Humbling that Brings Glory, Mark 10.35-45

When James and John come to Jesus with a request to sit on his right and left in the kingdom, Jesus tells them that while they will follow in his footsteps and make him known, they cannot sit where they desire. To cling to glory is to miss the humility necessary to walk with Christ. To receive glory means one must be humbled to the service of others.

Image: St. John and St. James the Greater, part of The Twelve Apostles: Saints Bartholomew, Andrew, Matthew, James the Greater, Thaddeus, Philip, James the Lesser, Simon, Peter, Paul, Thomas, and John, by Bergognone. Image location: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435657

www.gracegastonia.com/sermon-blog/2021/10/17/humbling-that-brings-glory-mark-1035-45

From Idolatry to the True God, 1 Thessalonians 1

Thessalonica was a city full of idolatry. It was a leading city in the Roman Empire, after all. The Gentiles who turned to Jesus were ones who were brought out of idol worship to the true and living God. What can we learn today from them and St. Paul’s words about salvation through Jesus? How does idolatry infect each and everyone of us, even though we don’t have little statues of gods that we worship? Father Jeremiah considers these things as he begins in 1 Thessalonians.

Unity and Humility IN Christ, Philippians 2.1-13

How does the church come to have unity and humility? Is it through sweat and effort, finding strength out of our own beings? Is it through depending on the Holy Spirit to create it for us? Or is unity and humility something that we already have because of who Jesus is and what he has done and we receive it and live in it through trusting him? St. Paul reveals that it is IN Christ that we already have this unity and humility! We are to have this mind, which is OURS in Christ and thus we can act on it because it is here for us.

Image: 13th Station-Jesus is taken down from the Cross, Station from the church of St Jean in Montmartre, Paris, photo taken by Lawrence OP, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, no changes made. Image location: https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/47588814022/.