So I want to start with some questions just to kind of orient us a little bit before we get into the text. But what does a successful life look like? And there's a lot of information out there, a lot of, you know, self-help or guidance from gurus, whatever it might be, on what that looks like. But what does that look like to us? What do we believe about that? Does it involve money? Does it involve power? Does it involve solitude, getting away from people? Does it involve popularity? Does it involve reverence, relevance? Whatever it may be, what does a successful life look like to you? What does a successful life look like to me? What is greatness? Is it to be immensely talented, to be well-known something, whatever that is that you value, that you do? Is it success and however you define that? What is greatness? What do you want to see on your gravestone if, we've asked this question before, but if you look at the end of your life, what do you want people to remember you for? Well, there's probably a clue there. If we can discern what it is that we want to be remembered for, in terms of the answers to those first questions. And then finally, I would ask, I think a lot of times we know how to give what we might call the Sunday school answers to those questions, and you might have some idea where even I'm going with those questions. So I would ask it in a different way. What do our words and actions in our everyday lives tell us about those things? What we view as success? What we view as greatness? What we view as how we want to be remembered? What do our words and actions on a daily basis say about those things? Well, in this passage, Jesus has something to tell us about what our answer to those questions should be. And again, I think in the Sunday school sense, we all kind of know that answer that he's going to give, but we still find it difficult to really take that in and to understand it and to see it reflected and how we go about our lives and how we show our values. So let's see what the text has to say about those things. As I said, I want to spend most of the time on 20 through 28. But 17 through 19 is an important bit of context, right, prior to that section. So I want to spend a little bit of time going through that as well. As we can see, Jesus is about to go up to Jerusalem and he takes the 12 disciples aside and he tells them what's about to happen. This is actually the third time in the book of Matthew that what they call his passion prediction, that he's done this. It's the most detailed of the passion predictions. He basically gives them an outline of what's going to happen. What's the purpose of Jesus telling them about this? What's the purpose of these passion predictions? Well, the idea here is that God is handing the son over to his destiny. We see what the goal is. We see that the prophecies of the Old Testament are being fulfilled. And ultimately, we see that this is not chance, what is happening, This is God handing Jesus over to his destiny. Jesus is fulfilling his purpose. Further, it underscores his divine nature and his role as the obedient son who is willingly going down the path of destiny that his father and he have. Jesus is aware of what is coming. He's aware of the pain, the torment, the humiliation. Look at the details that he tells us in this passion prediction. We're going up to Jerusalem, verse 18. The Son of Man is going to be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death. The condemnation spoken of here has at the heart of it, behind it, a judicial process. He's going to be found guilty. He's going to be condemned before a court of law. And they're going to hand him over to the Gentiles who are going to mock him. They're going to scourge him. They're going to crucify him. And then on the third day, he's going to be raised up. It shows us that not only is he very conversant with the prophetic scriptures about the Son of Man, but there's also the divine awareness that we see behind this. He understands the details that a really good scholar should get from the Old Testament, but he understands something more than that as well, because he's something more than just a really good scholar. He knows all this, he knows what is coming, and yet he chooses to continue down that path. It's that active obedience of Christ that's present, that we who are in Christ so greatly benefit from. But look at the contrast between this section, 17 through 19, and what's going to follow. So we see Jesus aware of what is coming and willingly taking the path of pain, torment, and humiliation. Stop and think about that for a moment. The Lord and giver of life, the one to whom everyone owes their obeisance, the one who should be honored The one who should be lifted up, the one who deserves glory and greatness more than anyone else chooses this path and does so willingly on behalf of his people. And then right afterwards, we hear about the question that James and John and their mom have for Jesus. I think it's set up this way to show us the contrast. It's set up this way to show us that the one who deserves that, which James and John are going to ask for and deserves much more than that is the one who's taking the path of humility and the path of servanthood. It gives us a preview in that sense, in contrast of what is to come. it adds some sting to the question that follows right afterwards. That question in verse 20, again, is this. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with their sons, bowing down and making a request, and he said to her, what do you wish? She says, command that in your kingdom those two sons of mine may sit, one on your right and one on your left. One matter of clarification before we get into the text, if you look at the parallel passage in Mark chapter 10, you'll find what on the surface may seem confusing, that there it's James and John that are doing the asking, whereas here it's Salome who's the mother of James and John. Well, ultimately there's no, There's no difference here. It's the telling of a story in a different way. Mark is known for cutting to the chase, right? Getting to the point. We all know people like that, right? There's people that flutter around it for a while until they finally zero on on what they're trying to say. And then there's those that get directly to the point. Well, Mark's getting directly to the point because at the end of the day, it's James and John. from our text who appear to have put their mother up to it because Jesus goes directly to the source, James and John, when he gives his answer. So ultimately we're getting to the same place, that it's James and John who want to bring up this issue and they just bring Salome, their mother, into it because they've been chastised earlier in the book of Matthew for similar issues And so maybe it will come across a little softer if we have mommy do it for us, right? That's kind of the idea of what they're doing in the text here. And she's willingly participating in it because of course she wants what's best for her sons as well. But behind that little aside that we went into there and kind of comparing the Mark 10 parallel version and this, is this idea that there's a manipulative aspect to what they are doing. James and John kind of put their mother up to it. She's kind of willing to go along with it because at the end of the day, ultimately what we'll find is their thinking behind all of it is completely wrongheaded and stands in contrast to the thinking of Christ that we saw in verses 17 through 19. As I said, Jesus directs his response to the sons, because ultimately they are the source of the inquiry. And he said to them, in verse 23, my cup you shall drink, but to sit, or I'm sorry, you do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? The idea behind this is they really have no idea what is going on. That's what Jesus is telling them. You don't know what you're asking. You don't know what you're saying. You don't have a clue what we're talking about. So how do we make sense of where they're coming up with this question? Well, I think it's helpful to think back to how it appears that they're thinking. Their question makes sense. if you think about it like this. They're thinking that Jesus is here to institute an earthly kingdom. Now this is a very, in the gospels you see a lot of this in terms of the confusion of the Jews. They think Jesus is here for a military conquest. They think Jesus is here to set the Gentiles right, and to put the people of God, the people of Israel, back into their rightful position. That's what's behind a lot of Israel's misunderstanding of Jesus' ministry. They don't get it yet. They don't understand what Jesus is here to accomplish. Even with what he just told them, in verses 17 through 19, which is the third time he's told them something like that, they're not getting it, they're not understanding. So if you see their question in the sense of an earthly kingdom, where Jesus is going to rule in an earthly way, then their assumptions about how it will work might make some sense. He just told them prior that the 12 tribes of Israel are going to be set up on 12 thrones, right? Well, they're thinking that at the end of the day, Jesus is going to go through whatever it is that he's here to do, but what he's going to accomplish is an earthly kingdom, and we want to be in the seats of honor in that earthly kingdom. Jesus's response then is what we would call In theology, they use the word condescension, but condescension has negative overtones, but it's not meant in that way. We might think of it of how we would answer a child. A child asks us a question about a complicated issue. Well, I'm not going to go into the level of detail with that child about something which they need years more of background or more education or more growth, whatever it may be, but there's a whole bunch of information they need to take in before they're really going to be able to understand what I would have to tell them about this matter. But we're going to try to tell them something, and we're going to try to tell it to them in a way that accommodates their understanding. Well, ultimately, that's what Jesus is doing here. He understands they don't get it. They don't understand what I'm here to do yet. They don't understand how all of this is going to work out. They don't know where all of this is going. They don't know what they're asking. And I think as an aside, there's a sense in which I'm going to repeat this a few times as we go throughout this passage. There's a sense where you and I have to see ourselves here. You know, we like to see ourselves in the story of David where we take down the giant. We like to see ourselves in those fun stories, but more likely it's these stories where we find ourselves, right? We don't get it. We're those that don't get it. We're those that don't understand what the kingdom is really about. We're those that struggle to see what Jesus was really here to do. We're those that struggle to see why we're here and what we're supposed to do. So we need to see ourselves in this as well as James and John and their mother. Jesus knows things they don't know and understands the kingdom, of course he does, in a way that they're not getting at all. So we have to understand Jesus' questions in the light of this and see that there is some accommodation to their understanding. For example, if they really got what Jesus was saying in verse 17 through 19, how would this be the follow-up? If they really got what Jesus was saying about who he is and what he came to do, How is this the thing that jumps into my mind as probably the next conversation ought to be about my greatness? It just doesn't really follow, does it? At the end of the day, they think they're thinking too highly of themselves and they're thinking way too little of who Jesus is and what he's come to accomplish. But their answer is what? The end of verse 22. Their answer is, we are able. Yes, we can do it. You know, this reminds me of when your kids come to you and they want a pet, right? A dog, a cat, a hamster, whatever it is, whatever the pet is, goldfish, right? We'll take care of it. I'll clean the bowl every day if you want me to. I'll take the dog out every time it has to go to the bathroom. I'll set my alarm. I'll wake up at night. Two weeks later, who's taking care of the pet? Mom or dad, right? Well, it's kind of that idea. There's that enthusiasm there that comes from a lack of understanding, right? Like us when we were children or our children, we I think they say it with the best of intentions. I'll take care of it. Don't you worry about it. Right? But they don't understand. And James and John, it's somewhat similar here. They mean it in the same way. They mean it with all sincerity. Yeah, we can do this. We love you so much, Jesus, and we'll do anything for you. But of course, think ahead to what happens when Jesus is taken, what happens to the disciples? They scatter. They deny him. All of that craziness ensues, right? So here we were, we're able, we're able to do what we have to do, and in a matter of days, we prove that we didn't understand, that we really didn't get it. And that's kind of what's going on here. And so he replies to them, Jesus replies in verse 23, well, my cup you shall drink, but to sit on my right hand and on my left, this is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father. Again, you have to hear Jesus is trying to answer them at the level to which they'll understand. Right, if they understood this, well, they would know that neither one of them is going to sit at the right or left hand of Jesus in the kingdom. They would understand that this is a very kingdom, a very different kingdom that we're talking about. We would understand that the Son of Man is gonna sit at the right hand of the Ancient of Days. And obviously, by their question, they don't get those things. So Jesus, rather than going into great depth on those things, accommodates them with his answer and foreshadows the fact that they're gonna drink the cup, which, what does that mean? Well, ultimately, to drink the cup is an idea of the cup of suffering, right? So when Jesus says, are you able to drink the cup that I'm about to drink, what is he talking about? He's not talking about some king seated in glory drinking the cup of his riches. He's not talking about some king seated in his glory drinking the cup of victory. He's talking about drinking the cup of suffering. He's looking ahead again to that ultimate suffering that he's about to go through on behalf of his people. And then he's telling them in his response to their we are able, well, there is a sense in which you're going to drink the cup of suffering. You're going to partake in it. You're going to participate in it. But he's telling them again in a way that shows they really don't understand what's coming. So not only are the disciples gonna scatter when things get bad, as Jesus has taken in the coming days, but what's also gonna happen, and we see this in the first hundred years of the church, very clearly, first few hundred years even, and throughout the whole history of the church, is that they are gonna participate in that suffering. And in the Matthew 5 passage that we read for the law today, we see there as well. Blessed are those that suffer for my namesake, that are persecuted. So you're definitely going to partake of it, but you're not going to partake of it in a way that you understand, and it is not mine to give in terms of the seats. They say that belongs to who has been prepared for them by his father. So then Jesus, after this exchange, we see that the other disciples have heard about it. And before we get to Jesus taking them aside, we'll pause and look at that for a minute. So verse 24, in hearing this, the 10 became, my translation says indignant, there's a number of ways which translations use different words here. They become indignant with the two brothers. So as a point of clarification, what is this indignance? It's not a righteous, or a pious indignation. So righteous or pious indignation seeing I see sin and I'm righteously turned against that sin because I see it. The indignation that the others feel is basically jealousy. Why didn't I think of that? I should have got my mom to go ask Jesus about me being on the right hand of him, right? Can't believe they beat me to that. Or it's the idea that maybe they're thinking, you know, well, they shouldn't be the ones to sit on the right hand. I mean, this guy has been part of it longer than that guy has. Or this guy has more clout. You know, he's bigger, he's more important, he's older, whatever it is. The idea is they're not mad at it for the right reasons. They're mad at it for the wrong reasons, because either they think they should have been the ones, or it should have been done differently, or it should be somebody else. They're just joining in right in with the two, in terms of thinking about all of this wrongly. They're coming from the wrong place, just kind of in a different way than James and John were, but they're really joining right in with the wrongheaded thinking that James and John have exhibited. So in response to this, Jesus, in verse 25, calls them to himself. He calls them aside for a conversation, for a chat. And he starts by talking about how the Gentile rulers do their thing. Now it's interesting, when you think about this, why did Jesus use the Gentiles as the example? Jesus could have easily found all kinds of bad leadership in the history of Israel. There's a whole lot of, you know, read your Old Testament. There's a big, long history of bad leaders in Israel. So he could have chosen them as an example, but he chose the Gentiles. Commentators go a little bit back and forth on why that is. I think we have a little bit of a clue if you look If you look in Matthew 5 verse 47 real quick, we'll just kind of fly over a couple verses here. We see kind of a similar way of expressing something bad and comparing it to the Gentiles here. If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Again, he's using an example from within the nation of Israel, that they're not doing something, and he's comparing it to the Gentiles. And also in, just real close there, chapter six, verse seven, and when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. And then we come to our text, where it's kind of that third comparison of behavior amongst the Jews compared to Similar bad behavior amongst the Gentiles. So what's the idea behind that? Well, I think the idea is this, is it really shows the pagan nature of the thinking behind it. The pagan nature of those two issues that are addressed in 547 and 6-7, and the pagan nature of the issue that's addressed before us here in verse 25. He's really using it to highlight to them because, of course, the behavior of the Gentiles is vile in their minds. And so he's using it to show them that their behavior is every bit as vile as that of the people that they despise. And he says, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant." So what does he mean by the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great men exercise authority over them? Well, this is a place I don't want to get too specific with an explanation. and I think the text held back from being too specific in its explanation for a reason. It's the way of the world. It's the way of the world and we all know and have some sense of what that means because we live in it and we participate in it. Whatever is subsumed under that idea of the way of the world where we seek to run over each other to win, where we seek to tear others down to raise ourselves up, where we seek to get into positions of power so we can crush those that we disagree with or don't like. Whatever all that stuff is, it's all subsumed under that heading of lording it over people and exercising authority over them. The Bible clearly has no problem with the exercise of authority when it's done rightly. The Bible calls us to be under the authorities that God has put in place. What's the fifth commandment all about? About honoring those that are in authority over you, right? So clearly, the exercise of authority in and of itself is not what's being spoken against here by Jesus, but it's something we all understand in that kind of icky, sinful exercise of authority that we see practiced all around us and have probably participated in in our own lives. It's that, you know, what's that old saying, the dog eat dog world kind of thing, right, where the rat race, where everybody's trying to get ahead and they're trying to do it in whatever means necessary so that they get what they want and that their will gets exercised against everyone around them. That is what Jesus is preaching against, and that is what he says, is not this way among you, among us. It's not to be this way. How is it supposed to be? So he goes on to say, whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant." And then he amplifies it one level and says, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. So, honest show of hands, when I asked you what greatness looks like, how many people had slave on their gravestone? Yeah, me neither. Right? But that's what Jesus says greatness looks like. Jesus says you're to be a servant. Well, we can all kind of understand servant, right? We're supposed to serve people. Okay, we get that. But he amplifies it even further when he says you're to be a slave. That's the exact same word that you use for slave everywhere else in the New Testament, right? One who is beholding to do the bidding of others. Well, that is a very different way of looking at how the world is supposed to look. That is a very different practice than what we find in the world around us. That is a very different practice that in many ways I think all of us to some degree have partaken in. and probably still are in some ways. Now, I want to take one slight aside here, and I want to say here's what you're not supposed to hear with this statement. This is not a roadmap to how you get to the top, right? So, okay, well, the exercising authority in a nasty way, no, I'm not supposed to do that. So, now I'm going to fake being a servant of everybody and get to the top that way. Okay, that's not what this is intended to do. It's not about us having a path to greatness at all. It's about forgetting about that. It's about dropping that entirely from our set of goals, and it's about focusing on others and serving them in whatever way that we can. Look at the final verse of our section, verse 28. Why should we do this? What's our example? Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. If the Lord himself didn't come to be served, but to serve, what right could we possibly have to think any other way? Well, that's the ultimate grounding of the principle, right? The grounding of the principles, this is God's will for our lives. And in the form of perfect leadership, Jesus exhibited exactly what he's calling us to. Jesus, who we all owe our fidelity to. Jesus, who could rightly destroy us in a moment apart from him because we all deserve it. Jesus, the one who can perfectly judge. Jesus, the one who perfectly did the law, practiced the law, upheld the law, Jesus who perfectly honored his father in every moment of his life. Jesus, who's all that and a bunch of things I'm not saying that are glorious, humbled himself and didn't come to be served, but to serve and gave his life as a ransom for his people. We can have absolutely no argument with what Jesus calls us to because of the perfect example that he's given us in what he did. So some thoughts on this text, some thoughts of application and thoughts of conclusion. So should we pursue greatness or not? Well, I've said some things that probably would be leads you to both answers. So I'll try to clarify. Absolutely not in the sense of the world. We should not participate in the world structure of dominance and competitive desire to get ahead of other people, need to be in power to get what we want, manipulation, all of those things which fall under the rubric of the worldly way of trying to get ahead, we should not participate in those things. But in the kingdom sense, yes, we should pursue greatness, but we shouldn't do it with greatness as our ambition. We should do it wanting to serve, and wanting to be a slave to others. What's the two great commandments? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And what's the second? Love your neighbor as yourself. That's saying nothing different than what this is saying. It's just saying it in a different way. To love our neighbor as ourself is to seek their interests above our own. It's to look to serve them. It's to look to minister them. It's to love them, to find what's best for them and try to do what's best for them. They're saying the same thing, they're just saying it in different ways. So the ambition's not to greatness in the kingdom, the ambition is to service and love. Why should we do this? because it's commanded of us, and because Christ is our perfect example. Because Christ did it, and Christ showed us the path. So what does this look like? Well, if you think of, let's turn over to the book of Philippians. a passage that most people are at least somewhat familiar with if you've been in the church for a while. And actually, we're going to read the first 11 verses of Philippians 2. Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." Well, without a lot of comment, I think that section explains what it looks like pretty clearly, right? So if we want to know what it looks like to be servant-minded like Christ, he tells us in that passage what it looks like, and it tells us what it looked like in the life of Christ, expounding in many ways upon the same things as our Matthew 20 section is talking about. It talks of humility, talks of willingness to suffer, and it talks about service towards others. And in that regard, even think of another great example of this, but Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, right? Think back to our passage, the cup of suffering that Jesus was willing to take upon himself. Next thing I want to say, I want us to let this sink in. If you're like me, The reality is this is a world upending principle. It really is. It goes against everything that the world stands for. But us, in our lack of wisdom, we want to race to the exceptions. We want to race to the, well, but what about in these circumstances? When someone does this to me, well, how can I? Or, but what about this and what about that? Well, there's a place for some of those things, right? Wisdom involves applying truth correctly to various situations in front of us. And we all have complicated circumstances in our lives to one degree or another. And wisdom is needed to address those things. But before we jump to the what ifs and the theoreticals and the what about and a what about that, just let this sink in. Jesus, who could have demanded all the things that he could have demanded, did what instead? He served. Or as the Philippians 2 section says, he was a bondservant, right? So how much more does that truth apply to our lives, that that is what we should do? And we should do that because it's right, because it's his example. So let it sink in. Take the truth for what it is. Don't move on to all the what ifs and the theoreticals until you've had a chance to really let it sink in, that this is a principle that upends how the world works, and it's a principle of how life in the kingdom is supposed to work. And then the final question I want to ask, so where is the limit to this principle? Is this limited to leaders or is this something that applies to everybody in the kingdom? Well, of course, I've been applying it to everybody in the kingdom, so you already kind of know my answer in that regard, but I want to make it explicit. This is a pervasive kingdom ethic. It applies to everybody who is in Christ. Everybody who is in Christ is supposed to serve. Everybody who is in Christ is supposed to have at the center of their life a desire to be a blessing to others, to serve God and to serve our neighbor. Where else could we draw the line? I'm supposed to serve in part of my life, but in another part of my life, I'm supposed to be like the world? The thing that Jesus just told me is not good? And it's not supposed to be that way among us? Where would I draw the line? Where do I draw the line? I find it interesting. Humans, we really are very smart in so many ways. God has made us and blessed us with a lot of intelligence. We use it in such foolish endeavors quite often, but he's given us a lot of intelligence and some very smart people. One of the ways that I think that we use it that's very poorly and very anti-Christ is we like to make these silos of life. Okay, so one of them, you know, that I think is rather interesting is politics. It's like, well, he's a politician. Does that make it okay to lie? Is lying suddenly not a bad thing because it's just part of politics? How about cheating, manipulating, stealing? How about putting your own interests above everybody else's? Is that OK because it's the world of politics and that's just how politics works? Of course not. That's utterly ridiculous. And yet, how many people think that way? Well, it's what I got to do to get elected. Well, if that's what you got to do to get elected, then don't get elected because it doesn't make it OK. Another one that I find is art. You move something to the silo of the world of art, and all of a sudden, things can be done there that wouldn't be okay in the rest of life, right? You know, I'm an actor, so it's okay that I kiss someone that's not my spouse. Do you think that's how God thinks about it? Oh yeah, it makes sense, that's art. Right? Well, you and I do this in our lives too. We create little silos where we can put our behaviors and we can say, well, we'll see that's the world of yada, yada, yada. And so suddenly that behavior becomes okay over there. That doesn't sound to me like what Jesus is saying here. It sounds to me like he's saying it's not this way among you. Except if it's art. Except if it's politics. Except if your coworker's treating you really badly. Except if your teacher's keeping you down. Except, except, except, except, except. No, it sounds to me, like I said, like it's a pervasive kingdom ethic. And it sounds to me like there's no good place that makes sense to draw the line. And so I think It applies to all of our lives, and I think it applies to every believer. And I think it also applies to the world. It's just that the difference is you can only do this if you are in Christ. You can only have any hope of doing what Jesus is asking us to do and actually loving people if you have been regenerated. Because apart from Christ, we're unable to do those things. And so where does the ability, where does the power come from for this? Ultimately, the power comes from God, our union with Christ. We can only do this insofar as we are in Christ, because he has gone before us to create good works that we would walk in them. Because he has changed us, because he has renewed us, regenerated us, recreated us, that is the only way in which we can do what Jesus is asking us to do. Apart from Christ, we have no hope. So Jesus came to serve, and he came to give to us not what we want, but what we need. And Jesus came and he gave himself as a ransom for all who are his children, that we would be united with him, that we would be brought into his kingdom, and this is what the kingdom of Christ is supposed to look like. This is what our relationships amongst each other is supposed to look like. May God forgive us for the ways that we fall short, and thankfully in Christ he does, and may he grant us the grace all the more to love, to serve him, and to love and to serve others. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for the sacrifice that Christ gave on our behalf. We thank you for the example that he showed, but he didn't leave it as just an example. He saved us, he purchased us, we are united with him. He blesses us and he gives to us the spirit who dwells with us, causes us to be able to hear and to understand and to believe, and also gives us the grace to begin to love, to begin to love in a way that is what you've commanded us to love like, to do good works for others, because of our freedom from sin, to seek to be a blessing. May you grant us the grace all the more to believe these things, to know them to be true, to seek to understand, and to do better in our service towards others. And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.