Poetic Sermon Notes
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Well, my friends, it is Sunday. As such, you know I attended church this morning. Listening carefully to the message from Rev. Jean Johnson, I did my usual: I took my notes poetically. The sermon was based on Mark’s account of the disciples’ conversation with Jesus shortly before His death. In Mark chapter 10, verses 34-45, Jesus delivers His famous message of “The last shall be first and the first shall be last.” The story unfolded this way:
Downward Mobility
Jesus told the disciples
His destiny: the cross.
He warned of His death.
They couldn’t accept the loss.
He told them of the cruelty
That would precede His rise.
So why did all that followed
Come as such a surprise?
James and John asked Him
If they could sit left and right
Of Him in His glory
(Requests that proved them not so bright!).
They didn’t see the meaning
Of the future Jesus faced.
They didn’t see the torture
And know how the pain would taste.
Jesus tried to redirect
The thoughts of James and John.
He tried to reexplain
The path the Christ was on.
The other disciples were jealous
That the two made their pleas first.
They thought James and John
Would be first to end their thirst.
But Jesus rebuked the ones
Who jockeyed to be at His side.
He told them their requests
Showed unsightly, unhealthy pride.
“He who would be first,” He said,
“Must be willing to be last.”
The disciples puzzled at this
Until long after the first Easter had passed.
The way of Jesus is a path
Of downward mobility for all
Who come to serve and give
Their lives in answer to Christ’s call.
Don’t try to read the notes on the bulletin cover below… they are what I typed above. I just am posting them here to show you the form in which they first appear from Jean’s sermon to my ears through my fingertips to the bulletin cover. Yes, I listen and write simultaneously. I am often asked, “How do you do that?”
My only answer is, “It’s a gift.” I hope you appreciated my sharing it with you today. It was a sermon that spoke to my heart because indeed, I have come to serve and to give and to answer Christ’s call to share my talents.
Happy Sunday!
