Part 25 (2/2)
Confess: Any unwillingness to embrace the difficult parts of the gospel as well as the joyful parts.
Ask G.o.d: To give you a greater hunger to live in his presence and to seek his face.
Lift Your Heart Lovers like nothing better than to please their beloved. Mother Teresa of Calcutta was a woman who loved G.o.d extravagantly Famous for her work with the poorest of the poor in India and throughout the world, she was always looking for a chance to do ”something beautiful for G.o.d.” How easy it is for us to neglect our Divine Lover by always asking him to do beautiful things for us rather than by developing our own capacity to please and delight him.
You don't have to travel to the other side of the world to find opportunities to do something for G.o.d. Look for him in the poorest of the poor in your own community - those who are emotionally impoverished, isolated, ill. Find a way to bring the light of G.o.d's love into their darkness. Spend time simply praising G.o.d for who he is and how he has revealed himself to you. Honor him by giving him something precious in your own life. Even the smallest gesture can become a beautiful gift for G.o.d.
Lord, you have done so many beautiful things for me, pursuing me when I cared nothing for you, restoring my hope, giving me a future worth living for. I want to offer myself generously-not as a miser doling out her favors in hope of a return, but as a woman completely in love with her Maker. Make my life a sweet-smelling fragrance to please you.
Salome.
Mother of the Zebedees.
HER NAME MEANS.
”Peace”
Her Character: A devoted follower of Jesus, whose husband ran a fis.h.i.+ng business, she shared the common misconception that the Messiah would drive out the Romans and establish a literal kingdom in Palestine. Her name wa probably Salome.
Her Sorrow: To have stood with other women at the cross, witnessing the death of Jesus of Nazareth.
Her Joy: To have seen an angel at Christ's tomb, who pro claimed the resurrection.
Key Scriptures: Matthew 20:20 - 24; 27:56; Mark 15:40 - 41; 16:1 - 2 Monday HER STORY.
Salome loved Jesus nearly as much as she loved her own two sons, James and John. She would never forget the day they left their father and their fis.h.i.+ng nets to follow him. Lately, she, too. had come to believe that Jesus was the Messiah of G.o.d.
She had smiled when she heard Jesus had nicknamed her boys ”the Sons ofThunder.” Surely he had recognized the seeds of greatness in the two feisty brothers from Capernaum. Why else would he have invited them into his inner circle, along with Simon Peter? She had heard how Jesus had led the three up a high mountain. When they came down, her garrulous sons could hardly speak. But then the story came out.
”Jesus' face was blindingly bright like the sun. . . .
”Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with him. . . .
”Suddenly a cloud surrounded us and a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!'”
Salome had listened. She had seen the glory and the power that radiated from the man. Though she had heard ominous rumors that Jerusalem's men of power hated Jesus, she also knew that the great King David had faced his own share of enemies before establis.h.i.+ng his kingdom. And hadn't Jesus promised his disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones in his kingdom? ”Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake,” he had said, ”will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” How could she doubt him? Even with faith as small as a mustard seed, mountains could be moved.
Salome had left behind her comfortable home on the northwest sh.o.r.e of Galilee to join her sons. Now, as they journeyed up to Jerusalem, she remembered other words Jesus had spoken: ”Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” She would no longer deny herself the one favor her heart desired. Prostrating herself before him, she begged, ”Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
But instead of replying to her, Jesus turned to James and John and said, ”You don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
”We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, ”You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Jesus, who knew Zebedee's sons better than anyone, realized that Salome was only voicing their rising ambitions. Like any loving mother, she had simply asked for what she thought would make her children happy. But as Jesus' reply and subsequent events proved, this mother didn't begin to comprehend what she was asking. Soon, the man she had approached as a king would himself die on a cross, and she would be one of the women witnessing his death.
After it was over, Salome may have remembered the anguished faces of the men who had been crucified with Jesus, one on his right hand and the other on his left - an ironic reminder of her request on the way up to Jerusalem. Such a memory would only have increased her terror for what might now happen to her sons.
Along with other faithful women at the cross, Salome was present on the morning of Jesus' resurrection. Surely the angel's words -”He has risen! He is not here!”-would have comforted her later in life when her son James became the first martyred apostle, dying at the hands of Herod Agrippa.
Instead of asking Jesus what he wanted for her sons, Salome acted as though she knew exactly what he needed to do on their behalf. She must have forgotten that Jesus had exhorted his followers to leave behind not only houses, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers for his sake, but also children. In Salome's case, it didn't mean turning her back on her children but surrendering them to G.o.d. It meant putting Jesus above everything and everyone, loving him better than her own sons. Only then would she understand the meaning of what they would suffer as followers of Christ. Only then would she really know how to pray.
HER LIFE AND TIMES.
MOTHERING.
In biblical times, when a man married, he gained another possession. Every wife was under her husband's absolute authority. When a man decided ”to marry a wife,” the meaning of the phrase was closer to ”become the master of a wife.” But even though a woman's position in the household was one of subservience to her husband, she was still in a higher position than anyone else in the household.
A woman's princ.i.p.al duty was to produce a family, preferably sons, who could ensure the family's physical and financial future. Mothers generally nursed their youngsters until they were about three years old. During that time, husbands and wives did not usually engage in s.e.xual intercourse, a natural form of birth control that gave the mother time to devote herself to her youngest child.
Mothers had total care of their children, both sons and daughters, until they were about six years old. The children helped their mother with household tasks, and she taught them basic lessons on living in their culture. After six years of age, most boys became the family shepherd or began to spend the day with their father, learning the family business. David, as the youngest son, took care of his family's sheep and goats (1 Samuel 16:11), and Jesus probably spent time with his father, Joseph, learning his carpentry trade (Mark 6:3). Daughters stayed with their mothers throughout their growing-up years. Mothers taught them spinning and weaving and cooking, as well as how to behave and what to expect in their future roles as wives and mothers.
Gradually the role of mothers came to include activities like those described in Proverbs 31. Throughout Scripture, the role of mothering is given dignity and significance, so much so that G.o.d describes his love for us in terms of mothering. ”As a mother comforts her child, so will I [the Lord] comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13). Paul describes his care for the Thessalonians as the care of a mother for her children: ”We were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children” (1 Thessalonians 2:7).
When you find yourself lost in the chaos and clutter of caring for young children, remember the important part you play in keeping their world safe and happy. When you find yourself buried in the mess and muddle of raising elementary school children, remember how much they rely on you for their security. When you find yourself struggling with the disaster and disarray of raising teenagers, remember how much you love them and how much they need you to believe in them. Never forget: If you have children, they are one of your greatest legacies.
Wednesday HER LEGACY IN SCRIPTURE.
Read Matthew 20:20 - 27.
1. In asking from Jesus what she did (verses 20 - 21), what do you think Salome wanted for herself?
2. What ”cup” (verse 22) was Jesus talking about?
3. What did Salome fail to understand about Jesus and his kingdom?
4. What, if anything, do you do to seek status or recognition for yourself? For your children?
5. Where do you think Jesus would draw the line in our ambitions for ourselves or our children?
Thursday HER PROMISE.
Though the typical woman in biblical times was in a subservient role, her position as a mother is exalted by Scripture. G.o.d the Father recognized from the very beginning the important role a mother would play in her children's lives, and he promised to bless her. Those same promises apply to you today.
Promises in Scripture G.o.d also said to Abraham, ”As for Sarai your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her. ”
- Genesis 17:15 - 16 He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children.
-Psalm 113:9 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ”Many women do n.o.ble things, but you surpa.s.s them all.”
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