Mark: Living the Way of Jesus in the WorldSample

First Thought 

James and John are not at their best. They’re preoccupied with status, still not comprehending the implications of Jesus’ prediction of His imminent death. Greatness is defined by service and sacrificial love, Jesus declared. Mark doesn’t record the disciples’ reaction to this, but they were likely as amazed as they were in the episode with the rich young ruler. The final stretch of Jesus’ journey from Galilee to Jerusalem was from Jericho. As Jesus and His disciples were leaving the city, they heard the shouts of blind Bartimaeus. Despite efforts to shut him up, he wasn’t going to be ignored. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked him, then He healed him. All things are possible with God, Jesus had told His disciples when they discussed the rich young ruler together. That can look like giving sight to the blind. Growing our capacity to serve, sacrifice, and suffer is the impossible that we must also ask God to do for us. Are you asking? 

What Does the Bible Say?

Reflect on Jesus’ capacity to pay attention to the demands of the moment - whether the conflict of close companions, or the kerfuffle of a crowd, or a cry for healing. How does this encourage you? 

Living it Out

How would you answer Jesus’ question, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’

Responding in Prayer

God of the impossible, this is my prayer (…). Help me be your servant in my everyday life these days. Amen.