WATCHWORD:
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.” 36 “What is your request?” he asked. 37 They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” 38 But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” 39 “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. 40 But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”41 When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. 43 But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:35-45
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:7-10
Meditation:
If You Only Knew
James and John were asking, but they did not know what they were asking for, and Jesus answered them, in no uncertain terms. Are we like those blessed brothers, are we seeking an edge over others, a higher place in the standings?
Why do we come here together at church? I think most of us would say we came to worship, almost as if God was calling and we’ve responded. I have to confess that there are times when I would prefer the comfort of my living room, my PJs, a cup of coffee, and a streaming Church service by a Pastor that I have high regard for. I would hazard a guess that many of you find that to be a comfortable approach to worship as well. Call it a gift of the pandemic.
Years ago, my wife and I were with a group of couples in the process of joining the Presbyterian Church in Normal, Illinois. Pastor Richard Watts was talking to us. We liked Watts because of the way he had of reaching out to our lives and the lives of students at the University. He asked us what are you looking for in a church. The answer that one woman gave stuck with me. She said: “as a child, what I came to believe from my parents has fallen apart. I can’t accept it, it is incomplete. So, I’ve been trying to put together some things on my own. I guess I’m just trying to fit all the pieces together.”
Trying to fit the pieces together. I wonder if we all could buy into a little of that? Are we still trying to do that, even after all these years?
Think of the disciples, simple men, mostly fishermen whose lives, before Jesus, consisted of keeping the boat in good repair, cast your net, pull in a catch, sell the catch, live on the proceeds, repeat, day after day. Some may have been to school in the synagogue, but most had not. Then, nearly two years before, they happened to meet Jesus. During that first year, they often gathered in Jesus’ home for conversation, but mostly to listen to Him. Then that fateful invitation, “Come with me to other towns.” And so, they followed, and now it has been another year of watching this man, teach, heal and do miraculous things.
Who did they think he was? Mostly, a savior to take them out from under the yoke of Rome. He was their Savior, but nothing like what they imagined. You can’t blame James and John for wanting to step up into military leadership when He “sits on His throne.” Much later, the transformation of these disciples will happen, but they had much more to learn.
How about you and me. Do we have much more to learn? Has our faith drifted into a kind of rote faith; follow the liturgy, speak (not pray, just speak) the Lord’s Prayer, sup on the bread and wine with hardly a thought about what they symbolize, even as we hear the words?
Am I being too harsh? Was Jesus too harsh on those apostles-in-training? How about the woman at the well? Do we truly know the gift that God is giving us? Have we sipped on “living water” that is right there within easy reach, being offered with nail-scarred hands of our Lord and Savior. Think deeply on that, my friends. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
Jesus, Lord of my life, you have given us Living Water in your Word. Living Water that flows like Niagara Falls, spilling all over our lives. Living Water that showers us with graces and gifts. Always bring us back to the Living Water, Lord, each morning and each moment of each day for we know that the Living Water contains the water of life, eternal life. Thank you Heavenly Father, give us grateful hearts to realize the power of your Word, the power to shape our lives, that moves ever closer to you. I pray this in your name, Lord, for I know no other. Amen.
