Notes for Reflection

October 18                              NOTES FOR REFLECTION

Texts: Isaiah 53:4-12; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45*

[*This Sunday is the Feast Day of St Luke the Evangelist.  Whether to observe it or not is optional.  The Lectionary gives the following readings for the observance of the feast: Isaiah 35:3-6 OR Acts 16:6-12a; Psalm 147:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:5-17; Luke 10:1-9.  For my money his wonderful gospel speaks for itself, and we will have the whole of the next liturgical year to enjoy it.  Meantime, Mark is having his time in the sun.]

Theme:  The safe choice this week would be something like "The Servant of All".  The obverse side of that could be "The Vanity of the Ambitious".  At a deeper level we are once again faced with a failure of comprehension on the part of the disciples: they simply can't grasp how radically different the Kingdom of God is from the ways of the world.  Perhaps something like "A Different New World" might point us in the right direction, or "Turning Worldly Values on their Head".  All three readings refer to suffering: one possible theme could be "Suffering with Christ" or even "Suffering Servants".

Introduction.  As we have been reminded week after week in our gospel passages, Jesus and the disciples are on the move: in particular, they are already on the way to Jerusalem and all that will entail.  That reality is underlined for us this week with our first lesson from Isaiah, featuring the fourth and longest of his "Servant Songs".  The fact that we most often hear this reading on Good Friday says it all, really.  The second lesson, taken from the Letter to the Hebrews, continues to unpack the nature of Christ's servanthood, and in doing so completely re-writes the role of the High Priest.  In our gospel we are back to the theme of disciples behaving badly.  Not long after their infamous argument among themselves as to which of them were the greatest, two of them, James and John, come to Jesus to press their case for high offices in the coming Kingdom.  We're not told here that Jesus wept, but he must have come close!

Background.  Spoiler alert!  If you are already sick to death of the All Blacks skip the rest of this paragraph.  It happens that a number of them this week brought to my mind this week's gospel passage.  It seems to be generally accepted that whatever the outcome of the World Cup Tournament this year, Richie McCaw will retire, meaning that there will be a vacancy in the position of captain.  Now try to imagine a couple of the players, say Kieran Reed and Sam Cane, coming to Steve Hansen.  "Steve", they say, "we want you to do us a bit of a favour."  "Oh, yes," says the increasingly affable coach, "and what would that be?"  "We would like you to appoint us Captain and Vice-Captain of the All Blacks after the World Cup."  Not only is it impossible to imagine Reed or Cane in that scenario – it is impossible to imagine any of the players making such an approach.  A cynic might suggest that a player would know that such an approach would be counter-productive (to put it mildly), but I'm not that cynical.  It would be completely contrary to the All Black culture.

We had a classic example of that culture with Ma'a Nonu this week.  The guy is one of the longest-serving All Blacks, he had just played his 100^th match for them, he had scored a try, and he had been duly honoured at the start and finish of the game.  How did he feel?  "Well," he mumbled, "it was a bit of a special occasion for me, I suppose – but it's not about me.  It's about the team.  It was good to get the win."  And he so obviously meant it: he virtually squirmed with embarrassment when he was presented with his centurion's cap.  No James and John on display anywhere.

Contrast this with the brouhaha surrounding the rate of pay for Ms Paula Rebstock to chair the review of Children, Youth and Families.  Predictably, the argument never got past the dollar figure, and the fact that she was being paid a daily rate that is double the usual rate for such inquiries.  Wisely Ms Rebstock kept up a dignified silence, and left the defence of the arrangement to the Minister, Anne Tolley.  Her comments were revealing in two respects.  First, she told us that the rate of pay was negotiated between Ms Rebstock and the State Services Commission.  Quite probably, Ms Tolley's main reason for telling us this was to get herself off the hook – she didn't fix the rate, the SSC did.  But what she disclosed, perhaps inadvertently, was that Ms Rebstock, when approached to take on the work, had negotiated a higher rate of pay than usual: the inference being that she would not have been prepared to take it on for the usual rate.

Mrs Tolley then moved to the reason why she had wanted Ms Rebstock for the position.  The Minister said she was a very competent and experienced public servant; and "the children that this is about deserve the very best person we can get."  I did not hear anyone in the political world or the media challenge Mrs Tolley to think through the basic assumptions here.  The first issue that might have warranted further inquiry is Mrs Tolley's description of Ms Rebstock as "a public servant".  Does serving on a number of boards in the public sector make her a "public servant"?  Should not the driving force of a public servant be a desire to serve the public? Leaving that aside, the most basic assumption here is that the interests of "the children that this is about" are best served by a competent professional person being handsomely paid for her work, rather than someone with a deep concern for such children and a strong desire to make a difference for them.  Someone like a former Children's Commissioner, for instance, or someone who had fostered many such children or herself had been in State care.

I do not intend this as a criticism of Ms Rebstock, nor even of Ann Tolley.  It seems to me that this is another illustration of the complete clash between Jesus' concept of servanthood and what he calls in this week's gospel passage the concept held "among the Gentiles" (and, alas, by at least two of his own disciples!)  Among us, he says, things must be different.  The way to greatness is the way of service to others.

In this respect at least, Ma'a Nonu and his team-mates make pretty good role models.  Compared to that, winning the World Cup hardly matters.  And who cares what they're paid?

Isaiah 53:4-12.  This reading should really start at 52:13, which is one of the most fascinating verses of the whole Book.  This is particularly well brought out in the NRSV which precedes this verse with the heading "The Suffering Servant".  Given that heading, we would not expect to read on: See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.  Taking the passage as a whole, the clear import seems to be that, after terrible suffering, the Servant will be vindicated.  In Christian terms, therefore, it might be thought that verse 13 is looking ahead to the Resurrection or even the Ascension of the Lord.  But it is surely the genius of Christian teaching, especially in the Fourth Gospel, that Jesus is lifted up and glorified ON THE CROSS.  It is the highest point of his service to others – the climax of his suffering is also the climax of his service – hence the title "the Suffering Servant" is entirely right.  As mentioned above, this is our standard Good Friday reading; it is never heard during the Easter Season.  Yet in many ways it should be always in our thoughts, at least from the point in the gospel narrative when Jesus starts the final journey to Jerusalem. The second essential point, of course, is the emphasis on the fact that the appalling suffering was endured "FOR US".  It is of the essence of servanthood that it is always done for others, not for the servant.  

Taking It Personally.

• Take time with this passage to enter into the Good Friday experience.  Do not move to the gospel passage until you are in that frame of mind. 
• Work slowly through verses 4 and 5.  Notice the constant reminder that he was bearing this suffering for us.  How do you feel about that?
• Verse 7 reminds us that, despite everything that was done to him, he suffered in silence – he did not retaliate.  What do you feel about that?  Can you recall an occasion when someone caused you suffering?  How did you react?
• Focus on verse 10a.  How do you feel about the idea that it was the will of God to crush the Servant with pain?

 

Hebrews 5:1-10.  The author develops his understanding of the idea of Christ as High Priest.  He starts with the common perception of a high priest.  They are "put in charge of things pertaining to God" on behalf of the people.  They are themselves ordinary people, subject to the same weaknesses as the rest of us.  For that reason, when they offer sacrifices for the sins of the people, they include themselves and their sins in that.  It means that they are able to deal gently with those who have fallen into sin.  Moreover, no one presumes to seek the office for himself; only God can call and appoint a High Priest.  Having completed this primer on the office of High Priest, the author turns to the suitability of Jesus for the role, dealing with the two main points in reverse order.  Jesus did not seek the office of High Priest; he was appointed to it by God.  The harder issue relates to the ability of Jesus to empathise: if he is perfect and without sin, how can he understand those who, through human weakness, fall from time to time.  The answer given is to separate the temptation to sin from the commission of sin.  Jesus faced the same temptations that any human being may face, but resisted them.  Verses 8-9 are particularly interesting.  They suggest that Jesus' perfection was, at least in part, learned through experience.

 

Taking It Personally.

 

• Do you expect priests to be "better" than the average parishioner, setting a better example?  Or are priests just like the rest of us underneath the fancy vestments?
• Should a person seek ordination, or should this always come by way of calling from the Church?
• Reflect on verse 7 in the context of the Gethsemane experience.  Was Jesus "heard" on that occasion?
• Reflect on verse 8 and 9: in particular, ponder the meaning of the words ""he learned obedience through what he suffered, and having been made perfect...".  How does that fit with the idea of Jesus as God incarnate?
• What have you learned through suffering? 

 

Mark 10:35-45.  Recently the phrase "déjà vu all over again" has re-entered common parlance.  It seems appropriate here.  In fact, when I first checked the readings for this week I was a bit thrown.  Hadn't we had this gospel passage quite recently?  No, we hadn't; but just 5 weeks ago we had much the same issue.  Perhaps one great advantage of highlighting it again is to remind us that the lessons of discipleship often have to be learned over and over again.  James and John were presumably present when Jesus had challenged the disciples over their argument on the road to Capernaum about which of them was the greatest.  On that occasion he expressly told them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all."  It seems for James and John at least this was a case of in one ear and out the other.  Here they are compounding their error by focusing on the fruits of victory, and forgetting that they come only through the Cross.  Jesus reminds them of that. But notice that this teaching is addressed to all the disciples.  Presumably, the others were angry with James and John, not at the very idea of anyone being appointed to high office, but because they were pushing their own barrow.  What we have here is an example of the tall poppy syndrome in action.  Who do they think they are!

 

Taking It Personally.

 

• Take some time to consider how Jesus must have felt on occasions like this.  On the way to the cross his nearest and dearest are focused on issues of succession.
• Notice how Mark started the story, reminding us of the many people in the gospels who come to Jesus with a request, usually for healing for themselves or loved ones.  It is only his disciples who seek glory for themselves.  What do you make of that?