Saturday 24 August 2024
"But I am among you as one who serves." (v. 27b)
Background
These verses in Luke's Gospel come from his account of the Last Supper. (Luke 22:1-38) Jesus is celebrating the Jewish Passover with his disciples (Luke 22:15) on the evening before his crucifixion and death. He has taken, blessed and given them bread and wine as his body and blood (Luke 22:17-20) and he has warned them that he will be handed over by one of them to the authorities. (Luke 22:21)
Today we commemorate the Apostle Bartholomew. Bartholomew is listed as one of 12 disciples called by Jesus in Matthew, Mark and Luke's Gospels. (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14; Acts 1:13) However, that is all we know. Aside from appearing in those three lists, he is mentioned nowhere else. There is speculation that Nathanael, mentioned only in John’s Gospel (John 1:45) is Bartholomew. They are never mentioned together, and since Bartholomew is a surname (meaning ‘son of’), it would allow Nathanael to be a first name. But this identification cannot be confirmed with any certainty.
All this places Bartholomew among those disciples whose work in the service of Jesus is known only to God, which make him a saint who is rather difficult to celebrate! However, his very anonymity might make today’s passage wholly appropriate on the day when he is remembered in the Church.
The disciples are debating (the original Greek is more like ‘verbal sparring’) about which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. (v. 24) The argument is incongruous in its timing, given what Jesus has just done at table and the announcement about his betrayal. It also makes clear that the disciples have forgotten – or failed to comprehend – the very similar things Jesus says earlier in this gospel (Luke 9:46-48), and repeats here (vs 25-26), which redefine conventional notions of power and status in God’s Kingdom. (v. 27)
However, in today’s passage, Jesus then goes on to point to future status his disciples will enjoy in the coming kingdom. (vs 28-30) The apparent contradiction here may be softened if we assume the kingdom itself will be ordered around the paradox that greatness is constituted in humble service.
To Ponder:
- Where do you see Christians or churches acting in ways that reflect Jesus overturning ‘earthly’ ideas about power and status? Where do you see them acting in ways that reinforce accepted ideas about these?
- Are there people who have served God faithfully in largely anonymous, unrecognised ways? Do you find this inspiring or are you frustrated on their behalf? Why?
Bible notes author: The Revd Dr Carole Irwin
Carole is a presbyter and has served in circuits in Kent and Bradford, and on the staff of Wesley House. She is currently stationed in the Cambridge Circuit and is leading a research project for a Christian community of people with and without intellectual disabilities, of which she is also a member.