What do you want me to do for you?
Is this a replay of the Solomon question?
Dear Church Family,
John F. Kennedy’s famous line from 1961 gets called on in various contexts.
Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.
Indeed, during a political season, we may hear the call to participate in working toward a social contract that is summed up by the goals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We could reduce this to the appeal to be a giver rather than a taker, a producer rather than a consumer. Watching the stock market rise and fall, we learn that the consumer is king.
Not a few pastors have sought to curb the consumer culture within their congregations by making the same appeal to attendees that God invites us to participate rather than spectate in the life of the church. It is one thing to get an invitation from your best friend, a family member, or a neighbor. To receive an invitation from God is on another level. However, the consumer spirit prods us to look for the best show more than the best place to serve.
Think this is new? It is not.
The Gospel reading for last Sunday included the bold appeal of the Sons of Zebedee. They asked Jesus,
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What is ti 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.”
These two disciples wanted Jesus to do something for them, like good consumers. James and John wanted Jesus to give them pride of place, seats close to power, and nearness to glory. Their question riled the ten. Maybe they were incredulous that James and John would ask such a question. Whatever their internal sense, they were angry.
Mark knows what he is doing, telling the story as he does.
In Mark 8, Jesus heals a blind man, and in Mark 10, he heals another blind man. One writer noted that this is Jesus's last positive miracle. While James and John's bold request may seem out of place, it actually reveals that the disciples have a hard time seeing Jesus. The incident demonstrates that we are more often influenced by what we expect to see rather than what we see.
James and John had a vision for Jesus. They represent missing the vision of Jesus.
When Mark tells the story of bar-Timaeus he gives us Jesus’s words to Timaeus,
What do you want me to do for you?
Rather than ask for pride of place, seats close to power, and nearness to glory, Timaeus asked to see again.
He wanted to see. He already demonstrated that he could see what the disciples found hard to see, even if he was blind.
I could not help but think of the two mothers who delivered babies at the same time. One died in the night. The mother of the dead child took the infant from the other mother. Standing before Solomon, it was clear that one of the women was content for both to die. But not the mother of the living child.
What if we put the story this way? The mother of the living child could see. But the mother of the dead child could not. Be it grief, anger, despair, or another overwhelming emotion at the death of her child; she could not see her way to be glad for the mother of the child who lived.
Jesus’s reply to James and John sounds Solomonic.
All the while, Jesus has been revealing what he will do for others, even those begging by the side of the road, unable to see.
Looking forward to Bible Study and Worship with you on Sunday.
Glad I’m Your Pastor,
Todd
Let’s Welcome Our Neighbors!
We are looking forward to our Fall Festival. We will have games, inflatables, eats and Trunk-Or-Treat! You may not have signed up for these but now your schedule has changed. Come and hang out and meet our friends and neighbors who will come. You may make new friends, answer questions from those curious about Snow Hill or provide a welcoming smile.
We will be planning for our 2025 Budget Soon.
An older friend once told me a local church in Oklahoma City had a ledger at the back of the church. It was not to mark attendance. Instead, it was an open record of giving to the church! I told my friend that would never fly in churches today.
We do not send out “Dun” letters, make plans to guilt people into giving, or even require it. However, without tithes and offerings, we will not have the resources to do what we believe God has given us to do.
You may not have given tithes or offerings. You may have forgotten when you were here in worship. You may have remembered once you arrived back home or during the week. You may give in person, but you can also give when you are here. You may also give through our Online service or by mail.
Our Finance Team prepares our annual budget based on trends. This year, our trend has been down. Would you prayerfully consider beginning if you have not been a regular giver? We do not plan to start a guilt campaign. We, with the Apostle Paul, believe that God loves a cheerful giver.
Our community continues to grow, and we want to be prepared for all the needs that may arise.
Food Pantry Upgrades!
We have been an agency with the RFBO for at least 15 years. Several months ago, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma notified us that we could apply for grant money to upgrade and expand our food pantry. We surveyed our needs. Laura put together a proposal for the RFBO, and we were approved.
We added new shelving, roller carts, a freezer, and two new refrigerators! We have a few more shelving units to assemble, but these additions will help us better serve our friends and neighbors.
We thank the Lord for the blessing received so that we may bless others.
Mark Your Calendar!
