Sunday 18 October 2009

Background

In chapter 9 of Mark's Gospel, Jesus' disciples were arguingabout which of them was the greatest and Jesus had to remind themof the importance of humility (Mark 9:33-37). Byinviting a child into their conversation, he pointed out how thesmallest of things can be the most important.

And did they learn their lesson? Apparently not. For here we findJames and John banging on about it yet again. Jesus' earlier rebukedoesn't seem to have quietened them on this one. In fact, they'rebolder than ever before - even asking for the most honoured seatsin heaven. These lads certainly weren't backward in comingforwards: it's no wonder Jesus nicknamed them 'Boanerges', aka'sons of thunder' (see Mark 3:17)!

So what were they playing at?

Working in the media, I had to learn very quickly that thisbusiness is all about relationships. While a degree in mediastudies or journalism might equip you with the right tools for thejob, nothing helps you get ahead like knowing the right people.It's not what you know, it's who you know. Or so they say.

And this seems to be the thinking behind James' and John's request.After all, they were practically Jesus' best buddies, part of aclose knit group that saw each other through thick and thin. Surelythey deserved a high place with him at the heavenly table?

But Jesus patiently takes them back to square one, repeating theteaching he gave them last time. He wants to make it clear thathe's ushering in a new regime, starting with them. One that willturn traditional human logic on its head, making a nonsense of ourassumptions about power. Those whom God considers greatest will bethe ones who make themselves humble and learn to serve others. Andthis isn't just something being asked of the disciples - this is atruth that Jesus came to demonstrate most clearly in his death onthe Cross for all of humanity. He leads the way and we are asked tofollow that path.

To Ponder

What do Jesus' teachings about greatest and leastmean for human institutions that reward self-seeking behaviour?

Who do you think of as great? Or as lesser?Why?