Matthew 20:17-28
Let’s remember to pray for Jim and Marty.
“Notice what you notice.” It doesn’t seem so strange to me that James and John (in Mark) and their mother (in Matthew) would ask to sit on Jesus’ right hand and left hand. But what makes it really strange is that in doing so they are ignoring Peter! These brothers were possibly in the fishing business with Peter. He was the one who made the dramatic claim of Jesus as the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi. He was there with them at the Transfiguration. And it was very likely Peter’s house where Jesus stayed when He was in Capernaum. The brothers (or their mother) asking for special favor seems a bit greedy, but it is not so far-fetched. Leaving Peter out, however, seems excessive!
Verse 24 follows naturally from my thoughts in the paragraph above: And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. I seldom think of the disciples quarrelling among themselves. Certainly Jesus offered special treatment to his “top three” – Peter, James, and John. Even that trio is without Peter’s brother, Andrew, our namesake, which seems strange since Andrew was the one who brought Peter to Jesus. And a few others like Philip and Thomas earn more mention than all of the other six (except Judas at the very end). So today’s reading is a strange incident in the Gospel stories. Which makes it all the more authentic, to see these disciples whom we have labelled “saints” behaving like the rest of us. They weren’t always “saintly”!!
I see our congregation as full of “servants”. I have three people in mind right now who serve us weekly at The Gathering. Avanza is coming up and we’ll see another 20-30 people showing up for tutoring, with dozens of others providing snacks and Ellen Backs quietly organizing things. And when those kids line up to go to Children’s Worship, know that there are two or three people there waiting to greet them – not to mention others in the nursery across the hall. Drop by during the week and see how many ladies offer their time to Sharon to lighten her load. Oh yeah, the building doesn’t simply run itself – someone is looking over “its shoulder”. And with this listing I haven’t even covered half of what members of our congregation do to serve one another. Be assured, those who serve are a blessing and are blessed. Be one!!
Slava Bohu!