March 8, 2024 

Today's Reading: Mark 10:32-52

Daily Lectionary: Genesis 40:1-23, Mark 10:32-52

But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:43-45)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. In today’s reading we come across the disciples who are once again bickering, frustrated that James and John are asking to be seated at Jesus’ left and right hands in His glory. This raises a question of how to achieve greatness in the new kingdom Jesus is inaugurating. Jesus once again subverts expectations by contrasting how the world works and how His kingdom works. He reminds them that for the Gentiles greatness is marked by rulers who exercise their power for the control and submission of those below them. This is the way of the world, and it’s natural to assume that in God’s economy power dynamics would look similar to the world’s. Yet exactly the opposite is true, as Jesus indicates, greatness among them comes through service, which requires a relinquishing of power and control. 

Service comes from a love for others, a recognition of their needs, and response to fulfill their needs. This service is largely invisible to the world, and when it is seen, it doesn’t look like anything particularly spectacular and laudatory, which is probably precisely the point. Instead it comes in small moments, not grand gestures. Service comes at an emptying of ourselves, our own comfort, ego, desires, plans, and instead is a voluntary submission to our neighbor’s needs, only to be really seen, understood, or acknowledged by our Father in heaven. Because of how unspectacular this greatness is to our eyes, it’s easy to miss those who are living quiet, sanctified lives, serving their neighbors.  Think of how Jesus serves us. First, He serves us with a criminal’s shameful death, then He gives us the forgiveness won there in spoken words, splashes of water, a sip of wine and a bit of bread. It doesn’t look spectacular, and sometimes it doesn’t even feel spectacular, at times even boring and mundane. But this is where we access the greatness of Jesus’ kingdom, because only after we have been served by Him, being washed in His mercy and forgiveness, can we see rightly our needs that are met only in Him.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus, greatest at the table,  The almighty Son of Man,  Laid aside His outer clothing,

Poured some water in a pan;  As the Twelve lay, hushed in silence, He the servant’s task began. (LSB 446:1)

-Deac. Eleanor Corrow, Higher Things Board Member and coordinator in LCMS Missionary Services. 

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

Unforgivable? Unforgiveness is a prison—mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In a world full of turmoil, many use forgiveness as a coping mechanism without understanding what true forgiveness is. Learn what forgiveness from Christ looks like, and how He forgives His people.