Mobility and the Biblical Narrative (Mobility pt. 3)

The Biblical narrative gives us another way to view mobility. In the Old Testament the Israelites are led out of slavery and into the promise land. At a quick glance it may seem as if God is concerned with the upward mobility of his people, but upon further study more is taking place. Although God is leading them to a place of hope and promise, God also leads his people through a place of struggle and pain; the wilderness. In fact as the journey out of Egypt unfolds, the Israelites request they be sent back to Egypt (Exodus 14:11-12; 16:3; 17:3).

For the Israelites this is not the type of mobility they had hoped for, yet God is concerned not just with “where they are going”, but “who they are becoming”. The Exodus story is not simply about God’s people moving from the slums to the suburbs but rather moving from a scattered and fearful people to a new community that finds its identity in God.

The life of Jesus is also one that causes us to re-think our affinity for mobility. In the Gospels Jesus has a conversation with the mother of Zebedee’s sons (Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45). She makes a request that her two boys sit next to him at his thrown; this is the request of upward mobility. Jesus replies by asking if they can drink from his cup…the cup not of his “success” but rather of his suffering. The account then goes on:

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20:26-28

Jesus communicates in his words (see his conversation with the rich young ruler) as well as with his life (especially the journey to the cross) that type of mobility one is to aspire to as his follower is one of downward mobility. While our culture may aspire to moving at a greater speed and acquiring more in the name of success and efficiency, Jesus beckons us to cast aside our nets and follow him not on a path of mobile comfort but rather down the path that leads to Calvary for the sake of the Kingdom.

What other examples from the Scriptures/life of Jesus do you see regarding “downward mobility”?
What is lost in a life of “downward mobility”? What is gained?