Advertisement
Holy Week resources and reflections

21st Sunday after Pentecost — October 17, 2021

Mark 10:35-45
Ordinary 21B; Proper 24

Thanks to this week’s guest writer! Shelli Latham is pastor at Druid Hills Presbyterian Church in Atlanta.

Disciples — they’re just like us! The gossip magazines frequently feature photographs of celebrities doing ordinary, normal things like drinking coffee, walking the dog or pushing a grocery cart. In this week’s passage, we catch a glimpse of the disciples doing something just like us — asking a pretty goofy question. They ask Jesus for a favor, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory” (v. 37).

It is typically not polite to point out a goofy question, but sometimes it is comforting to know that those who are the closest to Jesus don’t understand him or their relationship with him — and he loves them and trusts them to lead just the same. To frame just how out of left field this question is, it is worth noting two things that have happened in this chapter leading up to this passage. In last week’s lectionary reading (Mark 10:17-31), Jesus said, in response to the rich man’s question about how to inherit eternal life, that many of “the first will be last and the last will be first” (v. 31). Just a chapter before, when Jesus heard the disciples bickering about who is the greatest, he had told them, “Whoever wants to be first must be least of all and the servant of all” (Mark 9:33-35). So, the disciples should know the answer to their question. It is not new information. Additionally, the verses that immediately precede our reading show Jesus foretelling his death and resurrection, including being ridiculed, spit on, and tortured. The disciples seem to skip over this prophecy entirely.

It seems obtuse that James and John choose that moment to ask Jesus for the premier spots beside him in eternal glory. But their request highlights a common conundrum for those who follow Christ: it is not intuitive to know how to follow a servant Messiah. We see that in the struggle of the rich man a few verses before, and I imagine that most of us desire recognition, power and glory at some point or another.

Jesus seems to know that the disciples can’t possibly understand what they are asking (even though James and John profess a willingness to “drink from the same cup” as him or follow his fate). Immediately after their question, Jesus reminds the disciples that their brand of leadership looks different than the world (v. 42). Then, he pauses to heal Bartimaeus, who was poor and blind. It is as if Jesus knew that the only way to teach servant leadership is to model servant leadership. The lesson further unfolds in Chapter 11 as the travelers enter Jerusalem, the location of Jesus’ inevitable appointment with the Cross.

This may be a good week for us to remember servant leaders and to raise up their examples. One example that comes to mind for me is Bob Chapman, the CEO and chairman of Barry-Wehmiller. Bob had an epiphany once while listening to Ed Salmon, the rector at his church. He realized that Ed had the power to shape the lives of his congregants through an hour-long interaction once a week, and Bob realized that he too had the capacity to drive transformation in his own company. Shortly after, the “Guiding Principles” for Barry-Wehmiller were born. During the 2008 economic crisis, the company faced a 40 percent drop in new equipment orders, and Bob leaned on the principles to shape his decision regarding payroll cuts. He says, “My heightened awareness of stewardship to those under my care gave me a clear sense of purpose and clarity through which to view the situation.” (See the Barry-Wehmiller blog for the story.)

Instead of laying off a portion of the team, it was determined that all in the company would share the burden as a loving family. From the CEO down to the newest entry-level employee, everyone was required to take four weeks of furlough on their own schedule. The idea was that it was better for all to suffer a little than for anyone to suffer a lot. The modeling of servant leadership cascaded with some employees offering to take eight weeks of furlough to spare those who couldn’t afford a month without pay. (Nick Van Dam and Eileen M. Rogers, People Purpose and Performance at Barry-Wehmiller: Business as a Powerful Force for Good.)

“Servant leadership” has become a popular buzz term, but sometimes showing is better than telling as Jesus’ demonstrates with the healing of Bartimeaus after his disciples demonstrate their desire for glory.

Questions to ponder:

  • With no framework for a suffering Messiah, what must it have been like for the disciples to hear Jesus explain his servanthood as giving his life as a ransom for many?
  • What role models do you have for servant leadership? How do they inspire you?
  • How do we embrace servanthood without thinking about it as a platform for self-elevation in this life or the next?

Want to receive lectionary content in your inbox on Mondays? Sign up here.

LATEST STORIES

Advertisement