John 12:20-33 (excerpt below)
…Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of
Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat
falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies,
it bears much fruit.
Those who love their
life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for
eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--' Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.
Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say--' Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour.
Loyalty is a wonderful thing. It describes a relationship that will not be
shaken or diluted by time or circumstance.
Once you proclaim your loyalty, you are in a relationship to the person
or organization that only YOU can dissolve.
Jesus has been teaching about and modeling the way God’s
Kingdom. Although the disciples haven’t
always understood completely, they have been following by his side or closely
behind him.
This week is the week of commitment. Jesus is laying it on
the line, so to speak. This is the week
that we learn CLEARLY what Jesus is asking us, and all loyal disciples to do, even
as he goes before us to do it first.
In order to be loyal
(i.e., to follow) Him we must set aside all that we claim as our life and
possessions. The only way the greatest
good of life or resources can unfold is to set it all before Christ as you follow
him and stand with Him at the cross.
For reflection and
writing:
If Christian Discipleship requires your willingness to lose
your life for the sake of others, consider this: Is there anything you hold so precious that you
would hesitate to surrender it for the sake of another? What is it?
How can you loosen your hold on it (or its hold upon you)?
By the way, if there is nothing that you withhold—not time,
talent (ability) or possession, use this day to give thanks for whatever it is
that has made that possible. Perhaps
you can use this day share your abundance with another.
I am continually struck by CS Lewis' allusions to a lack of freedom in "love" in both Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce. To love is to set free. To lose our lives is to set everything else free from our intense, white knuckled grasp. The gift of that kind of love may come back to us, but then again, maybe it won't-- we don't know, we can only follow and be willing to lose all that we hold dear so that Christ can fill us with his love!
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ReplyDeletewell said, Amy. When I "get" the message that Christ's love defines me and identifies me through baptism, then I no longer need to fuss about whether this or that loving action on my part has a result that I can see. I am free to give my all to a person or situation and then quietly disappear to prepare for the next act of service. I have noticed that every once in a while my ego does die. That is a good thing. It is always waiting in the wings, pushing itself forward. But when I am totally dependent upon Christ to lead me through the time of serving and loving the "other" I find it easier and easier to tell "Pamela" to get out of the way.
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