Today’s Readings: Psalm 40; Hosea 8:11-14; Matthew 20:20-28; 1 Peter 1:13-25; Psalm 32
I was recently talking to an individual preparing for ministry. We were talking about some of the sacrifices a person makes when she/he responds to her/his call to ordained ministry. Now some of those sacrifices individuals make are pretty obvious to most folks. Other of the sacrifices, however, are not. One of the less obvious sacrifices a person called to ministry makes is the way the one’s call affects one’s experience of the holidays. This is particularly true of Christmas. You see growing up, most of us got lost in the experience of the joy and wonder of the Christmas season and could lose ourselves in a variety of experiences ranging from long coffees with friends to spontaneous shopping trips with family members to attending a variety of worship services and special events. Once you step across the threshold into ordained ministry, however, your life change dramatically. Instead of having these special moments for ourselves, our lives become focused on helping other people have those experiences of joy and wonder. Many of us clergy are lucky if we can even find time to get our Christmas cards out by the middle of January. So what got me thinking along these lines? It was Jesus’ comments to the mother of James and Zebedee when she asked if her boys could receive places of honor next to Jesus. Jesus responded to the “boys” themselves in the form of a question: “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink” (Matthew 20:22 from The Message). Of course, most of us focus on the radical implications of discipleship when we read those words (i.e. the willingness to give up our life). And that certainly is a part of what Jesus was getting at. But I don’t think that’s all Jesus was getting at. The implications of REALLY putting God first in your life fan out in a thousand different directions. And sometimes the things those implications ask us to give up are far more personal and far more difficult than we ever imagined! Today, I would invite you to sit with Jesus’ question to James and Zebedee: “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?” Think about the implications of that question – the various aspects of your life that Jesus’ question would reach. Til next time…
I was recently talking to an individual preparing for ministry. We were talking about some of the sacrifices a person makes when she/he responds to her/his call to ordained ministry. Now some of those sacrifices individuals make are pretty obvious to most folks. Other of the sacrifices, however, are not. One of the less obvious sacrifices a person called to ministry makes is the way the one’s call affects one’s experience of the holidays. This is particularly true of Christmas. You see growing up, most of us got lost in the experience of the joy and wonder of the Christmas season and could lose ourselves in a variety of experiences ranging from long coffees with friends to spontaneous shopping trips with family members to attending a variety of worship services and special events. Once you step across the threshold into ordained ministry, however, your life change dramatically. Instead of having these special moments for ourselves, our lives become focused on helping other people have those experiences of joy and wonder. Many of us clergy are lucky if we can even find time to get our Christmas cards out by the middle of January. So what got me thinking along these lines? It was Jesus’ comments to the mother of James and Zebedee when she asked if her boys could receive places of honor next to Jesus. Jesus responded to the “boys” themselves in the form of a question: “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink” (Matthew 20:22 from The Message). Of course, most of us focus on the radical implications of discipleship when we read those words (i.e. the willingness to give up our life). And that certainly is a part of what Jesus was getting at. But I don’t think that’s all Jesus was getting at. The implications of REALLY putting God first in your life fan out in a thousand different directions. And sometimes the things those implications ask us to give up are far more personal and far more difficult than we ever imagined! Today, I would invite you to sit with Jesus’ question to James and Zebedee: “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?” Think about the implications of that question – the various aspects of your life that Jesus’ question would reach. Til next time…
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