Mark 10:35-45 (NRSV)
Read Mark 10:35-45 on biblegateway.com
Verse 35James 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." Verse 36And he said to them, "What is it you want me to do for you?" Verse 37And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." Verse 38But 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?" Verse 39They 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; Verse 40but 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."
Verse 41When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. Verse 42So Jesus called them and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. Verse 43But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, Verse 44and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. Verse 45For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Devotion
Today I am in New Orleans with thousands of teenage Christians (and their very tired adult supervisors!) as part of the ELCA’s tri-annual National Youth Gathering. For this gathering, the deliberate decision was made to gather, worship, celebrate and serve in a place that is still in so much need following the destruction and upheaval of Hurricane Katrina. The ELCA Web site describes the week as “a gathering more like a servant school” Love to Serve!, from the final verse of our Gospel reading, is also the theme for our Bible camps around the country this summer.
Our teens and young adults have taken Jesus’ words seriously: we are called to be servants. Where do you see a need in your community? Do something about it! God’s love is in action through us!
Prayer
Jesus, you came to serve that we might know what love is. Give us hearts and hands to serve as you would, so that others might come to know your love as well. Amen.