Isaiah 53:4-12 Psalm 91:9-16 Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45
Last week, Revd Ros read the story of the rich ruler. This morning’s gospel passage follows almost directly on from that one. Almost, but not quite, because those who compile the lectionary chose to leave out 3 little verses. Three verses that change the context of this morning’s passage, pretty significantly…
They say this, ‘The disciples were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them… He took the twelve aside and began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33saying, ‘the Son of Man will be handed over, and they will condemn him to death; 34they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again’.
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For the third time in a few days, Jesus tells his disciples he is about to be arrested, beaten and killed; he’s going to die; and James and John respond with, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ Do for us whatever we ask.
And hasn’t it always been thus? How often do we approach Jesus in that way? Jesus here is my list; please do this for me. Sort this, fix this, make this go away and this happen… how often are we tempted to that?
But Jesus doesn’t answer their request; instead he says to them ‘you do not know what you are asking’. Can you drink the cup I drink? Can you be baptised with the baptism I am baptised with?
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James and John are asking the man who is God to do for them exactly what they want. Their request of Jesus is the wrong way around; Jesus we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you… That doesn’t seem to be the right order of things at all.
How different would things be if we somehow managed to allow God to be God – total surrender – and didn’t ask for anything, but rather allowed the one who is the originator of all that is Good to do the asking of us. What if we listened rather than spoke? If we spent time consciously in the Lord’s presence, not saying, do for us what we ask of you, but rather saying give me the grace that I might do for you God, whatever you ask of ME. I will do whatever you ask of me – I’ll even drink the cup of suffering, and say yes to the baptism of death. I’m yours and I’m in. And then just wait.
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What might God ask? What is it that God want each of us to do? In today’s reading God asks for service; serve those around us and love and serve God too, following the example of Christ.
The example of Christ is servanthood; total self-giving, always putting the needs of others before our own, always going the extra mile, choosing love and kindness, outdoing others in all that is good, and loving God with all that we have and all that we are and all that we do. If we spent our whole lives concentrating on that, what a difference we would find around us. If we committed to always serving others and loving God, first, and fully, and left our ‘do whatever we ask of you’ demands out, we may find that we were as close to God as if we were sat at God’s right or left hand.
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I’ve been really thinking about these words this week and it has caused me to reflect on my own prayers. Since being in Australia I feel like the Holy Spirit has been inviting me into a deeper, wider, broader, space. When I first started getting into the ocean each morning the invitation that came to me was to ‘swim deeper’ – to swim in the depth of God’s grace like the parts of the ocean where hydrographers don’t even know where the seabed is. And to keep swimming. And as I have tried to respond to that invite, so I have found the words of my prayers falling away, until they just become Yes. I call them my ocean prayers and on a good day all I find myself simply praying is yes. Yes God, whatever it is; yes. Not asking anything, just swimming in that richness of grace and love, knowing that whatever God asks or gives or does is good and it is safe to say yes…and that there are probably no other words.
Because, as Jesus says, when we do ask, we don’t really know what we are asking. Lord give me a parking space – yuck.
Even Lord end world poverty – well, isn’t that ours to do, rather than absolving all responsibility to our shopping list God in the sky.
Instead of ‘my’ will be done, shouldn’t we always be asking for ‘thy’ will to be done?
Last week we were invited to give up all we had, sell all our possessions, and follow Jesus. And today, we see where that road goes. It is the road that leads to life, never forget that, but first it is the road that journeys through death. It costs us all we are and all we have, even our very lives.
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Can you drink the cup I drink, Jesus asks? That’s not just the cup of wine from the last supper, but the cup of suffering that Jesus begs God to take from him in the garden of gethsemane. Can you drink from that cup James and John? Can you? Can we?
As we take this question seriously, may we take a break from asking anything of God; may we err on the side of silence rather than hollow requests; may we instead follow the example of Christ; loving God and serving one another, and giving all we have. May we simply say yes, and leave the rest to God. Amen.
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Holy Adventures 