Monday, May 26, 2003
Monday, May 26, 2003
And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in
your glory."
If you had a second class ticket you also could remain seated--until there was a problem. In
case of a problem, second-class ticket holders would have to get off until the problem was
resolved. You could stand off to the side and watch as other people worked. You didn't have to
get your hands dirty. But second-class ticket holders were not allowed to stay on board. When
the stagecoach was unstuck you would get back on and take your seat.
If you had a third-class ticket, you would definitely have to get off if there was a problem Why?
Because it was your responsibility to help solve the problem. You had to get out and push or
help lift to fix a broken wheel or whatever was needed because you only had a third class ticket.
Fortunately the stagecoach is no longer a major means of transportation.
One of the problems the church is facing today is that too many people think they have
first-class tickets. Such people just sit and expect to be catered to, waited on, and, of course,
pampered. These people expect everything to go their way, and when things don't, they get
upset.
God needs us to be third-class tickets.
(Mark 10.37
NRSV)
Back when the West was being settled the major means of transportation was the stagecoach.
We've seen persons riding in stagecoaches in western movies. What we might not know is that
the stagecoach had three different kinds of tickets--first class, second class, and third class. If
you had a first class ticket, that meant you could remain seated during the entire trip no matter
what happened. If the stagecoach got stuck in the mud, or had trouble making it up a steep hill,
or even if a wheel fell off, you could remain seated because you had a first class ticket.
Dear Jesus, forgive me for the times when my pride has cause me to be a first-class ticket.
Amen.
