The Third Week of October
We Read…
Sometimes, God gives us gentle reminders, but sometimes, we need to hear God’s words right to the point. Throughout the book of Job, Job struggles with losing the good life he had built, wondering where God was, and asking why God had let these bad things happen. God pointedly asks Job: “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundations?” God reminds Job of this (sometimes hard) truth - God is God, and we are not. We didn’t create this world; we can’t control everything that happens, and just like Jesus tells his disciples in Mark, sometimes what we expect comes through ways we never could have imagined.
Job 38:1-7, 34-41
the Lord answered Job from
the whirlwind:
2 Who is this darkening counsel
with words lacking knowledge?
3 Prepare yourself like a man;
I will interrogate you,
and you will respond to me.
The establishing of order
4 Where were you
when I laid the earth’s foundations?
Tell me if you know.
5 Who set its measurements?
Surely you know.
Who stretched a measuring tape on it?
6 On what were its footings sunk;
who laid its cornerstone,
7 while the morning stars sang in unison
and all the divine beings shouted?
34 Can you issue an order to the clouds
so their abundant waters cover you?
35 Can you send lightning so that it goes
and then says to you, “I’m here”?
36 Who put wisdom in remote places,
or who gave understanding
to a rooster?
37 Who is wise enough to count the clouds,
and who can tilt heaven’s
water containers
38 so that dust becomes mud
and clods of dirt adhere?
39 Can you hunt prey for the lion
or fill the cravings of lion cubs?
40 They lie in their den,
lie in ambush in their lair.
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry to God,
move about without food?
Psalm 104:1-9, 24, 35c
1 Let my whole being bless the Lord!
Lord my God, how fantastic you are!
You are clothed in glory and grandeur!
2 You wear light like a robe;
you open the skies like a curtain.
3 You build your lofty house on the waters;
you make the clouds your chariot,
going around on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers;
you make fire and flame your ministers.
5 You established the earth
on its foundations
so that it will never ever fall.
6 You covered it with the watery deep
like a piece of clothing;
the waters were higher
than the mountains!
7 But at your rebuke they ran away;
they fled in fear
at the sound of your thunder.
8 They flowed over the mountains,
streaming down the valleys
to the place you established for them.
9 You set a boundary they cannot cross
so they’ll never again cover the earth.
24 Lord, you have done so many things!
You made them all so wisely!
The earth is full of your creations!
plays in it!
35 But let my whole being bless the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Hebrews 5:1-10
5 Every high priest is taken from the people and put in charge of things that relate to God for their sake, in order to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 The high priest is able to deal gently with the ignorant and those who are misled since he himself is prone to weakness. 3 Because of his weakness, he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as for the people. 4 No one takes this honor for themselves but takes it only when they are called by God, just like Aaron.
5 In the same way Christ also didn’t promote himself to become high priest. Instead, it was the one who said to him,
You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father,
6 as he also says in another place,
You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.
7 During his days on earth, Christ offered prayers and requests with loud cries and tears as his sacrifices to the one who was able to save him from death. He was heard because of his godly devotion. 8 Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. 9 After he had been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him. 10 He was appointed by God to be a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Mark 10:35-45
35 James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
37 They said, “Allow one of us to sit on your right and the other on your left when you enter your glory.”
38 Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink the cup I drink or receive the baptism I receive?”
39 “We can,” they answered.
Jesus said, “You will drink the cup I drink and receive the baptism I receive, 40 but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom it has been prepared.”
41 Now when the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with James and John. 42 Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the ones who are considered the rulers by the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. 43 But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. 44 Whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all, 45 for the Human One didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”
26 They were shocked even more and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them carefully and said, “It’s impossible with human beings, but not with God. All things are possible for God.”
28 Peter said to him, “Look, we’ve left everything and followed you.”
29 Jesus said, “I assure you that anyone who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms because of me and because of the good news 30 will receive one hundred times as much now in this life—houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms (with harassment)—and in the coming age, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last. And many who are last will be first.”
We Think…
What stands out to you in these verses?
Does anything confuse you or not make sense?
How do these verses compare to your own experience in life or in the church? What are you considering? What questions come to mind?
Why does Jesus say that the great will be servants, but servants will become great? How does this connect to what Jesus did for us?
We Feel…
What emotions are you experiencing today? How are you making space for these feelings?
Where have you seen God today or this week? What is pointing you to God (maybe it is something in creation, a friend or adult that cares for you)?
What has God made new in your life? In your heart?
When have you needed a reminder that God is Creator and holy? How does this change your perspective?
Have you ever chosen to serve instead of taking a spot of power or popularity? How does it feel to do this?
We Believe…
We believe in an upside-down Kingdom. While the disciples in Mark are asking to be seated in the most important places near Jesus, Jesus is telling them that the greatest will become the least and the ones who serve will actually be the greatest in the end. It’s a weird, upside-down, counter-cultural way of living. We’re used to a world that tells us to work hard, be the best, and push others down if it means you can get farther ahead, but Jesus throws all that out of the window. Instead of looking to make ourselves the greatest, we are called to put others first, to look at how Jesus lived, and to pull others up when we can.
We Practice…
How can you serve someone around you or actively choose to put yourself last this week? Maybe this means ensuring everyone in your family is served first at dinner, or maybe it means helping your teacher or pastor set up and clean up while others rush out. Think through times in your day-to-day life when you unconsciously choose yourself and intentionally work towards serving others in some of these moments.
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