Day 114

Judges 2:10–3:31; Luke 22:14-34; Psalm 92:1–93:5; Proverbs 14:1-2

AS WE LAUNCHED fully into the book of Judges, we immediately began to see the seesaw pattern of falling away and repentance that colors most of the story of the ancient Hebrew people. Even as we met Othniel, Ehud, and Shamgar as judges, we also saw how the culture was shifting away from the utter dependence on God it was founded on and toward the will and wishes of the people. Our reading from Proverbs spoke to this succinctly: “Those who follow the right path fear the LORD; those who take the wrong path despise him” (Proverbs 14:2).

In Luke’s Gospel, we arrived once again at the Last Supper. In this event that instituted the tradition of the Eucharist (or Communion), Jesus’ words about the body and the blood often overshadow the argument that took place at the table after the revelation of a betrayer in their midst: Which of the disciples, the men wanted to know, was the greatest of them all?

It’s a bit heartbreaking to realize that Jesus’ efforts to show a completely different way of looking at the world were so profoundly affected by culture and assumption —even with Jesus’ closest friends. It’s even more heartbreaking that the same issues are still with us today.

Even with an enormous mental and spiritual weight on Jesus’ shoulders, He was kind and forthright with His friends. Again He revealed the ways of the Kingdom that still seem elusive to us:

In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called “friends of the people.” But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant. Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.

Let’s allow these words to sink in deeply, for without understanding how the Kingdom works, we’re missing much of Jesus’ fundamental message. Life will not find its meaning and fulfillment in our never-ending search for affirmation and greatness. We will find meaning when we realize that the accolades we long for can only come from our Father. And our God is pleased with us when we look at each other as He does and lower ourselves into the role of a servant as He did.

PRAYER:

Your throne, O LORD, has stood from time immemorial. You yourself are from the everlasting past. The floods have risen up, O LORD. The floods have roared like thunder; the floods have lifted their pounding waves. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore —the LORD above is mightier than these!