Today, we continue on our Journey to Jerusalem together, as we follow Jesus on his journey to the cross. We’ve already talked about 2 mile markers, as we’ve journeyed together:
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the need to avoid roadblocks in our relationship with God.
Last week, we talked about the mile marker of self esteem or, rather, ‘our esteem of self in God’—learning how to look into God’s mirror as we journey together.
And today, as you’ve probably already guessed, our mile marker is this: UNITY.
As we journey together, we have to stick together. If we’re going to succeed in reaching the destinations God has for us … both as individuals and as a congregation, we need to stick together—no matter what. But learning the importance of that … and how to do that … is a process, as we can see in our Bible story for today. Listen…
James and John, Zebedee’s sons, came up to him. “Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us.” 36 “What is it? I’ll see what I can do.” 37 “Arrange it,” they said, “so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left.” 38 Jesus said, “You have no idea what you’re asking. Are you capable of drinking the cup I drink, of being baptized in the baptism I’m about to be plunged into?” 39 “Sure,” they said. “Why not?” Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you will drink the cup I drink, and be baptized in my baptism. 40 But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. There are other arrangements for that.” 41 When the other ten heard of this conversation, they lost their tempers with James and John. 42 Jesus got them together to settle things down. “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around,” he said, “and when people get a little power how quickly it goes to their heads. 43 It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. 44 Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. 45 That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not to be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage.” – Mark 10:35-45 (MSG)
So, even some of Jesus’ disciples struggled with ‘unity on the journey.’ Folks, understand that James and John were talking here to … Jesus—God in the flesh! In light of that, how often do our conversations with God involve asking for a personal blessing, rather than one for the community and world in which we live?
When we’re on a journey with others, we must think of the collective whole, not just individual selves. The truth is traveling with a group can be both difficult & rewarding. Some may want to lead and as a result, create division; here we see James & John focusing on personal desires & promotion, rather than the best interest of the ‘whole.’ This can surely disrupt a group’s unity and purpose, making any journey difficult…
So, here on their journey with Jesus, they’re traveling along—everything seemingly going well, and then 2 of the group on the journey decide to proclaim themselves more special than the others. Needless to say, this didn’t go over well. And this is always the danger when, on our journey with Jesus—even as a church, someone decides they don’t really like the way the journey’s going … and proclaim or self-appoint themselves … into a position of leadership and/or authority; it’s then that division begins to take place—the opposite of unity!
Several years ago, in my rookie years of leading youth mission trips, we were headed for North Carolina to do mission work in the mountains. One of the adults on that trip happened to be a colleague—a pastor here in the Wisconsin Annual Conference. We didn’t think anything of it; some youth from her church were going along on the trip. Frankly, we appreciated her support as a pastor, because this was all new to us at the time…
It was a 2-day journey by bus to our destination. It didn’t even take half a day on the road, however, before we knew that we had a problem. This pastor finally figured out that teenagers were not her thing! Everything on these trips, of course, is catered to the teens—the majority of those along. She was after us to shut off the videos on the bus, to shut off the music on the bus, to basically shut down everything that would appeal to our teens. (I think she thought, since traveling by bus, that this was going to be like one of those tours to Branson for senior citizens!) This wasn’t the journey that we were on—not even close!
Thankfully, we got to our destination successfully, with some of us interceding in this situation so that minimal damage would be done. She announced to us by Sunday night—the night we arrived at our destination—that she would be purchasing a plane ticket, requested a ride to the nearest airport, and would be leaving the very next morning (Monday morning launch)…
In spite of our other responsibilities at the beginning of the week, we gladly gave her a ride to the airport—thankful that she’d discovered at the beginning of the journey that this wasn’t the one she really wanted to be on. She bowed out … and that was for the good of all…
Sometimes, folks, that’s the very best action that can take place. We needed UNITY on this journey, to accomplish all that God wanted us to accomplish during our time on the road. Actions of DISUNITY threatened the very life of its success! I believe with all my heart … that God intervened in this situation … and UNITY was maintained. We ended up having a great mission trip that year!
Now, I know that every individual has both needs and a real need for fulfillment in their lives. But when you’re on a journey with others—with Jesus leading the way—you have to also be aware of ‘the good of the collective whole.’ In other words, what’s best for the entire group involved on the journey? Let me be clear this morning, as we talk about the mile marker for today: Journeying together means balancing our focus on individual needs & fulfillment, as well as the good of the collective whole. Balance is key…
UNITY IN THE MIDST OF INDIVIDUAL NEEDS & FULFILLMENT! Our own needs—in every way—are a reality! How do we balance our personal needs with God’s plan for the whole?
The world’s message is always ‘look out for #1!’ (Actually, I’ve never a ‘look out for #2’ message…) And it’s ‘look out for #1’ AT ALL COSTS! Unfortunately, when individuals begin to live out that philosophy while on a journey with others, the results can be devastating!
John Calvin, that great pastor & theologian, saw that the Devil’s chief device in working against the Church … was disunity and division. He preached that there should be friendly fellowship for all ministers of Christ … and made a similar point in a letter to a trusted colleague:
Among Christians there ought to be so great a dislike of schism, as that they may always avoid it so fast as lies in their power. That there ought to prevail among them such a reverence for the ministry of the word and the sacraments that wherever they perceive these things to be, there they must consider the church to exist…nor need it be of any hinderance that some points of doctrine are not quite so pure, seeing that there is scarcely any church which has not retained some remnants of former ignorance.
In other words, if you are a follower of Christ—on the journey with Jesus, any type of schism or divisive behavior … should put a horrible taste in your mouth—to the point that you cannot stand it! You have to come against it…
Folks, we know that each of us has needs in this life; of that, there is no doubt. But, when our personal needs and our desires take precedence over and above all who are on the journey, we’ve got a problem! For anyone who is that SELF-centered, they haven’t left much room for GOD at the center… So, what are we to do? We need to be well aware of ‘the good of the whole’ at all times—realizing that even though we have needs ourselves, that cannot come before the good of all on the journey! We must be God-centered when traveling with others, which always results in unity in the Body… So, our focus needs to be on…
UNITY IN THE MIDST OF THE GOOD OF THE COLLECTIVE WHOLE! When journeying with others, we must think of the collective whole—not just individual selves! The greater desire has to be for the good of all—there’s the balance; if that’s the case, the journey’ll be successful for all… We need to allow God to transform our way of thinking by the renewing of our minds, especially when it comes to journeys we take together (Rom. 12:2)…
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:2 (NLT)
What ELSE does God’s word say when it comes to the way we’re to journey together (1 Cor. 1:10)?
I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. – 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NLT)
Keeping Christ central in our lives is the way… Now, this may seem silly to some who’ve never been on a group tour of any kind, but my father came up with one rule years ago that has really worked to help make trips of people traveling together successful—trip after trip after trip…
What’s the one rule? “No Complaining.” It’s now officially the Pegram Rule for trips or tours of any kind. It works on mission trips. It works on Holy Land tours. It works anywhere groups of people are put together for a journey … and have to learn to live together for a period of time. That’s the one rule we still use today … and it works, because it lends itself to ‘the good of the collective whole.’ (The only reason it wouldn’t make sense is if someone still has ‘me, myself, and I’ at the center of their universe … which still happens occasionally…)
We need to start thinking differently, as we journey together. We need to begin to allow Christ to transform our thinking by the renewing of our minds—to begin to think like God thinks, to begin to see things as God sees them, to begin to love others the way God loves… That will lead us to unity in the midst of ‘the collective whole.’
Folks, let me say it one more way, as we close today: We can’t be like the televangelist who used to say every week on T.V., ‘Give God the grocery list!’ What he taught his audience was a very selfish way of praying… (This goes back to where we began today: How often do our conversations with God involve asking for a personal blessing, rather than one for the community and world in which we live?)
When we’re on a journey with ‘all God’s people,’ the journey can no longer be about … just us! And if you’ve ever been a leader on a journey like this, you’ll know that there is no way you can cater to a select few; it has to be about the good of all involved…
So, instead of asking ‘What about me?’ we need to be asking ‘What about them?’ What about the whole group? What about everyone together? How do we love in the midst of our journey with Jesus?