Loving God, you show us the path of loving service through your Son Jesus.  Fill us with your love by the power of your Spirit, that others might encounter your love through us, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            I’m guessing that for at least some of you, your eyes kind of glaze over when you hear a reading about people who are named Rehoboam and Jeroboam.  It takes years of study to get a handle on who these people are and what part they play in the history of God’s people.  Yet, we hear this reading today because it marks an important turning point in the history of Israel.  What was once a united monarchy under Saul and David and Solomon is now divided, and there are now two kingdoms instead of one.  And so, from this point on in the Old Testament, sometimes you will hear about the kingdom of Judah (which is in the south) and sometimes you will hear about the kingdom of Israel (which is in the north).

         However, in the midst of this historical turning point, we find a truly amazing thing.  There are these older men who had served as advisors to King Solomon, and they advise his son Rehoboam to be a servant leader:

If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever (1 Ki. 12:7).

The reason this is so amazing is that they had never seen a king who served the people like this.  

Solomon had imposed heavy taxes and forced labour on his people.  David had done the same thing to a lesser extent.  Even so, these men, who had never had a servant leader, give this exceptionally wise advice that seems to point ahead to Jesus and his life of humble service.  Even in the midst of self-serving leaders, God seems to be at work.  Perhaps the same could be said about some of the things that were going on at the time of the Reformation!

         If there is anywhere that you might expect to find servant leaders, it should be in the church.  However, there have been times in history when the church has had no shortage of self-serving leaders.  (pic on screen)  At the time when Martin Luther was serving as a monk in the sixteenth century, people with money could actually pay to become a bishop or an archbishop.  Not only this, but the Archbishop of Mainz received permission to sell indulgences in order to pay off his own personal debt.  And so, within his jurisdiction, 50% of the proceeds went to the church, and 50% went directly to him.

         Worst of all, the money that was being raised came at the expense of those who could least afford it.  People who barely had enough to live on were spending their last dime in order to buy indulgences that they believed would save themselves and others from the flames of hell.  When we think about these things now, no wonder there was a Reformation!  Even in the midst of the corruption and greed, God was still at work in the church.

         Interestingly enough, though, the lack of servant leadership in the church had the same effect as it did in today’s reading.  The result was division, which happened, not so much over theological differences, but because of the challenging of the authority and power of the pope.  That is why Luther was excommunicated.

         However, in the church, as in the kingdom of Israel, division is never something to celebrate.  This is also not the time for us to think that we are way better than those misguided leaders of the past.  Whether in the church or in the world, it is all too easy for people to be overcome by power, corruption and greed.  In fact, even some of the disciples who were closest to Jesus were looking for positions of power.  It is in the midst of this desire for power and honour that Jesus speaks some of the words that we heard in today’s gospel.

Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.  For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many (Mk. 10:43-45).

         It is Jesus who displays the kind of servant leadership suggested by the king’s advisors so many years before.  It almost makes you think that the Spirit of God was at work in those advisors, revealing to them God’s preference for humble service.  This same Spirit, of course, is still at work today, filling God’s people with the Spirit of Jesus, who empowers us to love and to serve.

         There is a plaque that I saw this week that says: “Love lets go of power” (RevGalBlogPals.org).  All it takes is looking at the life of Jesus to see that this is true.  In fact, to give yourself to be crucified is the ultimate letting go of power.  It is also true that loving your spouse in a marriage relationship involves letting go of power.  For, love does not “lord it over” another person.

         One has to wonder how history might have been different if leaders had acted out of love rather than clinging to power.  How might the history of Israel have been different if Rehoboam had taken the older men’s advice and had loved and served God’s people?  How might the history of the church have been different if the leaders in the sixteenth century had acted out of love and in humble service rather than greed and a thirst for power?  And, how might our lives be different if we allowed the Holy Spirit to fill us with the love of Jesus and guide us in humble service?

         The good news is that Jesus did, in fact, live his life in love and humility for our sake, loving us enough to endure suffering and death on the cross, that we might be raised with him to new life.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Reformation Sunday (NL 2)                       1 Kings 12:1-17, 25-29

October 27, 2019                                         Mark 10:42-45

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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