of this affluent county.

Hallways filled with the laughter of children during the day are now lined with sleeping bags each night as the “shelter” moves from church to church each week. Our churches have become the sanctuaries from the elements and the people in each church have become an extension of the hands of God, reaching out to protect the homeless and provide them actual physical refuge next to God.

In this holy season, as we draw closer to God, consider volunteering at your “hypothermia shelter” or other service agency. Through this work, not only will we draw closer to the Lord, but also we will bring others with us on the journey.