March 17, 2024 

Today's Reading: Mark 10:35-45

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 1:1-22, Mark 14:12-31

[Jesus said,] “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 10:43b-45)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, otherwise known as the sons of Thunder for their boisterous and blustery natures, come to Jesus with a request.  Actually, it isn’t so much a request as a demand.  (Isn’t that just like the sinner to demand that God does something for him?)  Well, anyway, they want to sit at Jesus’ right and left when He comes in glory.  Now I know that we are supposed to put the best construction on everything, but I’m pretty sure that the only reason that they ask this is because they assume that Jesus’ glory is going to look like a throne and a crown and a scepter of might and a courtroom of servants for as far as the eye can see, and they want to get in on the action.  Goodness, I most certainly would!!!

Ah, the sinner and his narrow understanding of greatness…  Jesus sits down these two thunderous brothers (and us while He’s at it) and teaches them/us a better way:  To be first is to be a slave.  To be great is to be a servant.    For you see, greatness isn’t measured by how many people have bowed before you, but by how many people you have bowed before.

But lest we think that Jesus is laying out for us a path of greatness that we must walk, He would instead have us know where His true glory is to be found.  He is making His way to Jerusalem; in fact, it is in the very next chapter.  And from there He will ride His humble mule of a mount all the way to the cross.  For it is at the cross where true greatness is found.  It is at the cross where Jesus’ glory is put on full and gruesome display.  Broken servant-body hanging derelict for you.  The blood of a slave gushing forth to cover all your sins.

In the weakness of the cross is where we find the greatness of our God.  And that is not a greatness that we must earn, instead it is a greatness that we may freely receive. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Almighty God, by Your great goodness mercifully look upon Your people that we may be governed and preserved evermore in body and soul; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

-Pastor Eli Lietzau is pastor of Wheat Ridge Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

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.