Daily Worship

ABUSE OF POWER

September 19, 2013 0 0

Mark 10 : 35-45

The Request of James and John

35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”

36 “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.

37 They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”

38 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”

39 “We can,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, 40 but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

41 When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. 42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Lord God you are almighty and yet ever-loving,

may Your Kingdom come

and may Your will be done

here on earth as in heaven.

Heavenly Father,

where homes have become places of fear not safety,

where the corridors of power are made realms of self-interest rather than of public service,

where the world of work exploits people instead of fulfilling their potential for the common good,

where the forces of law and order preserve privilege and crush the weak,

where the rich become richer and the poor become poorer because of who makes the rules,

where distorted desires damage and destroy vulnerable lives

may Your overturning Kingdom come

and may Your loving will be done

here on earth as in heaven.

in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Servant King

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Iain Cunningham
Kirkton Church, Carluke