Living in the Spirit
October 20, 2018
Scripture Reading: Mark 10:35-45
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.’ And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ But 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?’ They 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; 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.’
–Mark 10:35-40
This scripture perhaps should make us each reconsider how we pray. Are our prayers essentially our job assignments for God? “Here is what I want you to do?” Jesus does say in Matthew 7:7 ‘Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.’ We must understand from our scripture for today that God knows how to say “No”.
God does love us unconditionally and desires the best for us. I guess the question is do we always know what is the best for us? Do we know what is the best for us within the context of what is best for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom? How do we distill what is best for all people in conjunction with what we perceive is the best for us?
It seems we have an epidemic spreading throughout our world and particularly in the USA that what is best can be measured in dollars and cents. Nothing could be further from the truth. Until all have enough to survive and thrive none of us are thriving. A great example of that is the ravages of climate change which can be directly associated with our insatiable desire for using fossil fuels and other sources of greenhouse emissions.
We often relate the Serenity Prayer written by the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr to addiction, but it applies to all of life’s realities. Asking for wisdom in times like these and courage and serenity makes sense.
Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference. Amen.