Authori-tay (respect)
This week's new testamenty freshness is Luke 22:25-30:
These verses pretty much take all of the lure out of a career in ministry. Who wants to work for a living? The disciples were looking at ministry as if it was all about getting your ring kissed, but it's just the opposite. In God's kingdom, being the leader isn't about getting gifts and honors from people like it was some kind of charity. Being the leader is about providing for people like you are their servant. (Oddly enough, the root words in English for the word 'lord' supposedly come from old english meaning 'giver of loaves', so maybe people a long time ago understood this before we developed a concept of royalty and celebrity.)
In conversations I've had with friends and family, this is a real point of contention they have with the church as a whole, and to giving money to Christian organizations. They see the denominations ferrying their clergy to church conferences in limousines, the televangelists building air conditioned dog houses and decking their wives in piles of gold. They see unthinking worship of clergy, even in cults where the guys are obvious crooks, or in cases where they have sexually abused those under their supervision. They see missionaries living in compounds with servants and paid drivers, which to me is the height of irony. Wouldn't Jesus be more likely to have shown up as the nameless guy who cooks the missionary's food than the missionary himself, being carried about in a modern litter chair, with people fanning him and ironing his clothes?
Why is Jesus' authority so powerful compared to the stuff we see every day? Would you rather be the guy driving a car that costs as much as a house, or the guy who dishes up food to hungry people? Natural inclination takes us away from true authority and towards the sort of stuff that ends up on the wrong side of peasant uprisings.
Why does Jesus' counter-intuitive authority work? It's based in love, not worldly domination. It builds and feeds those around it, rather than taking a tax from each and demanding tribute and worship. God's power works through love. The Romans had all of the physical power the world had to offer, but Jesus was victorious over it. Peter tried the Romans' method of authority when he cut off a guy's ear with his sword, and Jesus told him to cut it out.
Jesus' power is based in abundance. Who cares about giving someone your coat if you know confidently that God will provide you another? Who cares about giving your life when you know God has you covered for eternity? That understanding of abundance is what allows us to step beyond what the world has taught us about authority. If you need to use a weapon to ensure that your authority stays intact, you're missing God's kingdom. It's not about might and domination, but about power, specifically God's power of love, backed by his infinite resources and care.
The best things you can do for the people God has made to be your neighbors will probably not get you any credit. At best, you'll be the unremarkable dude in the corner. At worst, they'll take you for granted. If you're following Jesus in order to be seen and worshiped, watch out. You probably won't like where he's going. But if you're following Jesus because you love him, and because you love who he loves, where he's taking you is exactly where you'll want to be.
Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
These verses pretty much take all of the lure out of a career in ministry. Who wants to work for a living? The disciples were looking at ministry as if it was all about getting your ring kissed, but it's just the opposite. In God's kingdom, being the leader isn't about getting gifts and honors from people like it was some kind of charity. Being the leader is about providing for people like you are their servant. (Oddly enough, the root words in English for the word 'lord' supposedly come from old english meaning 'giver of loaves', so maybe people a long time ago understood this before we developed a concept of royalty and celebrity.)
In conversations I've had with friends and family, this is a real point of contention they have with the church as a whole, and to giving money to Christian organizations. They see the denominations ferrying their clergy to church conferences in limousines, the televangelists building air conditioned dog houses and decking their wives in piles of gold. They see unthinking worship of clergy, even in cults where the guys are obvious crooks, or in cases where they have sexually abused those under their supervision. They see missionaries living in compounds with servants and paid drivers, which to me is the height of irony. Wouldn't Jesus be more likely to have shown up as the nameless guy who cooks the missionary's food than the missionary himself, being carried about in a modern litter chair, with people fanning him and ironing his clothes?
Why is Jesus' authority so powerful compared to the stuff we see every day? Would you rather be the guy driving a car that costs as much as a house, or the guy who dishes up food to hungry people? Natural inclination takes us away from true authority and towards the sort of stuff that ends up on the wrong side of peasant uprisings.
Why does Jesus' counter-intuitive authority work? It's based in love, not worldly domination. It builds and feeds those around it, rather than taking a tax from each and demanding tribute and worship. God's power works through love. The Romans had all of the physical power the world had to offer, but Jesus was victorious over it. Peter tried the Romans' method of authority when he cut off a guy's ear with his sword, and Jesus told him to cut it out.
Jesus' power is based in abundance. Who cares about giving someone your coat if you know confidently that God will provide you another? Who cares about giving your life when you know God has you covered for eternity? That understanding of abundance is what allows us to step beyond what the world has taught us about authority. If you need to use a weapon to ensure that your authority stays intact, you're missing God's kingdom. It's not about might and domination, but about power, specifically God's power of love, backed by his infinite resources and care.
The best things you can do for the people God has made to be your neighbors will probably not get you any credit. At best, you'll be the unremarkable dude in the corner. At worst, they'll take you for granted. If you're following Jesus in order to be seen and worshiped, watch out. You probably won't like where he's going. But if you're following Jesus because you love him, and because you love who he loves, where he's taking you is exactly where you'll want to be.
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