Context

Anthony de Mello (in One Minute Wisdom, Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, 1985) tells a story about miracles which might answer the request by the sons of Zebedee in Mark 10.35-37.

A man traversed land and sea to check for himself the master’s extraordinary fame.
‘What miracles has your master worked?’ he said to a disciple.
‘Well, there are miracles and miracles. In your land it is regarded as a miracle if God does someone’s will. In our country it is regarded as a miracle if someone does the will of God.’

Last Sunday, Pope Francis canonised seven new saints including Archbishop Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI. All had lived in ways close to Pope Francis’ heart, and he said, ‘All these saints, in different contexts, put today’s word into practice in their lives, without lukewarmness, without calculation, with the passion to risk everything and to leave it all behind’. It was a fitting tribute from a Pope who had chosen the name of Francis of Assisi.

Last week’s Gospel told the story of the rich young man who came to Jesus and was invited to give away his riches and risk all in joining Jesus’ disciples (Mark 10.17-22). While the Archbishop and the Pope who were canonised are well known throughout the world, the others include a poor young man who died of bone cancer aged 19 and others who triumphed over tremendous odds to serve God.

It was Pope Gregory 1 (590-604) who first used the title ‘Servant of the servants of God’, recalling Jesus’ words in this week’s Gospel (Mark 10.43-5). He reportedly did so ‘as a lesson in humility for the Archbishop of Constantinople, John the Faster, who had been granted the title ‘Ecumenical Patriarch’ by the Byzantine Emperor’. The title may appear more appropriate to Francis that to many of his predecessors.

 

Reflection

We may see a similarity between the rivalry among Jesus’ disciples and that of leaders in public life today. Those who appear to be vying for leadership of the Conservative party – and hence of Britain – seem more driven by personal ambition than by a vision for the good of the whole nation. And, in a nation so split over Brexit, it is difficult to know what cause might command the greatest following.

There is a longing for, and a longing to be seen as ‘the strong man’, the very opposite of the kind of leader Jesus portrays. He says, ‘their great ones are tyrants over them’ (Mark 10.42) and it isn’t hard to see modern examples.

• Putin’s hold on power in Russia, crushing of dissent at home and elimination of those seen as disloyal.
• Assad in Syria and Erdogan in Turkey following a similar path.
• The disappearance of Khashoggi from the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, highlighting the dark side of the rise of the Saudi Prince.

The culture of ‘toxic masculinity’ – much less tolerated these days – overshadowed the recent appointment of Brett Kavanaugh in the US, and the same culture now appears to have been prevalent in the UK Houses of Parliament.

All kinds of wrongdoing, which had simply been tolerated as part of the way the world was, is being uncovered, and those who suffered in silence have been given a voice.

We recall the suffering servant of Isaiah, who at the time appeared to be of no account, indeed, ‘struck down by God’ (Isaiah 53.4), as though God himself approved the punishment. In today’s uncovering of past abuses our ‘suffering servant’ is not a single individual but, as it may have been in Isaiah’s vision, a whole class of marginalised and downtrodden people whose cries have not been heard. Are we then having our eyes opened to the punishing effects of the roll out of universal credit? The behaviour of the government in gagging critics appears like that of totalitarian regime, not a democracy. Jesus makes the accusation that ‘rulers lord it’ over their subjects. 

Our politicians can forget they are elected to serve the good of the people, taking the model Jesus gives of the servant in the Gospel.

My final reflection on the Gospel in the light of today’s news may exceed my brief, but I will refer to Sir John Major’s Quinlan Lecture. 

In Mark 10.35 James and John put a request to Jesus, ‘Master, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ How does God respond, or, putting it more simply, how does a good parent respond, when their child (of God) asks for the wrong thing? Note that the Lord’s Prayer says, ‘Thy will be done’ not ‘My will be done’. The substance of John Major’s lecture is that people have asked unwittingly, in Brexit, for the wrong thing: a policy which is now seen to be enormously harmful to the nation, to every individual, to Europe, and to our relationships with every ally in the world. If he is right, what should our politicians, who are our elected servants – and here we look to Jesus who describes his leadership being that of a servant – do? Should they pursue a disastrous course, or should they work to avoid catastrophe? Jesus responds by steering his disciples away from their wrong request and from a disastrous rivalry which could destroy the entire post-resurrection Christian Mission. It is so important for Jesus to do this that John makes it a central feature of his account of the Last Supper, when Jesus teaches by washing his disciples’ feet (John 13.1-20). One disciple, disastrously, does not accept Jesus’ teaching, and those remaining are told to replace their rivalry with love (John 13.34). Now, what is true service for our politicians – to serve their own ambitions, or to do the right thing and possibly commit what seems to be political suicide (give their own political life as a ransom for the nation)?

 

Prayer

In so many ways our eyes are being opened to abuses and to wrongdoing that has been hidden, and to those who did not open their mouth. Take some time to recall and write down the names of individuals and groups who have been silent and ignored. Then read out the names, and as each one is read, offer the prayer:

Open our eyes, Lord.
That we may see through your eyes.

 

Questions

Jesus takes the role of the servant, and illustrates this most vividly at the Last Supper.

• How can we serve, at work, in our church, in our local community?
• Who do we need to speak up for because their voices are not heard?

 

All-age activity

Jesus’s disciples asked him ‘We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ It is a trap, because the person asked isn’t told what will be required of them if they agree to it in advance. But it is quite common. Share instances of it happening in everyday life, and consider ways of responding to the trap.

In the game ‘Simon says’ those playing agree to do whatever Simon says. What happens if ‘Simon’ suggests doing something wrong such as ‘Simon says, ‘Slap the person in front’’?

 

Young people

E. Nesbit’s story Five Children and It addresses the question: ‘What if you get what you ask for?’ There is a summary of the story that may be sufficient to allow a discussion.

 

The Revd Dr Tom Ambrose, former geologist, vicar, teacher, school chaplain, is now on the ministry team at The Ascension, Cambridge.

 

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