Today we continue with Hauerwas' comments about the Lord and followers as servant.
In this way of service we learn of the kind of God we are to love and to whom we are called to obedience. For Jesus' life is the life of God insofar as he serves others as God serves us.
"His first allegiance is to God; then he loves the neighbor as himself. So he has no need to lord over out of fear or to get others to serve him; and his commitment to serve is courageous, for he loses his life by so doing. So Jesus' idea of service does not become a matter of doing what others want him to do except insofar as it remains consonant with his understanding of God's will. He will heal others who request it, like Bartimaeus, but he will not grant the request of James and John who want power and glory. Strong-willed and independent, Jesus has a a clear sense of his own mission, and neither traditions nor laws nor public pressure nor fear of indictment prevent him from speaking and acting."
This is not a Lord who gives us what we want...simply because we want it. That would bring about the same old world we live in everyday. That would bring us war...that would bring us greed...that would bring us self-centered living. This Lord, Jesus, carries the vision of God's Reign...what God would have grow and come to life among us. The quote used above is very useful. The healing of the blind man was a part of the vision of wholeness and shalom of the Reign of God. The placement of individuals in places of power is probably going to move everything off the road to the cross and into the realm of all the other powers of the world. So, there must be a "no" and there must be a "yes" as we look to how we will be the servants of the Lord.
Connection: We do not have to be afraid to say 'yes' or 'no.' In fact, it is just fine to be willing to openly wrestle with yes/no...maybe so. As long as we keep one another focused on God's peaceable Reign.
Lord of Peace, bring us together to look again at the way of your Reign. It is so easy for us to turn from servant to ones who long to be served. Keep us steadfast in your way. Amen.
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