“What’s in it for me?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, July 25, 2024
Matthew 20: 20-28 (Forward, p. 88) CEV p. 1009
Sad to say, but undisguised, naked ambition, is often at the forefront of much of public life today. (We see this especially in the political realm where people jockey for power and influence). So, this means that today’s account should not be at all surprising, for it sounds so very familiar, so ‘normal’. And, whether it was James and John who ‘engineered’ this little interview with Jesus, or their ambitious, ‘anything to get my boys ahead’ mother, doesn’t really matter. The bottom line is the same: they wanted to get ahead in this world. They were concerned about ‘what’s in it for me?’
Sad to say, Jesus had to set them straight, and not just them, but the others of the Twelve as well, for I suspect that their minds had been drifting in the same direction. It was just that the two of them, James and John, had beaten them to the punch—and of this, the other ten disciples weren’t too happy (see verse 24). But they all basically wanted the same thing.
Jesus then makes two things abundantly clear. Firstly, that those two places of prestige and power were not up to Him to grant. They were solely the prerogative of the Father. But seemingly, for these there would be a cost, a cost akin to His own martyrdom.
But as for them, this was not the kind of ambition they were to have. Lording it over others, having power and authority, were not to be their goals in life. Indeed, they were not to look out for themselves at all. Not to try to get ahead in this world. Not to think of ‘what’s in it for me’. No, instead, they were to take the role of servant and make it their purpose in life to serve others, even as Jesus Himself had done. And, in case we haven’t noticed, the same thing goes for us. We may not be asking for number one and number two spots in the kingdom, but we still, like them, tend to ‘look out for number one’, as if that were what really matters. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve” (verse 28).
“I have had cats my whole adult life. At first, I adopted them as strays and from shelters. Then, I started fostering cats who had just given birth along with their newborn kittens. Fostering newborn kittens is a very time-consuming task, and the survival rate for kittens born in difficult circumstances can be heartbreaking. Plus, sending a kitten you bottle-fed to a new loving home is a truly bittersweet moment. Even though the bond of a cat gently sleeping in your lap can be fleeting, engaging in service to them is incredibly profound. I am grateful for this revelatory gift from God.
“I am grateful for the promise that God is creating a new heaven and a new earth, and I look forward to continuing to serve all of God’s beloved creatures here on earth—and in heaven.”
MOVING FORWARD: “What would it feel like to surrender completely to God in this moment?”
A concluding thought: as wonderfully blessing the act of fostering, and serving, a cat may be, doing the same with cantankerous, demanding, needy, and self-serving people, people with a chip on their shoulder or a well-developed sense of entitlement, can be far more difficult and demanding. This requires so much more grace from God, and so much more patience and graciousness than any feline creature.