love is not canceled
In the weeks before his death Jesus says, “Listen to me carefully. We are on our way up to Jerusalem. When we get there, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the religious leaders and scholars. They will sentence him to death. They will then hand him over to the Romans for mockery and torture and crucifixion. On the third day he will be raised up alive.” (Matthew 20:17-19)
When Jesus tells his disciples about his upcoming death, he immediately asserts to them that there is more to the story. He will also rise. These words are meant to be reassuring. So, what is the first response of Ma Zebedee? To ask for power and position for her sons, to try to harness God’s promises for her own purposes. She says, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.” (Matthew 20:21)
Now, on the admirable side, she takes Jesus seriously. When she hears that he will overcome death, she wants that for her boys—she sees the heavenly destination as desirable, at least. But it doesn’t matter how hard we try; God will not be harnessed for our own selfish purposes. That’s not the kind of kingdom that Jesus died to establish.
Why do I bring up Jesus’ death two days before his birthday? Because it is imperative that we don’t lose sight of why he came in the first place. And this passage illustrates that WE don’t get to decide who sits next to Jesus in the kingdom, and ANY jockeying for power, position or privilege is a lamentable misunderstanding of his purpose for coming to earth. Jesus laments it among his followers in Matthew 20:28, saying that the ONLY way to achieve greatness is to serve—to give up your life for the sake of the world. Because that’s what Jesus did for us: “Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”
Psalm 52 also tells us that the opposite is true…those who are seeking power and position for their own glory will be thwarted: “Why does the mighty man boast…his tongue plots destruction and works deceit…He loves lying more than speaking what is right. He loves words that devour. But God will break him down forever…snatch him from his house and uproot him. The man would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction…”
As 2020 has progressed, we’ve seen some pretty self-aggrandizing behavior. But love was not canceled. In the opening words of one of my favorite Christmas movies, “LOVE ACTUALLY is all around us.” Love is born of service, and it looks like doctors and nurses going into rooms of contagion. It looks like Instacart drivers coming to the door laden with grocery bags. It looks like workers at food banks filling up car trunks after people have waited in lines for hours. It looks like friends gathering by Zoom to pray for one another when spirits are flagging, and it sounds like calls to let others know that they haven’t been forgotten. It looks like a masked person crossing the street to maintain social distance.
“God is in the manger, wealth in poverty, light in darkness, success in abandonment…is revealed as LOVE and rules!” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Merry Christmas,
Liz
Paul wrote to the Church in Philippi, “Do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front…put yourself aside and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves.” (Philippians 2, The Message)
