"Charity sees the need, not the cause"
Mk 10:35-45
Dear Friends, Today we have Mark’s third episode of Jesus with the disciples on the road to Jerusalem. Each time Jesus announces his passion and death, followed by an incident portraying the disciples in a shocking state of ignorance. This leads to Jesus sharing a truly enlightening element of his gospel message.
We are the target population of this literary genius of Mark. By the time Mark was writing, the disciples had not only grasped Jesus’ message but they had lived and died for it in a heroic way.
Today’s passage is preceded by the most detailed foretelling of the passion and death. In fact, in Mark’s story, Good Friday was only six days later.
It is difficult to grasp the hard-headed and blinding ambition expressed by John and James. It is totally contrary to Jesus’ teachings. The brothers’ mentality was shared by the other ten. It was surely a case of creating an image of God out of the passion and hunger of personal ambition.
Considering all the time and investment of Jesus in the disciples, Jesus’ patience with James and John is truly beyond spectacular. That same amazing patience is also our gift. However, there is a time limit on it. We need more than faith and trust in a God who will take care of us and help with our plans for our happiness.
Mark has a stark challenge for us. We need not only accept Jesus in his passion and death, we need to share in that saving suffering. In the first episode, Jesus tells us we have to be open to all of life in a way that surely will involve taking up our cross at all times. The second call to share with Jesus’ saving death is accepting all of our brothers and sisters with an inclusivity that is ever-expanding. Finally, today we are called to a life of service, especially in our leadership. This threefold program is the heart of the gospel where the first are last, the least of all are equally important and true power is service to all. This is genuinely sharing in the upside-down world Jesus revealed in his life, passion, death and resurrection. In this world, greatness means being the least of all. Being the leader, the one with power, finds true meaning only in service.
Jesus’ statement in Mk 10:45 is one of the most propound in all of the Scriptures. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
No doubt, we are all a long way from the depth of this selflessness. Nevertheless, the utter goodness of Jesus constantly is calling us out our world of convenience, comfort and consumption to a richer and more lifegiving world of sacrifice and service. Just like the disciples, we start out in darkness and ignorance. However, this pilgrimage to God with Jesus only asks that we take one step at a time on our road to Jerusalem. We will find that next step in self-sacrificing love and service in our daily responsibilities and relationships.
We are the target population of this literary genius of Mark. By the time Mark was writing, the disciples had not only grasped Jesus’ message but they had lived and died for it in a heroic way.
Today’s passage is preceded by the most detailed foretelling of the passion and death. In fact, in Mark’s story, Good Friday was only six days later.
It is difficult to grasp the hard-headed and blinding ambition expressed by John and James. It is totally contrary to Jesus’ teachings. The brothers’ mentality was shared by the other ten. It was surely a case of creating an image of God out of the passion and hunger of personal ambition.
Considering all the time and investment of Jesus in the disciples, Jesus’ patience with James and John is truly beyond spectacular. That same amazing patience is also our gift. However, there is a time limit on it. We need more than faith and trust in a God who will take care of us and help with our plans for our happiness.
Mark has a stark challenge for us. We need not only accept Jesus in his passion and death, we need to share in that saving suffering. In the first episode, Jesus tells us we have to be open to all of life in a way that surely will involve taking up our cross at all times. The second call to share with Jesus’ saving death is accepting all of our brothers and sisters with an inclusivity that is ever-expanding. Finally, today we are called to a life of service, especially in our leadership. This threefold program is the heart of the gospel where the first are last, the least of all are equally important and true power is service to all. This is genuinely sharing in the upside-down world Jesus revealed in his life, passion, death and resurrection. In this world, greatness means being the least of all. Being the leader, the one with power, finds true meaning only in service.
Jesus’ statement in Mk 10:45 is one of the most propound in all of the Scriptures. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
No doubt, we are all a long way from the depth of this selflessness. Nevertheless, the utter goodness of Jesus constantly is calling us out our world of convenience, comfort and consumption to a richer and more lifegiving world of sacrifice and service. Just like the disciples, we start out in darkness and ignorance. However, this pilgrimage to God with Jesus only asks that we take one step at a time on our road to Jerusalem. We will find that next step in self-sacrificing love and service in our daily responsibilities and relationships.
