Today's Scripture Reading (November 26, 2020): Matthew 18
"I am the greatest!" Well, not me. I am
far from it. The words belong to Muhammad Ali. At least, he is the one who I
remember speaking the words the clearest. He was the greatest, although I doubt
that even Ali really believed it; it was just part of the bravado that the
boxer put forward as he played his role in the Boxing world. The United States
uses the "Greatest Nation on Earth" as a catchphrase, but we
understand that it is just a propaganda slogan if we are honest. There are a
lot of great nations, depending on what we might be grading them. The "Greatest
Nation on Earth" is most definitely powerful, but the reality is that it
is "great" only for the privileged few, and that is unlikely to
change anytime soon. But that does not mean that it isn't a great place to live
or that residents of the country shouldn't be proud or patriotic. But the
reality is that there are many places where the residents feel like they live
in the "greatest place," which they sometimes refer to as "living
in God's country."
Of course, for some of us, humility precludes
any claims to being the greatest. Too often, self-proclaimed "greatest"
people are trying to hide deficits that they don't want anyone to see. And that
is okay. We get that and receive these great people with ample amounts of
grace.
So, as they travelled around the country with
Jesus, the disciples began to play with the idea of who was "the greatest."
And they didn't miss that in the days of the patriarchs, twelve men led the
nation. It was these twelve men, after whom the tribes had been named, with the
exception of Joseph, whose two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and they became the
leaders of the nation of Israel. There were twelve sons of Israel and twelve
apostles of Jesus. In the emerging age, was it possible that the disciples
would become as important as Judah and his brothers had been back at the
beginning of the nation? And if that was possible, which one of them might be "the
greatest?"
But that was also not a question to which Jesus
wanted to respond. The Christian Church has never advanced on the backs of
great people. It has advanced because of the dedication of the servants who
caught the message of Christ, and it changed their lives. People like Mother Teresa
of Calcutta, who never considered themselves "great," but who existed
as the servants of God, doing their best to be the hands and feet of Jesus on
the earth.
Jesus summed up this idea to Peter just before
his ascension.
Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you
dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will
stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you
do not want to go." Jesus said
this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify
God. Then he said to him, "Follow me"
(John 21:18-19)!
Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God?
Those to whom being the greatest isn't even a dream that they choose to pursue;
those whose only desire is to follow Jesus are the ones who are genuinely great.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Luke 10
No comments:
Post a Comment