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Lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
Exodus 3:2

              The burning bush is a paradox, that is, something which ought not to be possible, but which we cannot deny without denying the evidence of our own senses.  Although Western thought, including Western religion, tends to dismiss paradox as simple contradiction, it is actually at the heart of religion, as Eastern religions have always known. 
            The paradox of the burning bush is paralleled by the paradox of the crucified Messiah.  Today’s gospel reading (Matthew 20:20-27) and the second lesson at Morning Prayer (Mark 10:32-45) both narrate the same episode: Jesus and the Sons of Zebedee.  James and John believed that Jesus was the Messiah king; what they failed to grasp was the paradoxical nature of his kingship: his throne would be a cross, and his crown would be made of thorns. 
            They therefore assumed that since they were disciples of the Messiah king, they would have places at the Messianic banquet.  The only question was where they would be seated.  They wanted to get the jump on the other ten disciples and claim the places of honour, at Jesus’ right hand and at his left. 
            In Mark’s version of the story, they make this request themselves; in Matthew, their mother makes it on their behalf.  But in each case Jesus answer is the same: “You do not know what you are asking” (Matt 20:22; Mk 10:38). 
            The paradox of the crucified Messiah, the king who came not to be served but to serve, has repercussions for his followers.  In a recent magazine article the daughter of the late Paul Moore, Bishop of New York City, describes how she felt as a child when she witnessed her father don his vestments in the sacristy:
                        My father left being a father and a husband to become something
                        more like God.  When he put on his white alb and the colored
                        chasuble over it, and knelt at the altar and raised his arms, he
                        became more like Jesus still, in a separate dimension.
            This passage reminded me of something my predecessor Bill Linley said bothered him about some of today’s clergy: their grandiosity.  Jesus tells the sons of Zebedee, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant” (Matt 20:27).  Greatness in the Christian church is paradoxical, like the paradox of the crucified Messiah.  It is certainly not grandiosity. 
            In the Prayer Book rite for the ordering of priests, the Good Shepherd gospel is used, in which Jesus says, “I lay down my life for my sheep” (John 10:15).  In the Bishop’s exhortation to those he has just ordained, he urges them, “Never cease your labour, your care and diligence for all such as are or shall be committed to your charge.” 
            Following in the footsteps of the crucified Messiah, the disciple must be prepared to share the Master’s lot. 

March 9, 2008

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