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Today in the Spirit: Proper 24B

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Late in Year B, we follow Markโ€™s account of Jesus traveling with his disciples toward Jerusalem for the last time. This week and next, we have assigned the two narratives in Mark immediately preceding the Triumphal Entry. The Gospel reading for Proper 24B is Mark 10:35-45. The request of James and John to sit at Jesusโ€™ right and left in glory follows our Lordโ€™s third prediction of his death and resurrection in Jerusalem (just as a previous discussion among the disciples about who was the greatest followed the second prediction, Mk. 9:30-37, Proper 20B). In this instance, we will hear the seminal teaching of Jesus on servanthood:

โ€œBut it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.โ€

Mark 10:43-45

The Gospel readingโ€™s attention to the servant heart of Jesus, even to death, is powerfully introduced in our worship by the assigned OT passage from Isaiah 53:4-12 (also a Good Friday reading). The suffering servant passage prefigures our Lordโ€™s death on the cross in Jerusalem: โ€œOut of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquitiesโ€ (11). The appointed Psalm 91 functions like a chorus of encouragement to put our trust in the One who will suffer and die for the sins of many:

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Because you have said, โ€œThe Lord is my refuge,โ€ and have made the Most High your stronghold, There shall no evil happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

9-10 BCP Coverdale

The third selection in our Year B series out of Hebrews is Hebrews 4:12-16. It brings together two well-known consecutive passages from this epistle that are often separated: the first part describes attributes of the revelation of God in our lives: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, and the second encourages the faithful to approach Jesus as the great high priest, the only true mediator between our imperfection and Godโ€™s perfection: โ€œLet us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of needโ€ (16). The assigned Collect, with its plea to the โ€œloving Fatherโ€ that he first โ€œset us freeโ€ฆfrom the bondage of our sinsโ€ and then โ€œgive us the liberty ofโ€ฆabundant life,โ€ ties together the pastoral exhortation in all the readings to surrender to the mercies of God provided in the revelation of the Son of God, โ€œour Savior Jesus Christ.โ€

The Collect

Set us free, loving Father, from the bondage of our sins, and in your goodness and mercy give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Crush Him and Make Him Ill (Isaiah 53:4-12)

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turnedโ€”every oneโ€”to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand

Isaiah 53:5-10

Or, โ€œThough the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill, once restitution is made, he will see descendants and enjoy long life, and the Lordโ€™s purpose will be accomplished through himโ€ (10, NET). This daring translation adds something to our understanding of this difficult verse. It is saying it was the will of YHWH not merely to make the servant suffer but to make him ill (the primary definition of the Hebrew verb hala). By this rendering, we understand the servantโ€™s offering for the guilt of his life is not only for the restoration of innocence from wrongdoing (per Lev. 5:14ff) but also for recovery of health from sickness and restitution back into society (per Lev. 14). What is required by levitical law in both cases is the ritual guilt offering. So we find fuller meaning in the iconic phrase, โ€œwith his wounds, we are healedโ€ (5).

Devotionally, does this observation not cause us to render double gratitude for salvation won for us on the cross of Jesus? Our whole self, soul, and body are made new in Christ. We are restored to God and each other. By Christโ€™s work, our days are prolonged to eternity by the gift of a new, sickness-free version of ourselves. And not merely restored, as we are when we receive healing from earthly sickness, we are delivered from the possibility that debilitating illness can ever ultimately hurt us again. 

In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis describes the supernatural restoration this way: โ€œFor mere improvement is not redemption, though redemption always improves people even here and now and will, in the end, improve them to a degree we cannot yet imagine. God became man to turn creatures into sons, not simply to produce better men of the old kind but a new kind of man. It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it has its wings, it will soar over fences that could never have been jumped and thus beat the natural horse at its own game.โ€

Because He Has Set His Love upon Me (Psalm 91)

1 Whoever dwells under the defense of the Most High *
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say unto the Lord, โ€œYou are my refuge and my stronghold, *
my God in whom I will trust.โ€

Psalm 91:1-2 (BCP New Coverdale)

14 โ€œBecause he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him; *
I will lift him up, because he has known my Name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will hear him; *
indeed, I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him and bring him honor.
16 With long life I will satisfy him, *
and show him my salvation.โ€

Psalm 91:14-16, BCP New Coverdale

Most commentators identify in this psalm a liturgy that might be said by pilgrims confessing their faith upon entering the temple, followed by a response from a temple prophet, and ending with a declaration from YHWH himself confirming the declaration of the prophet. Well and good. That interaction itself, however, is the playing out of an internal drama inside the heart (like a temple) of every believer over every time and in any space: the Lord holds out by his word the promise of full protection in response to faith (โ€œWhoever dwells under the defense of the Most Highโ€); the believer confesses that faith (I will say unto the Lord, โ€œYou are my refuge and my stronghold,โ€ 2); and, BASED ON THAT SINCERE CONFESSION,  the Lord confirms his word (โ€Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him; I will lift him up, because he has known my Name, 14).

Dear Jesus, I have often heard your promises of presence and protection. You have said, โ€œI will be with you always, to the end of the ageโ€ (Mt. 28:20). I confess that what I hear with my ears has most often not reached the depths of my heart. I declare the truth of your words in the congregation, but belief in my everyday life is lacking. Give me the courage of the temple pilgrim in this psalm to declare from the heart, Yes, โ€œyou are my refuge and stronghold.โ€ I will shout it out with my lips for my heart to hear that doubt may fly away once and for all.

Today, with your help, Holy Spirit, I make my declaration and wait for Jesusโ€™ reply, as in this psalm: โ€œI will lift him up because he has known my Name.โ€

Since Then (Hebrews 4:12-16)

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:12-16

I mentioned in the overview that we relate to the two parts of this passage (vv. 12-14 and vv. 15-16) mostly apart from one another. Pastors generally preach them separately, and our Bibles often divide them with distinct sub-titles. The effect of separating them is to make the first part โ€œjudgyโ€ (the word of God exposing intentions of the heart to God to whom we must give account) and the second part sympathetic (that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need). But let us be careful to consider that conjunction in the text Since then (or more often, therefore). Has the author of Hebrews not put the two sections together for a reason? 

In applying this passage, we might consider the author’s overall purpose to develop in his readers the devotional discipline of always coming to Jesus with our confessions of sin and pleas for mercy. Since nothing can be hidden from [Godโ€™s] sight by his penetrating word, and since we have in Jesus a great high priest, we should be quick and regular and confident to come to Jesus for two things: 1) to receive mercy (based on Godโ€™s word discerning our thoughts); and 2) to find grace (from the high priest who is perfect in his mediation on our behalf). We come eagerly with humble hearts, convinced that Jesus desires to forgive our imperfections and equip us for service. This is the overriding argument of the passage and a central theme of the epistle as a whole. It is good news that all our faults cannot be hidden from God, just as it is good news that in Jesus, we always have mercy.

Today, Holy Spirit, meditating on both of the high truths expressed in this passage, I am grateful for the word that searches and the high priest who forgives, that I may be wholly cleansed from sin and renewed.

But It Shall Not Be So Among You (Mark 10:35-45)

35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, โ€œTeacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.โ€ 36 And he said to them, โ€œWhat do you want me to do for you?โ€ 37 And they said to him, โ€œGrant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.โ€ 38 Jesus said to them, โ€œYou do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?โ€ 39 And they said to him, โ€œWe are able.โ€ And Jesus said to them, โ€œThe cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, 40 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.โ€ 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, โ€œYou know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.โ€

Mark 10:35-45

In this section of Mark (see also 8:31ff, 9:33ff), we find Jesus delivering some of his most challenging teachings in response to pride-filled overreaching on the disciples’ part. It is puzzling why our Lord asks James and John if they can suffer like he does when he knows they will, except perhaps that he would have them reveal the full flowering of their self-esteem and say, โ€œWe are ableโ€ in response. The brothersโ€™ overreaching for glory in the kingdom goes hand in hand with overestimating their abilities. In their high-mindedness, they (and the remaining ten) were in just the right position to hear another convicting sermon on the high calling of Christian servanthood.

Once again, we must overcome the temptation to disassociate from James and John and their request (โ€œI would never ask such a thingโ€) and miss the full force of our Lordโ€™s teaching. In response to anyoneโ€™s sense of entitlement in the body of Christ (โ€Iโ€™ve been in the church longer,โ€ or โ€œI am a teacherโ€), Jesus will tell us, you are a servant and slave in my likeness, and as such you occupy the most exalted position in the kingdom of God. Turn your eyes away from the mirror, and that exaggerated image of yourself staring back at you, and look to those you have been called to serve. Press into them, press into the work.

Today, in the Spirit, reading this passage, I am grateful to Jesus for paying the ransom for my sin so that when I hear him say to me in response to my overreaching pride, โ€œBut it shall not be so among you,โ€ I am equipped to listen and obey.  

Today in the Spirit

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Published on

October 13, 2024

Author

Geoff Little

Geoff Little writes the Today in the Spirit series of reflections on the ACNA Sunday and Holy Day Lectionary. He is the founding rector of All Nations Church in New Haven, Connecticut, where he lives with his wife, Blanca.

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