22^nd Sunday after Pentecost

Amos 5:6-7, 10-15; Psalm 90:12-17; Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31 

Mark 10:35-45

³⁵James 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.” ³⁶And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” ³⁷And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” ³⁸But 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?” ³⁹They 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; ⁴⁰but 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.”
 ⁴¹When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. ⁴²So 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. ⁴³But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

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Grace Stewardship, Part II: Spiritual Growth

Grace to you, beloved of God, and peace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I had a girlfriend in College who introduced me to Spiritualism. Spiritualist Christians believe in reincarnation—Lutheran Christians don’t. For Spiritualists, we preexist as spiritual beings who undergo successive incarnations in this material world to grow spiritually. We begin as unruly Spirits bound to evil things. Accordingly, very bad people would not have had many of those yet. The idea for the individual is to finish this existence as a better person than the previous one. The marks of the elevation are the ones that can be defined by Paul’s fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The more combinations of these marks bear fruit, the more elevated we have become. The motivation is to remain in the company of those one loves in the afterlife, as there are levels of elevation in the spiritual realm. On the highest realm sits the most elevated spirit ever to walk on this earth, Jesus, who they called the Christ. He is our example, our standard, and his light can illuminate any darkness. 

None of this is biblical. Many Christian Spiritualists are helped to remember their past lives on this earth. Some can do it on their own. Some can contact the spirits who have left us. I suspect that this is the evidence that helps spiritualists abide by their faith. I have never experienced any of it. I, however, have witnessed those who believe it to become a better version of themselves—the new creature in Christ who is supposed to rise from the waters of baptism, if you will. If what one believes leads to the better life among other human beings that we all hope for and that God hopes for us, then who am I to hinder that faith? 

What is biblical for Lutheran Christians and others is that our current life is the life we were given to live abundantly in a wholesome relationship with God and our fellow human beings; and Jesus is still the greatest example of how to live this life, a better, joyful, and gracious life.   

Here is a an example not to follow given by James and John. We know from the call of the disciples in Mark that the Zebedee family had a crew of hired fishermen and possessed at least one boat (Mark 1:19-20). That would contrast with the other brothers, Peter and Andrew, who simply cast “a” net into the sea (1:16-18). This is evidence that James and John may have had a higher status in the community. All were fishermen in Capernaum, Jesus’ center of operations in Galilee. It is more than likely that the Zebedee household may have supported Jesus and his followers while sailing back and forth in foreign territory across the lake and after distant travels to Syrophoenician lands. 

“Teacher, we want you to do whatever we ask of you for us.” If it sounds patronizing, it likely was. Maybe they thought it was time for Jesus to repay the family support. Patronage was the way of the Greco-Roman world. It would explain James and John’s demeanor and Jesus’ instruction not to imitate the gentile use of power. 

Let me paraphrase Jesus a bit. The benefactors Lord over you. They demand you to do whatever they ask of you, even if that means going against what I and the Father are doing for you. It is not supposed to be so among you. Stay with me and my teachings and your life and your neighbor’s life will be great. I, the one you call Teacher and Lord, came to be a servant of all. Do the same. 

This standard creates a problem for us mortals. What made Jesus the greatest was the level of self-renunciation he underwent for us. Jesus gave up everything, including Lordship, honor, power, blood, and ultimately his spirit, so that we could have a better, joyful, and gracious life, freeing us from the bondage of sin and evil. There may not be enough lifetimes for us to match those standards. There may be someone among us who can achieve this level of self-sacrifice. I am certainly not one of them.  

None of us receive the call to be his disciples because we can reach this level of self-renunciation. We receive the call to be his disciples because of the love he demonstrated for us and the grace he poured over us. Jesus did for us what none of us can do for ourselves. May we remain stewards of the grace that frees and allows for every chance to grow ourselves and our communities toward the example of our Savior and Lord—every chance to live a better life with God and one another. Give back to God. Amen.