Friday, February 13, 2009

Daily Office Reflection: A Centering Verse

Psalms 88 * 91, 92; Isaiah 61:1-9; 1Timothy 3:1-17; Mark 10:32-45

Many theologians and New Testament scholars believe that Mark 10:45 summarizes all of Mark's Gospel, all of Mark's Christology, all of what Mark is trying to express in this short and intense Gospel. They believe this verse is at the center of it all. That's a lot to expect from one verse. That verse says For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Whether I buy into the centrality of this verse, I am still thinking about that. Although we can trace our sacramental worship, our sacramental identity to this one verse. Jesus says this to the twelve after he has made another prediction of his suffering, death and resurrection and just following James and John's request to sit at his right and left side when he comes into his glory, as well as Jesus' statement that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. We have a tremendously powerful and jam-packed Gospel reading this morning. So much of what we do, so much of what we believe, so much of how we worship comes from these verses.

There is a gift to being dedicated to reading The Daily Office, because we are granted the opportunity to reflect, on a regular basis, about these central verses to our belief structure. By that simple act of reflection they become a part of us, they get into our system and we cannot help ourselves: we start acting differently. They become a central part of who and what we are. What a wonderful gift to give ourselves and to those around us.
jfd+

Copyright 2009, John F. Dwyer. All Rights Reserved.

No comments:

Post a Comment