Dear All
We had a lovely gathering this morning for our Sunday Eucharist.
Gordon kept us on our toes by treating us to two new hymns and a singing practise before we began!
Notices for this week
Tuesday 10am Prayer Group in the garden room.
Book Group 7.30pm in the garden room
Thursday Holy Communion 10am followed by coffee in Friendship House
Other notices…….
Next Sunday 24th October – 10am Sung Eucharist followed by AGM in church
We have a vacancy on the Vestry, please let me know if you would like to join, its an important part of church life, rewarding and fun.
Readings for next Sunday – Last Sunday after Trinity – Jeremiah 31:7-9, Hebrews 7:23-28, Mark 10:46-52
Further news from the diocese and church plus pictures of the Cake Walk can be found on the St Andrews website. Click on the link below.
https://standrewsmilngavie.church.scot/
Trinity 20 2021 St Andrew’s Milngavie
Mark 10:35-45
Hebrews 5: 1-10
Isaiah 53:4-12
As a nation we have all been shocked and appalled by the brutal murder of Sir David Amess on Friday, struck mercilessly down at his post as he took a routine surgery. Across the political spectrum it has been widely acknowledged that Sir David was an outstanding public servant.
Today’s readings focus on the concept of service and sacrifice. In the gospel the story centres around James and John and some other disciples. They come to Jesus and ask “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you”. And then they get short shrift from Jesus and the rest of the disciples get angry with them. But in fact, they are only doing what Jesus had said to them previously.
In Matthew 7:7, Jesus says, “Ask, and it shall be given to you…”
In John 14:13, Jesus says, “I will do whatever you ask in my name…”
Understandably James and John must have been a bit confused by the whole situation. Jesus is telling the disciples to ask for things and then, when they do, they get chastised. As for the request they make to Jesus: “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory”. Again, that doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request. They didn’t have the benefit of hindsight like we do. As far as they knew, Jesus would be heading to Jerusalem to set up the Kingdom of God by overthrowing Roman rule and renewing the role of the Temple in traditional Judaism. They were expecting political and spiritual conflict and they were being loyal to Jesus and standing with him in this new world order, and so, it seems only reasonable that they should think that some rewards will be given in the glorious time to come.
But as so often happens in the gospel they had got it wrong! They had misunderstood this new world order. For Jesus – the longed-for messiah – was not an autocratic ruler, the king of kings on a throne with a mighty army protecting his kingdom. Jesus’ idea of kingdom and leadership was different. Yet again, Jesus turns people’s thinking, rules and conventions upside down with his teaching.
“He who wants to be master of all must be servant to all” Mark 10:43 He teaches that those in positions of leadership must set an example of humble service. They must even in effect be servants to other members of the community. They must do this to follow the example of the one true leader, Jesus himself, who as the gospel says… “came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” Mark 10:45
The whole of Jesus’ life, ministry and death was an expression of submission of service to the human race. He modelled a new kind of leadership. His kingship is one gained through the ultimate act of service, his death on the cross. The world is desperate for leaders of this kind. Leaders who recognize God’s blessing in their own lives, leaders brave and bold enough to bless the people and the world around them through their humble service.
Servant leadership needs to flourish in the complexities of the vast organizations that have so much control over our lives— politics, business corporations, hospitals, universities, and churches and many others. Servant leadership at every level is essential if the impact of on all of us is to be a blessing and a force for good.
In the OT lesson from the prophet Isaiah, we have we have one of the most significant prophecy of Christ – and it was certainly no prophecy of a heroic figure, powerful and triumphant. But it was that of a suffering servant. It speaks of a disfigured servant, once despised but then seen in a totally new light. It is a very moving passage of scripture which points towards the suffering death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In John’s gospel Jesus says to his disciples as he says to us now, “ I tell you the truth, No servant is greater than his master, Nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them” John 13:16
Amen