Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“When all Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, ‘What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David.’ So Israel went away to their tents.”
NL Daily Devotion for Sunday, October 29, 2023
by Madison Johnston, Clergy Stuff
Main Idea: The only true power we have in a life of faith is shared power.
God never really wanted the office of king to exist among God’s chosen people. God didn’t think it should be necessary. In 1 Samuel 8, when the elders of Israel petitioned Samuel to pray to God for a king, he did so, but begrudgingly. He and God both knew a king wouldn’t be good for Israel.
For one thing, their request implied that the Israelites did not recognize their divine authority figure—God. It implied that the Israelites had forgotten their long history with God—their story of deliverance and liberation. God also knew the ways in which a king might abuse power over Israel. Other nations were ruled by kings, and were wrought with corruption, injustice and violence. God didn’t want any of this for God’s people.
God instructed Samuel to relay these concerns to the Israelites, and he did so emphatically. But the people did not listen, and continued to request a king. So, God agreed to partner with them and to be actively involved in a new kind of political landscape alongside them.
God chose Saul to serve as the first king of Israel. After Saul, David ruled. After David, Solomon; and now, we come to our text for today. Solomon’s son, Rehoboam has the throne.
Rehoboam is the epitome of what God feared would happen if Israel were to appoint a king. In this passage, he actively chooses to inflict suffering among his own people in the hopes of preserving his own authority, clearly dismissing any authority God might have in the process.
Here is the irony of Rehoboam’s decision: he never truly had any power to begin with—nothing to preserve. The true power in this story lies with Rehoboam’s subjects, who, when they realize he is not listening to them or taking their needs into consideration, leave.
So, instead of the king imposing his will on the people, we read a story this morning of a people imposing their will on their king. They want him to occupy his seat and to exercise his power as long as he is doing so for the sake of the greater good—for the thriving and success of all people. They want his power to be a shared power.
In the passage from Mark 10, James and John boldly ask Jesus if they can sit by his right and left hands in glory. It’s a startling request, and very clearly one made out of a selfish interest in guaranteeing or preserving their authority and influence. Jesus tells them just as boldly that if they were truly driven to establish power, they would be pursuing roles of service. He says that if they want to be above everyone else, they actually need to understand themselves as below everyone else.
From the beginning of our faith story, power has been shared: between God and people and between people and each other. This sharing is what ensures everybody the chance to prosper. This sharing is what clears the path for justice and equity in everyday life. Frankly, this sharing is what makes power mean anything substantive in the first place. And this power is something that we can understand in the person and life of Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t just tell James and John how service leadership works—he leads by serving alongside them. Jesus doesn’t just call James and John to a life of humility—he models it for them. Jesus embodies shared power—true power—for James and John. And he does the same thing for us.
