Five Ways Into Sunday’s Scripture: Living a Life of Service

JOB 38:1–4

Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up your loins like a man, I will question you, and you shall declare to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.”

PSALM 104:1–2

Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment.

MARK 10:42–44

So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”

The story in Job this week casts a focus on themes of transactional entitlement — reward-punishment — in contrast to service and stewardship. The Psalm, in praise of God’s abundant and generous creation, and the Gospel, on Jesus’ example to give of himself in servitude and gratitude, provide some insight into our human and self-limiting capacity to recreate God’s kingdom — on earth, as it is in heaven. —Kathryn Carroll

THEOLOGY

The late Henri Nouwen said, “In service we encounter God.”

SOCIAL JUSTICE

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve,” said the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in what would be his final sermon, described as a self-eulogy by Dagmawi Woubshet. And the Rev. Dr. King not only talked it, he walked it as well, modeling servant leadership for a generation of activists.

ART

A mural of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet by David Paynter, located in Trinity Chapel College, Sri Lanka.

MUSIC

“Bless The Lord” by Taizé.

POETRY

Psalm 104 reinterpreted by Christina Robinson: “I am awestruck, Holy One, at this beautiful and boundless universe — gestated over eons with love and care.”