Monday 24 August 2009
- Bible Book:
- Luke
"A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves.'" (v.24-26)
Background
Jesus' life and values were (and still are) contrary to thosefound in society. In a world where so many clamber for power andappear almost willing to do anything to obtain it,
Today's reading reveals how the disciples were jockeying forpositions of power in Jesus' kingdom, only to be told that in theLord's realm those who rule are marked out by their willingness toserve rather than be served.
It is perhaps easy to see why Jesus' disciples had that particularmindset; they had left everything to follow the Lord and werelooking forward to their reward for such devotion and service.Moreover, Jesus often spoke about 'rewards' for those who put God'sinterests before their own (eg
If it is true that people with power are invariably magnetic andhave the ability to draw people to them for a variety of reasons;who was more powerful than Jesus? It might be argued that thesedays very few people are so blatant in their desire to have power,or to be the greatest. Even the most ruthlessly ambitious would-beruler would claim they want power to help those less powerful thanthemselves. The irony is that these leaders often ignore the weakbecause they have little power, preferring to focus on those inpositions of influence.
However, the servanthood that Jesus calls for is not self-seekingor falsely pious, but values all life and suggests that thegreatest is no better than least. This topsy-turvy approach hasmuch to say to a society that appears to have divorced the value ofresponsibility from power, and values style over substance.
To Ponder
If we knew that being 'in charge' involved 'real'servanthood, to what extent would people still be as single-mindedin the pursuit of power?
Which traits mark out the powerful? How do theycompare with the traits of Jesus?