Humble yourself
O Lord, prepare our hearts for prayer, our lips for your praise, our souls for your truth. Fill us with reverence for all that belongs to your holy name: your house, your worship, your Word; that we may benefit by these means of grace. And stretch forth, O Lord, the arms of your mercy over us and the right hand of your help toward us, that we may seek you with our whole heart and obtain what we rightly ask; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Gelasian Sacramentary)
Mark 10:35-45 NRSV
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. So, Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The Way to Loftiness
Augustine of Hippo
“Ponder how profound this is. They were conferring with him about glory. He intended to precede loftiness with humility and, only through humility, to ready the way for loftiness itself. For, of course, even those disciples who wanted to sit, the one on his right, the other on his left, were looking to glory. They were on the lookout, but did not see by what way. In order that they might come to their homeland in due order, the Lord called them back to the narrow way. For the homeland is on high and the way to it is lowly. The homeland is life in Christ; the way is dying with Christ. The way is suffering with Christ; the goal is abiding with him eternally. Why do you seek the homeland if you are not seeking the way to it?”
O Lord, forgive us for our pride and self-seeking. We ask you to fill us with your Spirit so that we will be people who serve rather than strive for greatness.
Simple Kingdom
https://youtu.be/N2tqN2UXXXI?si=tY4dr-IGnv7PY7Uw
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
