Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Instructions for Life Together, I

Mark 9:30-37
17th Sunday after Pentecost B
September 23, 2012



While today’s Gospel reading does not mention the word, the word “baptism” seems to be written all over our Gospel portion for today. By the word baptism, we mean that it is the foundation of our life together as the church of Jesus Christ.


I. Baptism: Foundation of Life Together

Today’s Gospel reading begins with Jesus’ second prediction of his passion, death, and resurrection (v. 31). In a Gospel reading which we will read a few Sundays from now, (October 21, 2012, the twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost), Jesus talks about his suffering and crucifixion as the cup he needs to drink and the baptism by which he will be baptized (Mark 10:38-40). The foundation of our life together as the Church is the baptism of Jesus in his passion, death, and resurrection.

However, today’s Gospel reading says that while Jesus told them these things clearly, the disciples “did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it” (v. 32). Why were the disciples of Jesus unable to understand something that is so clear?


II. Baptism: Foundation for Serving One Another

Perhaps, they were too busy of debating on who should be the greatest (v. 33-34)! This brings to mind again the above-mentioned Gospel reading where James and John, the sons of Zebedee (in Matthew 20:20-21, it is their mother, Salome, who makes this request on their behalf) asks Jesus to be his right and left hand, his prime ministers in the Kingdom of God. We can be so preoccupied on arguing—or maneuvering—on who will be the “greatest” that we lose Jesus’ example for us! So Jesus, in the privacy of a home, teaches the disciples a lesson in humility:

“If anyone wants to be first must be the last, and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)

In a similar manner, Jesus said to his disciples after the matter of James and John:

“Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be last. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:44)

As a baptized people, following the example of Jesus in his baptism of suffering and death, we are not to set ourselves above the others, but serve them!

III. Baptism: Foundation of Being Gracious to One Another

Then, Jesus sets a little child in front of his disciples. This reference here of a child being set up by as an example of the Kingdom of God (v. 36) brings to mind another passage which we will read next Sunday, (October 7, 2012, World Communion Sunday):

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10:14)

--which is a classical text in support of infant baptism. In The United Methodist Church, baptism is a sacrament; and by sacrament we understand as,

Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokes of Christian men’s profession, but rather are certain signs of grace, and God’s good will toward us, by which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our faith in him (Articles of Religion, XVI).

And by “grace”, we understand as God’s unmerited favor towards us:

By grace we mean the underserved, unmerited, and loving action of God in human existence through the ever-present Spirit (The Book of Discipline, 2008, p. 45).

Hence, in The United Methodist Church, baptism is a “sign of grace”, which is accessible to all, young or old. To say that baptism belongs only believers (that is, only those who can confess their faith), removes the sacramental nature of baptism. Instead of making baptism a sign of God’s grace, it turns the sacrament into a “good work” or even a reward for good works.

Just as God has been gracious to us, we are to be gracious with one other. Jesus gave us an important lesson: To accept one—for example, a little child—is to accept Christ!

As  baptized people, we ought to accept on another, for in being gracious with one another, we accept Christ!

No comments:

Post a Comment