I have been traveling and going to workshops so got behind two days. In the next two days I will be traveling again and will likely not get back until Friday evening. So will catch up then.
Tuesday: Scripture Matthew 23:1-12
“One Master. When we humble ourselves to serve others, we become models of Jesus’ service to us.”
NLT Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
2 "The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures.
3 So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don't follow their example. For they don't practice what they teach.
4 They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.
5 "Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes.
6 And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue!
7 They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called 'Rabbi.'
8 Don't ever let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters.
9 And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father.
10 And don't let anyone call you 'Master,' for there is only one master, the Messiah.
11 The greatest among you must be a servant.
12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
When I read the scripture there are several points that I ponder. The first is the need to practice what we profess as our beliefs. We struggle as a people and as a church with the tension of dogma and doctrine—orthodoxy—and mission work to help others—orthopraxy. As Wesleyans, we adhere to the dual tension of loving God and loving neighbor. It is in doing both that we become, as far as I am concerned, the body of Christ. Our faith saves us if we understand that faith is a verb and not a noun. Faith leads to servanthood toward others. This is especially true for those who are more privileged than others. We need to humble ourselves so that we don’t become the new Pharisees so concerned with law that there is little room for mercy.
Wednesday: Scripture Matthew 20:17-28
“Service. Remember that Lent is a time to serve others as Jesus came to serve us.”
20 Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor.
21 "What is your request?" he asked. She replied, "In your Kingdom, will you let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one at your right and the other at your left?"
22 But Jesus told them, "You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I am about to drink?" "Oh yes," they replied, "we are able!"
23 "You will indeed drink from it," he told them. "But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen."
24 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant.
25 But Jesus called them together and said, "You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them.
26 But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to be first must become your slave.
28 For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many."
How often it is when someone receives some beneficial item or notice, that rather than being happy for that person many times we react with jealousy or indignation. I see this when we talk about issues of immigration, caring for the less fortunate, or for those whose rights have been violated. Rather than standing with them, we put them down as undeserving despite what Jesus shows us about caring for the orphan, widows, and aliens. The bible constantly speaks to the need for those who have much to share what they have. To be less concerned about what is in it for me and be more concerned of how can I help others.
Lent reminds us it is not about my getting the benefits but helping others be able to join with me that we the people can flourish.
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