26 March 2010
Psalm 22; Exod. 9:13-35; 2 Cor. 4:1-12; Mark 10:32-45

The plague of hail has great mercy attached to it. There is a warning that allows the Egyptians to escape some of the harm of the plague, they are able to protect their livestock if they heed the word. Some of the crops are ruined but not all of them. In this plague is there anything that teaches us about life? Do we see something about God’s attitude towards sentient life and the stewardship of humans towards that life? In all of this, God reveals something else, His love for His people, as there is no hail in the land of Goshen where they live. He is proving to be the God over both Egypt and His people, even Pharaoh refers to the storm as “God’s thunder and hail.” Once again relieved of the problem, Pharaoh hardens his heart against the Lord and the people.

We like to be important. James and John probably weren’t the only ones to think of asking such a thing, they were simply bold or arrogant enough to actually ask. Why is it that we struggle so greatly with the idea of servanthood? We like people to notice us and to have places of honor. It is a difficult thing to simply serve, we tend to lapse over into Martha’s attitude, I am happy to do this work but I resent someone else not helping me with it. How do we miss the great condescension of Jesus to become like us, submit to us, serve those with whom He came into contact by healing them, and ultimately to submit to the indignity, suffering and death on a cross? Can we not see the great humility of Jesus in all these things? Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that it isn’t simply a man that did these things, it was God. We need always to keep in mind that act of love that brought Him to us in order to remind ourselves who we are and what is our place in the grander scheme.

Paul speaks of himself as a slave to the Corinthians for Jesus’ sake. He also says, “For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.” Paul understood his life to simply be the vessel through which God was continuing to work out the plan of redemption, nothing more. He saw himself as someone who was a recipient of God’s mercy and so because he was chosen to do this work by God he did not lose heart. We need to be thankful each day for the mercy we have received in God’s salvation by grace alone. The work of Jesus is new every morning and it has nothing to do with us other than God’s mercy and grace shown to us sinners.

All the ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
shall worship before you.
For kingship belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.