SUNDAY SERVICE - AUDIO RECORDING
The Way of Jesus, the Tao, the Bodhisattva & JRR Tolkien - Mark 10:35-45
Today marks the 69th Year since JRR Tolkien published the book ‘The Return of the King’, third and final book in his Trilogy ‘The Lord of the Rings’. The series of books grew out of Tolkien's traumatic experiences of participating in World War 1 and became a cathartic way for him as he worked through the trauma he had experienced. In doing so, Tolkien also revealed the power of mythology to express deep archetypal truths about human existence. Most specifically the book is a commentary on the ability of power to corrupt and to bring out the darkness within us. Corrupted by power human beings have inflicted the most terrible atrocities on one another. This is symbolised in the book by the magical ring of power and that those who wear it for too long get drawn into darkness and evil.
And this brings us to our Gospel Passage today from Mark 10:35-45.
In last week’s Gospel Passage we encountered a man who was blinded by his attachment to his material wealth so that he was unable to experience the deeper life of the spirit.
In today’s Gospel Passage we now encounter two of Jesus closest disciples who are blinded by their desire for role and status, the desires of the ego, that likewise have become an obstacle to understanding and entering the life of the Spirit and the Way of Jesus.
The story of the rich young man who is blinded by his attachment to wealth ends with Jesus saying to his disciples: “The first will be last and the last will be first.” He then tells them of his impending suffering and death in Jerusalem, but James and John show a complete failure in understanding.
They imagine that Jesus is going to Jerusalem to over-throw the occupying forces of the Roman Empire and to re-establish the Jewish state of kingdom of Israel as a political entity bringing back the glory days of David. They think that Jesus has come with a Jewish nationalist agenda and that his aim and purpose is to make Israel great again, to put them back on the map and to destroy and drive out their enemies.
And so James and John come to Jesus secretly, because they do not want the other disciples to over-hear what they are about to ask as they put this special request to Jesus:
“Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory”.
Now we must be clear, when they refer to the glory of Jesus, they are not referring to some heavenly glory in the after-life, in world to come. What they have in mind is something much more worldly. They are very specifically thinking of Jesus in his worldly political glory with all the political pomp and ceremony and power that goes with that. They are imagining themselves to be Jesus right and left hand men when Jesus re-establishes the throne of David and reconstituting the political entity of the Kingdom Israel.
Jesus replies with these words: “You have absolutely no idea of what you are asking”. In other words, they have completely misunderstood the values, aims and intentions of Jesus.
This becomes clear and explicit at the end of the passage. By this time the other disciples have got wind at what James and John have asked of Jesus and in verse 41 we read that they have become indignant with James and John.
The Greek word is aganakteó and it means to be aggrieved, to be indignant
to be angry, to be incensed. It is how you might feel when someone slips in first and steals a parking that you have been waiting for.
Why are the other disciples aggrieved, indignant, angry and incensed? Because they have been eyeing out the positions for themselves. They too have completely misunderstood who Jesus is and what his values, aims and intentions. The disciples reveal to us the danger that every Christian faces when our Christian faith becomes wedded firstly to a nationalistic agenda, and secondly when we follow the ego’s desire for power, role, status and control.
And so Jesus, with infinite patience, explains to them yet again the Way of the Reign of God, the Kingdom of the Heart, the Reign of Divine Love:
Firstly he points to the way of the Gentile rulers, the Rulers of the Nations. In other words, he is pointing to the Way of the Roman Empire and all the empires of the world. These are the ways of domination, ruling with force and with power, clearly establishing who is boss, ‘lording it over others’ with an iron rod and threats of violence.
“Not so with you” Jesus says to them. In other words, this is not they Way of the Reign of God. It is not the Way that Jesus is modelling for them.
“Instead,” he says “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.”
And so the Ways of Jesus, the Way of the Reign of God, turns the way of power on it’s head. It is why the Way of Jesus has often been referred to as the ‘Upside Down Kingdom’ because the Ways of divine love work from the bottom up rather than dominating and controlling from the top down.
And Jesus goes on to say, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Here, the term ‘son of man’ does not refer only to Jesus, but in fact refers to the universal divine consciousness that resides in every human being as our highest self. Jesus is therefore modelling what it looks like when people begin to live from their deepest spiritual identity. Instead of grasping for power which corrupts those who live from the place of their higher divine self and allow the divine to reign within their hearts quite naturally begin to walk in the ways of humility and love, taking on the role of a servant of others, giving of themselves often at great cost for the sake of others. Jesus expresses it thus “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” True greatness lies not in asserting one’s individual will or ego but in surrendering it to the great whole and to the reign of Divine Love.
And so in our passage today, Jesus challenges all our previous authoritarian notions of God as the dominating, controlling force who watches threateningly over us. Jesus is clear, the Way of God is not the way of domination over others. Rather it is to be seen in the ways of gentleness, kindness and redeeming love, the way of selfless love and humble service.
This Way of Jesus, of humble and loving service towards all people is not unique to Christianity, even though it is very profoundly embodied and expressed in Jesus. It is echoed very profoundly in Mahayana Buddhism in the ideal of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is one who stands on the edge of final spiritual attainment, and instead of entering the bliss of Nirvana makes a vow to delay their spiritual attainment for the sake of helping to liberate all beings who are lost in the great ocean of suffering. This is very profoundly expressed in the legendary and mythical figure of Ksitigarbha who vows not to enter into the bliss of Nirvana until all the hell realms have been emptied and all beings trapped there have been liberated from their sufferings and they come to realise that they too are Buddha’s in disguise.
This Way of Jesus, of selfless love and service rather than following the way of status, control and domination is also beautifully expressed in that ancient book of Chinese Wisdom called the Tao Te Ching. At the heart of the Taoist philosophy, we find the same humility and letting go of control. The Tao Te Ching teaches that the sage leads by serving, that the soft and yielding is superior to the hard, dominating and controlling. We find it expressed beautifully in chapter 30
Whoever relies on the Tao in governing people
doesn't try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.
And again in chapter 8:
The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.
In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.
And finally the Way of Jesus, or the Reign of God is expressed profoundly in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings in a quote that speaks of using power for healing rather than destruction:
“For it is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known.”
Amen. God bless you as you reflect more deeply on these things.
Today marks the 69th Year since JRR Tolkien published the book ‘The Return of the King’, third and final book in his Trilogy ‘The Lord of the Rings’. The series of books grew out of Tolkien's traumatic experiences of participating in World War 1 and became a cathartic way for him as he worked through the trauma he had experienced. In doing so, Tolkien also revealed the power of mythology to express deep archetypal truths about human existence. Most specifically the book is a commentary on the ability of power to corrupt and to bring out the darkness within us. Corrupted by power human beings have inflicted the most terrible atrocities on one another. This is symbolised in the book by the magical ring of power and that those who wear it for too long get drawn into darkness and evil.
And this brings us to our Gospel Passage today from Mark 10:35-45.
In last week’s Gospel Passage we encountered a man who was blinded by his attachment to his material wealth so that he was unable to experience the deeper life of the spirit.
In today’s Gospel Passage we now encounter two of Jesus closest disciples who are blinded by their desire for role and status, the desires of the ego, that likewise have become an obstacle to understanding and entering the life of the Spirit and the Way of Jesus.
The story of the rich young man who is blinded by his attachment to wealth ends with Jesus saying to his disciples: “The first will be last and the last will be first.” He then tells them of his impending suffering and death in Jerusalem, but James and John show a complete failure in understanding.
They imagine that Jesus is going to Jerusalem to over-throw the occupying forces of the Roman Empire and to re-establish the Jewish state of kingdom of Israel as a political entity bringing back the glory days of David. They think that Jesus has come with a Jewish nationalist agenda and that his aim and purpose is to make Israel great again, to put them back on the map and to destroy and drive out their enemies.
And so James and John come to Jesus secretly, because they do not want the other disciples to over-hear what they are about to ask as they put this special request to Jesus:
“Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory”.
Now we must be clear, when they refer to the glory of Jesus, they are not referring to some heavenly glory in the after-life, in world to come. What they have in mind is something much more worldly. They are very specifically thinking of Jesus in his worldly political glory with all the political pomp and ceremony and power that goes with that. They are imagining themselves to be Jesus right and left hand men when Jesus re-establishes the throne of David and reconstituting the political entity of the Kingdom Israel.
Jesus replies with these words: “You have absolutely no idea of what you are asking”. In other words, they have completely misunderstood the values, aims and intentions of Jesus.
This becomes clear and explicit at the end of the passage. By this time the other disciples have got wind at what James and John have asked of Jesus and in verse 41 we read that they have become indignant with James and John.
The Greek word is aganakteó and it means to be aggrieved, to be indignant
to be angry, to be incensed. It is how you might feel when someone slips in first and steals a parking that you have been waiting for.
Why are the other disciples aggrieved, indignant, angry and incensed? Because they have been eyeing out the positions for themselves. They too have completely misunderstood who Jesus is and what his values, aims and intentions. The disciples reveal to us the danger that every Christian faces when our Christian faith becomes wedded firstly to a nationalistic agenda, and secondly when we follow the ego’s desire for power, role, status and control.
And so Jesus, with infinite patience, explains to them yet again the Way of the Reign of God, the Kingdom of the Heart, the Reign of Divine Love:
Firstly he points to the way of the Gentile rulers, the Rulers of the Nations. In other words, he is pointing to the Way of the Roman Empire and all the empires of the world. These are the ways of domination, ruling with force and with power, clearly establishing who is boss, ‘lording it over others’ with an iron rod and threats of violence.
“Not so with you” Jesus says to them. In other words, this is not they Way of the Reign of God. It is not the Way that Jesus is modelling for them.
“Instead,” he says “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.”
And so the Ways of Jesus, the Way of the Reign of God, turns the way of power on it’s head. It is why the Way of Jesus has often been referred to as the ‘Upside Down Kingdom’ because the Ways of divine love work from the bottom up rather than dominating and controlling from the top down.
And Jesus goes on to say, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Here, the term ‘son of man’ does not refer only to Jesus, but in fact refers to the universal divine consciousness that resides in every human being as our highest self. Jesus is therefore modelling what it looks like when people begin to live from their deepest spiritual identity. Instead of grasping for power which corrupts those who live from the place of their higher divine self and allow the divine to reign within their hearts quite naturally begin to walk in the ways of humility and love, taking on the role of a servant of others, giving of themselves often at great cost for the sake of others. Jesus expresses it thus “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” True greatness lies not in asserting one’s individual will or ego but in surrendering it to the great whole and to the reign of Divine Love.
And so in our passage today, Jesus challenges all our previous authoritarian notions of God as the dominating, controlling force who watches threateningly over us. Jesus is clear, the Way of God is not the way of domination over others. Rather it is to be seen in the ways of gentleness, kindness and redeeming love, the way of selfless love and humble service.
This Way of Jesus, of humble and loving service towards all people is not unique to Christianity, even though it is very profoundly embodied and expressed in Jesus. It is echoed very profoundly in Mahayana Buddhism in the ideal of the Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva is one who stands on the edge of final spiritual attainment, and instead of entering the bliss of Nirvana makes a vow to delay their spiritual attainment for the sake of helping to liberate all beings who are lost in the great ocean of suffering. This is very profoundly expressed in the legendary and mythical figure of Ksitigarbha who vows not to enter into the bliss of Nirvana until all the hell realms have been emptied and all beings trapped there have been liberated from their sufferings and they come to realise that they too are Buddha’s in disguise.
This Way of Jesus, of selfless love and service rather than following the way of status, control and domination is also beautifully expressed in that ancient book of Chinese Wisdom called the Tao Te Ching. At the heart of the Taoist philosophy, we find the same humility and letting go of control. The Tao Te Ching teaches that the sage leads by serving, that the soft and yielding is superior to the hard, dominating and controlling. We find it expressed beautifully in chapter 30
Whoever relies on the Tao in governing people
doesn't try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.
And again in chapter 8:
The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with the low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.
In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.
When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
everybody will respect you.
And finally the Way of Jesus, or the Reign of God is expressed profoundly in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings in a quote that speaks of using power for healing rather than destruction:
“For it is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known.”
Amen. God bless you as you reflect more deeply on these things.
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