“We Are Able”

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Meditation on Mark 10:32-45

October 21, 2012

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   They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.’

     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.’

    And Jesus said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ 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 baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ 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 baptized, you will be baptized; 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.’

      When the ten heard this, they were angry with James and John.

      So Jesus called them and said to them, ‘You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.’ (Mark 10:32-45)

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      Some of you may have noticed some new signs on the doors of our church when you came in this morning. Our children’s bell choir is selling a Christmas ornament to raise money for special T-shirts they will wear when they play during worship.

     The ornament is a small, pewter bell threaded with red ribbon. It has a simple but excellent message, “Worship the Lord!”

      We don’t need a lot of money for the shirts. There are only 7 children in our Joyful Jinglers. We could have asked the parents to buy them. But I wanted a way for the congregation to show their support for this young group that is beginning its first full season together. It would be a way to bless the bell ringers—and their families—for the sacrifices they are making to come to 8:30 a.m. practices every Sunday.

     I hope the ornament will be a reminder to us to pray for the children every time we see it. You can hang it most anywhere—not just on a Christmas tree. Please pray for Richard, Michelle, Jade, Adrienne, Anna, A.J., and Abi.

    Our children and grandchildren are the future of this church.  Ten or 20 years from now, they may be serving on session or teaching Sunday school! And wouldn’t it be amazing if they were still playing in our bell choir or even leading the next generation of Joyful Jinglers?

    You know, I was thinking about our bell choir yesterday when I was studying this week’s gospel lesson.

    The bell choir is an excellent place to learn to be a Christian servant. In our group, each student usually plays one handbell, one musical note.  No one is more important than another as no note is more important than another. All the notes are needed for every song!

    When we play, we have to be quiet and listen to one another. We have to pay attention as the notes are played, and wait our turn. We don’t want to be too early or too late or our note will drown out someone else’s—and make an unpleasant noise!

    We stop and laugh if that happens. Then we try again. We are patient.

    Playing handbells is harder than it looks! We encourage one another. Everyone goofs up sometime. Especially me!

    All of our music is new to us. Every time we play, though it may be an old familiar hymn to you, for us, we are singing to the Lord a new song!

   The time we spend together speeds by. Before we know it, it’s time to put down the bells and race to Sunday school.

   And we can’t wait till we get together and play again. We know that eventually we will play beautiful music together for the Lord. We always keep our goal in focus—worshiping Him!

   We believe we can do this.

   In Christ, we are able!

***

   

    James and John, in our gospel reading today, are not like our bell choir, though they, too, have confidence in Christ.

    The sons of Zebedee say to Jesus,‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’  

     They want to be exalted with Him in His kingdom, exalted above all others, including the other disciples. This is in spite of what Jesus just told them about what will happen to Him in Jerusalem—how he will suffer and die and be raised from the dead.

     Jesus answers them patiently, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”

    James and John insist, “We are able.”  But they are not saying yes to suffering and dying with Jesus, which is what Jesus means when he speaks of the cup and his baptism.  Two others will suffer with Christ, a thief on a cross to His left and another on a cross to His right, when Jesus is crucified. And to the one who asks the Lord to remember him in His kingdom, Jesus says, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise!”

    The other disciples find out about James’ and John’s request—and they are angry.  Jesus explains to them that the rulers of this world are ungodly people who seek power to “lord it over” other people and exalt themselves.

    This isn’t how it is when we are in Christ. Jesus gave his life as a ransom for many. He was slave of all.  We are called to try to outdo one another with kindness and good deeds.

    And it is only because of Christ that we are able to do any good at all.

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     Friends, it is that time of year when the nominating committee is seeking the Lord about the future leadership of our congregation.

     Some of you may be approached about serving on session.

     Some of you may be tempted to say, “No,” right off the bat.  You may have served on session before.  You may remember times of conflict. Or you might think you are too old, too young, or that you just don’t have the time or energy to do the job.

    And it’s true that serving on session is a big commitment and responsibility.  But it is a calling, a ministry, and not a job. And it is time to put aside our past and look to the future with hope and faith.

    Think of session as a group kind of like our bell choir.  Every session is a new group within the church, and will continue to be a new thing. Because every day is a new day. Every moment we are new Creations in Him.

    Here at Ebenezer, we are learning a new song. And it isn’t scary because He is teaching us how to do this as we go along. God is in this!

    And when we learn how He wants us to serve Him, and when we learn to follow God’s Son together, it will feel as familiar and comfortable as the hymns we sang as children.

    Those of us who gather for session and committee meetings are friends. We are brothers and sisters in the Lord, who nurture and encourage one another in the faith. We care about each other; we care for one another; and we are not in competition.

     We gather to pray, “Lord help us to be your servants. Help us to love one another and build Your church.”   

     We listen and take turns speaking. We are careful not to drown out anyone’s voice or make an unpleasant noise.

     We laugh. We laugh! And we lift one another up. Because life is hard, and we need each other in this journey of faith!

    And we always keep our goal in focus. Worshiping Him.

    We can do this, brothers and sisters!

    In Christ, we are able!

Let us pray.

   Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus Christ, who was slave of all and whose life was a ransom for many. We believe in Your salvation through Him and seek Your forgiveness.  Thank you for blessing us with faithful members who are cheerful and willing to serve and for the beautiful children in our church, children who want to participate in our worship by playing Christian songs on their bells!  We pray You would build their faith and confidence as they learn to worship you with their lives. We ask that you would draw them nearer to Your heart and make your loving presence known to them.  And we pray that you would help us to love one another. Guide us in Your will and build our faith and confidence, so that we would never doubt what you have called us to do.  Because we know, Lord, that in Christ, we are able!  In His name we pray.  Amen!