BREAKTHROUGH
(Open-ended, Life-centred
Explorations of the Sunday Gospels for Home Groups)
MK 10:
32-45...Sunday, October 22nd, 2006...20th S. after Pentecost
NOTES: 1] MK's story becomes
more ominous as Jesus moves towards his Passion in Jerusalem. Can
anyone understand how a Messiah could expect such a fate? 2] MT (20:20+) replaces JAS & JN
with their mother. MK is likely original, with MT writing later 'saving
face' for the two APP. 3] In
v.33
remember that the Son of Man (Humanity!) always has two faces: of
the earth,
earthy, &, supernaturally divine.
WARMING UP: Have we
ever experienced some sense of deep foreboding, fulfilled or not?
TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify
God at work in anything this week?
ENTERING INTO THE STORY:
32-34 Can we identify
some point we've reached where we have to either commit to going
forward, or retreat? How might any others involved feel about a) the
decision that has to be made? b) their part in it? c) the outcome? From
our understanding of Scripture, do we keep 'both 'ends' of the Son of
Man paradox in balance, or do we lean more to the earthed Jesus or the
divine? Can we understand any better than the twelve why it was
necessary for Jesus - if he's God's Anointed One - to die? Isn't that a
real contradiction in terms, as impossible to think of now as back then?
35-41 Do we ever feel that
'seeking glory' is still alive & well in our churches? What is it
about seeking glory that strikes at the heart of Jesus & his
message? Do we ever try 'going to Jesus' & asking him to do for us
'whatever we ask'? Does it work? How do we react when the answer we get
is a clear "No!"?
In the light of MT's re-write of the incident
(20:17-19) do we ever find ourselves asked to, or wanting to cover up
for some authority figure in the local or wider church? What's at the
heart of 'covering up' operations - of any kind? Do such actions also
strike at the heart of Jesus & his message?
In speaking of 'the cup he drinks' & 'baptism' ('in blood' implied)
Jesus is referring to his approachifilg death. How closely do we still
couple the idea of Jesus' death with the Communion cup, & our own
baptism ('death' in & being raised up out of water) with his death
& resurrection? Are there issues / actions that ever make us angry
with our church leaders? Do we have the means of expressing &
resolving such anger accessible to us?
42-45 How strongly does Jesus' call to servanthood feature in our
church? How strongly are we encouraged to live a life of Christ-like
servanthood? How consistently? How strongly is it expected of us? How
high does 'being a Christ-like servant' rate on our personal agenda of
Christian issues? Is that high enough?
What does it mean for those of us from a non-Jewish background today
that (in Hebrew Bible imagery) Jesus gave his life 'as a ransom for
many'?
