Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Mark 10:35-42
“[Today’s Scripture] records the petition of the sons of Zebedee that they might be given the first place in the new kingdom. When the other disciples discovered this ambition of theirs, they were indignant with the two brothers. It was not, in all likelihood, the unusual character of the request that annoyed them. It was probably rather because they all felt that each one of them had an equal or better claim than James and John to fill such a top position. Jesus knew the ambition of those who were to be the foundation stones of His Church. He tells them that they cannot behave like those princelings who oppress and lord it over their subjects. The authority of the Church will be very different from this: quite the opposite, in fact, whoever would be great among you much be your servant and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. This is a new kind of lordship, a new way of ‘being great’. And our Lord shows them the grounds for this new dignity and the reason for it: for the Son of man also came not be be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 3 (London: Scepter, 1990) 445.
What do you want me to do for you? These words of Jesus stood out to me.
Today about 60 people convene from 30 countries in Istanbul. It will be amazing. We will do an activity (facilitated by a complex algorithm) so they all get to know each other.
And they don’t know it yet, but they will have fun doing a values activity.
They will come together as strangers, and in Jesus name, leave as likeminded servants who all have the Spirit of God within them and who discover their shared values.
These are the 10 values of GTP.
Christian commitment, listening, humble service, global diversity, partnership, biblical teaching, empowerment, transparency, accountability standards, and sustained interdependence.
Learn more about them here.
The exercise aims to remind us all what knits us together and to focus not on personal aspirations, like the sons of Zebedee, but to focus on our service together where God has us.
Thanks for your prayers for a rich day.
I am hearing Jesus ask me this question – What do you want me to do for you? – And in reply I am saying, “forge relationships through which the Spirit produces unimaginable fruit.”