10-12-15 - Best Seats in the House

I often worry about where I’m going to sit. If I’m going to a wedding or gala, I hope I’ll be seated with people I know and not in the “outer darkness” at the edges of the room. If I’m headed to the movies, I’m anxious about getting a seat that is not behind a tall person. At concerts, I want a seat with an unobstructed view and close enough to catch the band’s energy. But it has never occurred to me to worry about where I’ll be sitting in the afterlife.

Not so James and John, disciples of Jesus of Nazareth:
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.’ And he said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ And they said to him, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.’ (This Sunday's gospel reading is here.)

Now, their request may not have been about seating so much as jockeying for leadership positions, and they might not have been talking about heaven. If they saw Jesus as the Messiah who would liberate the people from oppression, “In your glory” may have meant after Jesus had accomplished his mission as they understood it – which was not very well.

Jesus had more than a few things to say about people who try to get the best seats, whether at dinner parties or in glory. He usually reminded them of the “those who want to be first will be last” principle of God’s kingdom and recommended that they select the least desirable seats, with the least desirable company, where he was often to be found.

What if, instead of seeking the better seats, we searched out the least desirable ones? We'd give up a lot of stress and competition. What if I were to embrace meeting strangers at weddings, or let others have the closer seats in the concert hall? Once upon a time, the back of the bus was where the marginalized were forced to sit – how about joining them?

What do you see as the "good seats" in life? Might you ask God in prayer where he would have you sit?

Wherever we sit, whether humble or exalted, we can be sure that Jesus is sitting next to us, that we are on one side or another of the One who promised he would always be with us. There ain’t a bad seat in his house.