September 23 NOTES FOR REFLECTION Ordinary 25
Texts: Jeremiah 11:18-20; James 3: 13-4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37
Theme: No, I can't resist it: I'm going with, "Mirror, mirror, on the Wall"! There is a serious side to this: whose image do we reflect in our lives, the image of Christ or the image of his disciples?
Introduction. We are shown the world, and raw human nature, as they really are today, in themselves, and in contrast to what they could and should be. Jeremiah has been warned by God that his own people are plotting his assassination. Why? Because they are sick of his politically incorrect messages proclaiming national disaster. So bad for morale, don't you know? James, as blunt as ever, goes for the jugular. Disputes and quarrels (yes, even among people of faith!) have their cause in frustrated personal ambition, bruised egos and ruffled feathers. And for a perfect illustration of all this we have only to look once more at Jesus' own hand-picked tight twelve. (Should we despair that even they were riven by personal jealousies, or be reassured that we're no worse than them?)
Background. The Bible tells us that where two or three are gathered in Jesus' name he is present with them. Experience tells us that where two or three are gathered power struggles won't be far away. They are so natural to us that they do not surprise us. That's democracy, we might say. In a free society we are all entitled to express our own opinion, defend our corner, or push our own barrow. It's only when someone challenges such an obvious "truth" that we might have to think about it a little more deeply.
Which reminds me of a little episode in my former existence in the parliamentary milieu. A Select Committee was hearing witnesses making submissions on some proposed changes to the Sale of Liquor legislation. As usual, all the witnesses had put forward entirely predictable arguments. The Liquor Industry Council objected to any restrictions on their business interests, the Licensing Trusts Association wanted more rights for its members, so did the Chartered Clubs Association, and so on. Then came a shocking witness. She was the proprietor of a licensed restaurant, and she argued for an amendment that would clearly have been contrary to the apparent interests of establishments such as hers. One of the members, assuming that the poor lady didn't understand what she was saying, gently pointed out to her that her own interests would be adversely affected if her proposal were adopted. "Yes, that's true," she said, "but this isn't about me and my personal interests, is it? This is surely about the best interests of our society as a whole."
Imagine the shock that caused! One of David Lange's famous one-liners came at the end of a Budget speech: "Now let the chorus of complaint sing forth throughout the land!" These days, Budget Days are damp squibs; but in those days they contained a large number of proposals, and as soon as they were read out the media would contact all the separate interest groups and the "chorus of complaints" would, indeed, sing forth. Federated Farmers would complain there was nothing in it for the agricultural sector; the Manufacturers Federation would bemoan the lack of incentives for their sector, and so on and so on. And no one would think that was strange, let alone unhealthy or improper. That's democracy, we say. In a democracy we are all entitled to have our say.
But what that lone, courageous restaurateur showed us so unexpectedly that day is a whole different way of conducting our democracy. Instead of insisting that everyone has the democratic right to push their own selfish interests, she was exercising her democratic right to be involved in discussing what would be best in the interests of our society as a whole, even if it was against her own personal economic interests. How different, and how much healthier, our democratic society would be if we all followed her example!
I thought of that woman as I started to ponder this week's readings. Jeremiah spoke the words of God to the people of God, warning them of pending disaster. But the politically powerful would not listen, preferring instead to defend what they thought were their own best interests. They saw him through that lens, not as God's agent sent to help the nation as a whole, but as their personal enemy who needed to be eliminated. As James puts it, fights and quarrels are inevitable when we are motivated by our own personal ambitions and desires. The restaurateur tried to show us a different way, but she was talking to a committee of politicians. She was never going to be understood, much less successful in getting her argument accepted.
Jesus found himself in a similar situation with his disciples; and, it has to be said, was no more successful in winning over his audience than she had been. Of course, men are going to jostle for position: it's not just democracy, it's human nature!
Jeremiah. Not only is Jeremiah the longest book in the Bible, it is also the most self-revealing. We know more about Jeremiah than any other biblical writer, because he reveals more of himself, good and bad. He is a sort of Old Testament version of St Peter, swinging from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again. In this short passage today we see him as naive, apparently quite unaware that people are planning to knock him off; as the man of prayer open to 'a word of knowledge' from God, warning him of his predicament; and as a man of vengeance urging God, not to protect him from his enemies, but to exact terrible revenge on his enemies. No doubt the fact that the conspirators were from his own home-town increased his sense of outrage.
Taking It Personally.
· Has there been a time when you discovered someone was conspiring against you in some way? How did you feel about that?
· Was it enough for you that you had "uncovered the plot", or did you seek to retaliate in some way? Is there someone you still need to forgive – or to seek forgiveness from?
James. Having exhorted us to learn to control our tongues, James turns his attention to our inner motivation. He draws a sharp distinction between God's wisdom and worldly wisdom. If we are guided by God's wisdom it should be manifested in both good works (service of others) and increasing humility. If we have envy or selfish ambition – an agenda of our own – we can be sure that we are not being guided from above: that sort of 'wisdom' is "earthly, unspiritual, of the devil". It is manifested in fights and quarrels, disorder and every evil practice, the inevitable result of frustrated selfish desires. The remedy is to submit to God and resist the devil.
Taking It Personally.
· Today's challenges by James are directed at each of us individually and as a community of faith. Start with yourself: what particular phrase or thought strikes you as particularly pertinent to you?
· Are you ambitious? For what? Are you aware of any feeling of frustration in achieving any personal goal? Are you envious of anyone?
· How does your local faith community stand up to James' scrutiny today? Does verse 17 accurately describe it or is it more like verse 16? Are you part of the solution or of the problem?
· Do you consider yourself a peacemaker?
Mark. As always its helpful to look back over the last few episodes in Mark's narrative to set today's passage in context. In short order, we've had Peter's Confession of Christ; Jesus' first prediction of his death, and Peter's opposition to that idea; the Transfiguration, witnessed by Peter, James and John; the disciples' failure to heal the demon-possessed boy, whom Jesus exorcised; and now today's events. Jesus leads them through Galilee, and once more we are told that he tries to keep his whereabouts secret, because he wants to spend some time teaching his disciples. Jesus again predicts his death, but we are told his disciples can't understand what he means. They arrive in Capernaum and Jesus has noticed that on the way they were arguing among themselves. He asks them what they were arguing about but they fall silent; presumably they are ashamed to tell him. They had been arguing about who was the greatest. Jesus uses this as a subject to begin his teaching, and turns their value system on its head. The greatest shall be the least, the servant of all. Then he uses a little child to make a barely connected point. It's instructive at this point to read Matthew's "correction" of this passage: see Matthew 18:1-5. Notice how Matthew has changed the facts to show the disciples in a better light! But he does make better sense of Jesus' use of the little child to illustrate his point.
Taking It Personally.
· Ponder this passage slowly. Perhaps use it for prayer through your imagination. Notice how Jesus' second prediction of his death meets with a sort of blank non-comprehension, and seems to be set aside so they can go on with their power-plays. How must Jesus have felt in that situation? Can you recall an occasion on which you were telling someone something of great seriousness and importance to you, only to find that they were not really switched on to you, but were just awaiting their time to say something about themselves?
· Can you recall an occasion when you were asked what you have been doing or saying, but would really rather not go there?
· Notice how these last few episodes, taken together, illustrate the ups and downs of the spiritual journey. Has that been your experience? Brief moments of clarity and conviction, or of firm resolve, followed by backsliding and stuff-ups? Take heart – it seems to be the experience of all who take the journey seriously!
· Praise God for the ups, confess the downs, thank God for his patience and understanding, and pray for the grace to do better in the future.
· Then treat yourself to something nice as a token of God's love for you through all the ups and downs of your relationship with him.
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