The true God, the God who creates and gives life. The God who loves first, unconditionally, always. The God who is active in this world, today.
Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem. In his crucifixion he will be revealing a dimension of God's interaction with this world that is mind boggling even today. At the cross, we will encounter God. Not an academic God. Not a God who is far off. But God who is one with the suffering of human life, in God's own body......and for the sake of the world.
The time is running out. The cross is ahead and Jesus knows this.
So it is crucial to Jesus that our conversation shift from what we are doing, what we need to do, what we want to obtain......to what God is doing for us, how God is at work in this world, and the grand invitation God extends through Jesus for us to be a part of this adventure.
This is the focus of the text on divorce (Mark 10.1-15) and the story of the rich man (Mark 10.17-31) and now this request of James and John to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus in his glory (Mark 10.35-45). Jesus pushes us to engage in a new conversation, a new possibility of who God is and how God is at work in the world.
It's all about God; once you grasp this you are set free to live generously, graciously, with forgiveness, and joy. This is the challenge we face these next several weeks: to make it about God and not us. We are along for the ride and thank God that God has invited us in Jesus.
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