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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Whatever You Want |
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Mark
10:35 Seventeenth
Sunday after Trinity October
4, 2009
I am shocked
at the audacity of James and John. The
essence of their request is, "God, do whatever we want."
Of course we need to remember that the disciples thought of Jesus
as a military/political messiah and they believed He had come to lead the
Jews in a military campaign against the Gentiles to give the world to
Israel. After the war, they
thought Jesus was going to sit on a throne in a palace in Jerusalem, and
they wanted to sit on thrones beside Him, one on His left and one on His
right. That would have meant they would be the number two and three
men in the world.
This request was actually very smart.
If Jesus, who had already shown miraculous powers, would grant
their request, it guaranteed that they would live through the war.
It also guaranteed wealth, power, and prestige to them that would
normally have been beyond their wildest dreams.
And yet, their brazen request is selfish to the core.
It makes God nothing but a servant, a magic genie who exists merely
to grant their every wish.
But, what really impresses me about their request is that it is not
very different from most of the prayers I hear in 21st century America.
In fact, most of what I hear from TV and radio preachers is
promises that God will give you whatever you want if you just ask
correctly. The disciples did
not ask for godliness, forgiveness, more knowledge of the Scriptures, or
more love for God. Their
concern was for their own comfort and worldly concerns.
Again, most of the prayers I hear from preachers today are about
the comfort and worldly concerns of people. Rarely
do I hear people ask God to help them take up their cross.
Rarely do I hear people ask God to help them die to sin, or live
more faithfully, or love God so much they will put Him first in their
lives.
In a way it is no wonder we get confused about such things as
prayer and worship and serving God. After
all, we are needy before God. We
are poor and naked and blind in our souls and we need the compassion and
the charity of God to feed us, dress us and heal us.
We also know that we are blessed when we serve God.
It truly is more blessed to give than receive.
We are fed and aided when we worship God.
We are the beneficiaries of His grace, even when we are trying to
do something just for God. But
there is a great difference between being blessed, and seeking only the
fulfillment of our desires. And
that is the heart of the problem with the disciples' request and the
approach to prayer held by so many people today.
By contrast, Jesus taught them that following Him is about
service, not privilege. He
even told James and John that instead of sitting on golden thrones in
Jerusalem they will drink the cup He will drink and be baptized with His
baptism. He was not talking
about earthly warfare. He was
not talking about water. He
was talking about death. The
cup and the baptism of Jesus in this passage are suffering and service
rather than privilege and gain. When
He said James and John would partake of them He meant they would suffer
and serve in His Kingdom rather than be served for their own gain.
Indeed our Lord's words were true.
James, executed by Herod, died a martyr's death (Acts 12:1-2). John
lived to be over 100 years of age, but was imprisoned at least twice, and
his life consisted of traveling on foot through Asia Minor visiting the
churches of which he was given Apostolic oversight.
The great example is Christ Himself who said that even He, God in
the flesh, came not be served but to serve and to give His life as a
ransom for many.
I do not say to stop asking God to give you your daily bread.
I do not say to stop seeking to improve your station in life or to
stop asking God to bless your efforts to earn a living and save for
retirement. I do not say to
stop enjoying the fruit of your labor.
Just the opposite, I encourage you to continue these things and to
expect God to bless your work. I
also say to you, seek to serve. Seek
to give. Seek to labor in the
Lord's vineyard. Pray for
God's strength and help that we may all do so. Amen.
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