St Barnabas Anglican Church, Warrington, New Zealand
Pastoral Letter in time of Covid Δ
2021, 17 Oct Trinity 20
Readings:
Job 38:1-7, (34-41) Psalm 104:1-9,25, 36b Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10: 35-45
³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” ³⁶ And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” ³⁷ And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with?” ³⁹ They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptised, you will be baptised; ⁴⁰ but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” ⁴¹ When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. ⁴² So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognise as their rulers, lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. ⁴³ But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Grace and peace to you from God.
I have in the past said that I have heard of denial, but I didn’t think I believed in it. The joke is rather sinister now. A highly transmissible virus stalks our friends and children, threatening to bring our health service to collapse, and some people think personal restrictions are too inconvenient and they have a right to spread disease, in the rather tarnished name of freedom. Some of these people are Christians. But there is nothing new in Christians thinking of their interests first, or in pretending something bad isn’t really going to happen.
Jesus finds this in His disciples.
As they journey towards Jerusalem Jesus turns again and again to His friends as he tries to find a way to deal with this nightmare He is approaching.
But it’s too hard for them to think about the cross. They just don’t want to know.
Every time He mentions the cross, His disciples have something else to talk about. Surely no one today, would deny the cross, and call themselves Christian? But Jesus’ friends pretend it’s not there.
What shocked me in this is that sentence “When the ten heard this,….” What ‘ten’? There are twelve disciples. Suddenly they are split. 2 have broken ranks. I think this is a crisis in Jesus’ ministry. The disciples cannot, or will not, see what is ahead. And the team is breaking up.
James and John are probably different from the other. We know Zebedee was commercially successful and employed men. They had family resources to fall back on, which the others didn’t. They were privileged in their family life and may have carried that expectation with them. Mark’s account is short and blunt, as Mark’s descriptions are. Matthew is possibly a little coy, and has an elevated view of a good disciple, so in his version it is their mother who asks Jesus. Still looks like a privileged family with ideas of entitlement, to me. Jesus sees at once what they mean. They don’t want to work for promotion above the other disciples, they see it as patronage. Just like King Herod, or the Roman governor, this would be a gift, given to the right sort of disciple.
Out of the shallow greed of James and John, out of this rift in His followers, Jesus must build the kingdom of God.
Now you might feel this passage has given me a poor view of James and John. It isn’t just the “I want” bit but the response when Jesus says, “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with?” (v38b.) They just say, without thinking, “Yeah, no bother.” They see Jesus’ sacrifice as something anyone could do. But they aren’t just anybody. They are disciples. They are nicknamed “The sons of Thunder” for the way they shout out the good news. Whatever we might think of their ambitions, however little they understand of what is going to happen, one thing is incredibly clear. They have complete faith in Jesus, complete belief in the Son of God. They may be privileged, and He a penniless jobbing carpenter in deep trouble with the religious authorities, they are convinced He is the Messiah, who will bring God’s kingdom to us all. Is there any good news in this story? The thing that strikes me, is that Jesus expected nothing better from them, or from us. He understands the material He has to work with.
Jesus gives His version of leadership 101. It doesn’t involve personal gain. Nothing about status. No carrot. No stick.
There is no measure of greatness in the number of servants you command, in your wealth or power.
The Kingdom of God is different from their earthly plans. In the Kingdom of Jesus the standard was that of service. Greatness consisted, not in reducing other men to one's service, but in reducing oneself to their service.
The basic trouble in the human situation is that we wish to do as little as possible and to get as much as possible.
It is only when we are filled with the desire to put into life more than we take out, that life for ourselves and for others will be happy and prosperous.
The world needs people who’s ideal is service --that is to say it needs people who have realised what sound sense Jesus spoke.
To clinch his words Jesus pointed to his own example. With such powers as he had, he could have arranged life entirely to suit himself, but he had spent himself and all his powers in the service of others. He had come, he said, to give his life a ransom for many.
The test was not, what service can I extract? but, what service can I give?
Jeremy Rev Dr JJ Nicoll, 0274 361 481 Priest-in-Charge St Barnabas, Warrington, NZ
Prayers
All praise and glory,
honour and power be to Your name, God Almighty.
You are holy and majestic in Your person and in Your ways.
High and lifted up, nothing escapes Your view.
Jesus taught us that You even know when a sparrow falls from a tree
and You tend to the flowers of the field
as if each one was irreplaceable.
How much more are we, all humankind,
the work of Your hands and the apple of Your eye.
Such a reminder is staggering,
difficult for us to comprehend,
especially when we know ourselves to be far from perfect.
Yet, because of Christ, You look past our faults to our potential,
You show mercy rather than condemn us,
You express interest in what we can be
rather than what we have been,
You grant grace upon grace.
Thank You, Lord.
Thank You that rather than write us off and leave us without hope,
You draw ever closer to us and promise that,
where we turn away from our past failings
You will bring restoration.
Thank You, Lord.
Thank You that in Your hands
our brokenness is not something that resigns us to the rubbish tip.
Instead, You are the original recycler,
taking what we are,
wasting nothing of our life experience,
and fashioning us into something beautiful.
Thank You, Lord.
Thank You that despite our waywardness
and because of Your compassion,
there is still hope for us to be purposeful in the things of Your Kingdom.
In this regard, the stories of old,
the tales of those who have gone before us,
both in bible times and since then,
give us reason to believe that all is not lost.
And so, we pray that You will speak to us clearly today
as we read from and reflect upon each passage from the Bible.
May Your written word be brought to life
by the presence of Your living word.
Take our lives, then,
as we once more lay them before You,
as we submit to You and Your ways,
Lord, before we pray for the needs of those we love
and for so many around the world
whom we shall perhaps never know personally,
we pause to acknowledge that, like Job,
sometimes we are caught up in complicated situations
that cause grief and raise questions.
There have been times when people have said or done something
that has brought pain to our door.
We find it hard to let go of those emotions
and even harder to forgive.
Soften our hearts, God, and help us to forgive others,
even as You have forgiven us in Christ.
Equally, there have been occasions
when it is we who have been at fault;
our words and actions have visited hurt on someone else,
either knowingly or unwittingly.
We confess that, even when we are aware of the tension that has arisen,
we still find it challenging to address the brokenness
and we shy away from saying sorry.
Give us, we pray, something of the spirit of Jesus –
instead of ranting and launching into a war of attrition with others who hurt us
or whom we have hurt, may we become peacemakers,
opening the door to reconciliation and healing.
Unity of spirit and purpose,
along with the healing of broken relationships
is what we also seek for our nation and world.
Where there is contention, bring co-operation.
Where there is unhealthy competition, usher in collaboration.
Where there is false accusation, let there be truth.
Even when differing in opinion from one another,
may we do so with mutual respect.
And this is our prayer also for Your church.
In our generation, may we increasingly become an answer to the prayer of Jesus,
whose desire was to see his people become as one.
Now, as a church family,
we bring before You the particular needs of those who are facing hardship at present.…
(bring people and situations – as appropriate – before God).
Draw very close to all whose burden is heavy.
Continue in them the process of healing that has begun,
and which we hope will accelerate.
May physical rest and peace of mind be their experience
now, and in the days, to come.
At the same time, we rejoice with each one of us
who has something to celebrate…
(Again, take some moments to name people and situations before God, which bring joy).
Lord, how wonderful it is
for us to share the pleasure such good news brings
to those directly involved,
and to us as a congregation.
And finally, in the silence of this space,
we bring to You our own needs and those of others
who have not already been or cannot be mentioned publicly at this time.
Lord, in Your love for all humankind,
reach out to everyone who needs a deep touch from Your healing hand this day.
Hear and answer us according to Your mercy, Heavenly Father,
and glorify Your name in our midst
that all may know You are the LORD,
and that nothing is impossible for You.
In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN
