A Word from Joel - October 23, 2024

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. 43 But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant.” Mark 10:42-43 After Jesus predicts his suffering and death for a third time, James and John approach him saying, “Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left in your glory.” In short, they want power. Despite all Jesus’ teaching that the first will be last, and the last will be first, James and John are still looking out for number one. Sometimes we can read these stories and think how daft the disciples are, and perhaps they are, but I’m not sure how different we are than them. When given the choice between vulnerability and power, how often do we choose power? If we look at what Christians in politics are known for in our time, it’s not for virtue and humility but for our willingness to abandon Jesus’ teachings to be close to power. Brian Zahnd is a pastor and author who twelve years ago created a Christian voter guide that I find helpful. Here are a couple of his guidelines:

 Don’t be naïve, political parties are more interested in Christian votes than they are in Christian values. The bottom line for political parties is power. The bottom line for a Christian is love. And therein lies the rub.

He’s right. Worldly politics is about power while God’s politics is about love. Despite all of Jesus’ calls to love, we still want power. But Jesus teaches us that life isn’t about the upward way of control and power but the downward way of service and love. While Jesus offers us freedom, we prefer control, thinking it will spare us from pain. But the cross clarifies that pain is baked into life. When we accept that, we are free to live in love and service to other. Jesus laid down his life so that we might be released from the illusion of control and free to embrace the life we’ve been given in all its fullness, with joy and sorrow, with service and dissatisfaction, with grief and hope. All of it belongs.