One of the things I like to do from time to time on this blog is simply reflect on the portions of Scripture I’ve been meditating on. This morning I was reading Luke 22:24-32, where Jesus is trying to have an important final dinner with his disciples before his crucifixion, but his disciples are busy arguing about “which among them was considered to be the greatest.”
Jesus first describes how “the kings of the Gentiles” rule. They “lord it over them” and consider themselves Benefactors; they want to be in charge, tell people what to do, and have everyone fawn over their graciousness and generosity. In other words, their ambition is to be thought of as “great.” Jesus pretty firmly contrasts this with how his disciples are supposed to act: “You are not to be like that” are his exact words. Instead the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. Radical, counter-cultural stuff the church has yet to practice consistently.
However, what caught my attention this morning was that immediately after this, Jesus warns Simon Peter that Satan had asked to sift them all like wheat. Mentally I’ve never put these two texts together, but they are really part of the same passage that began with the dispute about who was the greatest. In other words, Jesus isn’t giving Simon an isolated warning about something unrelated to the situation at hand. In fact, the opposite is true: the fact that they were about to be sifted like wheat had everything to do with their undisciplined ambitions to be “the greatest.”
Their obsession with honor in the eyes of man would make them unwilling to suffer with their Lord. Their ambition to receive the accolades of human beings would cause them all to abandon the one they called “Lord” when he was being spitefully spat upon and abused. Simon’s desire to be “great” was the reason he would deny his Lord when the chips were down. They did not yet love their Lord as much as their own reputations. They had not yet learned to humble themselves and simply receive what their Lord would give them, whether it be suffering or comfort.
The sifting was necessary, though, to expose the disease and root it out. Sifting is a turbulent process of separating the pure from the impure, the useful from the useless. Jesus doesn’t pray for his disciples to be spared the sifting. He doesn’t reach magically into Simon’s soul and “fix” him so he wouldn’t need to go through it. Instead Jesus simply says, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.” He is so confident, too, that this prayer will be answered, that he says, “And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Not if you turn back, but when you do.
This doesn’t mean that sifting isn’t dangerous. Judas is the starkest example of this. But sifting is necessary to expose hidden motives and dig up rocks under the surface that are choking out the life of the kingdom. When we respond to this kind of sifting like Simon did, with confession and repentance, the result is a deep work of grace that allows us to walk with God in a new humility, freeing us up from our own ambitions so we can truly love our Lord, even when it leads to humiliation or worse, and truly serve others, even when it means performing the most menial tasks for them.
We no longer serve the tyrant ambition, because we know that Jesus has conferred on us a kingdom that we didn’t earn. It’s just a gift and he will figure out who sits where and what our responsibilities will be, but we know we all have a place at the table because of his mercy. The greatest is then free to be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. The one who submits to the sifting is the one who can truly bless and strengthen their brothers and sisters, because they are free from the need to dominate or control them. Like Cornel West says, “You can’t lead people unless you love people. You can’t save people unless you serve people.”
So if you’re in a sifting season, don’t resist it. Instead welcome it as God’s discipline, rooting out ambition and purifying your love for Christ. Allow yourself to be brought to nothing so the power of God can flow through your life unhindered to bless and strengthen those around you.
Wow, man. Bravo – beautiful stuff. This is the kind of thing that upon reading it gives me that "Kingdom swell" in my heart.
Thanks Kenny.
That would be winnowed like chaff from the grain. FTFY.
Not sure what you mean here, ZenBonobo.
The point that Zenbonobo is making is that you may have confused two processes. Sifting, or threshing is to crack the wheat berries open in order to release the grain from the chaff. Winnowing is the action of separating the chaff from the grain. This sifting that Jesus is referring to is what Satan is going to do to try to get Peter internally agitated to the point of failing his faith. (As you well put, that ain't happening, because Jesus already interceded for Peter and he knows the outcome, because he is God!) Enjoyed your thought though, keep with the study!
Helpful, thanks!
Though not particularly relevant to this post, I noticed you are reading "When Helping Hurts." This is a great resource for beginning to understand better ways of engaging the poorer communities in our midst. We have our interns read this book, and I would recommend it to any church or non-profit.
That's encouraging to hear, Eric. I am really finding the book helpful in many ways. Also, tangentially, Dr. Perkins is going to be one of the main speakers at 2012's Ecclesia National Gathering. Might be something you'd like to check out.
Eric, I've found the book really helpful so far, and the fact that you are endorsing it as a great resource for engaging with the poor is a confirmation for me that we're on the right track in taking its advice. Thanks!
Great insights. Thoughtful and helpful. Thanks for sharing your heart with us. I don't always post comments… But I read often. –Mark
Great insights. Thoughtful and helpful. Thanks for sharing your heart with us. I don’t always post comments… But I read often. –Mark