Me First?
Who wants to go first?
Me, me, me!
James 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." - Mark 10:35
Childhood memories of wanting to first on line for something good come to mind when I read today's lesson. It is about James and John, brothers, who want to secure for themselves places of honor in the coming kingdom.
They want to be the first among the followers, the best, singled out and rewarded for their dedication to the cause.
What's wrong with that? Isn't that what we all want?
Of course. That's the point.
From our first breath, we seek attention. It is how we participate in the world, crying out for food, grabbing hold of the hand of our moms and dads to be led, protected and loved.
What would happen to us if we didn't place demands on the world around us, if we couldn't get people to do "whatever we ask?"
There was a commercial a while back where a man lets someone go ahead of him on line, because the other person had only a few items. It was a nice gesture, one worthy of praise. But something happened. The man given the chance to go first turns out to be the millionth customer and he gets showered with prizes.
What is the lesson? Don't let anyone else be first?
It's our big fear, isn't it, that we will be passed over, miss the big break, lose our place in line?
When Jesus told the brothers that they must be last to be first in the kingdom, how do you think they heard that?
Do you think they changed their minds about wanting to be first, or just thought it better to wait for the kingdom to come?
I wonder if we really can suppress our need for attention and greatness. Or do we seek it in other ways, by doing things in silence, knowing we are seen by God and he knows we've been good.
He will know and you will be rewarded.
It's a bit like Santa, isn't it?
We are motivated by rewards, and I guess that is the way it needs to be, in order to survive in this world, so why make it harder for us?
Why expect us to go against our nature?
It's a struggle and a puzzling one at that. But the answer may be in the struggle, rather than in the results.
It is not about being first at all, is it? It is about being there for others, not for reward, but out of love.
Oh, if we thought it was hard to do good for rewards, how much harder is it to do these things out of love?
More to come...
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