Twenty Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Mk 10:35-45
Dear Friends,Today’s passage from Mark 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.
This is 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 dreadful state of ignorance. This leads to Jesus sharing a truly enlightening element of his gospel message, a new definition of greatens in service.
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.
The mentality expressed by John and James in today’s Gospel passage is difficult to grasp. It is hard-headed, ambitious and self-serving in a manner totally contrary to Jesus’ teachings. The brothers’ mentality, however, was also shared by the other ten.
Considering all the time and investment of Jesus in the disciples, Jesus’ patience with James and John is truly beyond spectacular. He gifts us with same amazing patience. 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 happiness. We need to embrace the gospel message as a growing element in our life.
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 prediction of the Pasion and Death, 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 prediction is a call to share with Jesus’ saving death in accepting all of our brothers and sisters with an ever-expanding horizon of inclusion. There is no end to our call to break the barriers of exclusiveness. Finally, in today’s passage, we are called to a life of service, especially in our leadership. This threefold program is the heart of the gospel where the last are first, 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 and authentic meaning only in service.
It is clear that these three foretellings of the Passion were directed to counter the false ambitions of both the disciples and all followers of Christ including us today. Jesus says in (Mk9:45) “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In these words, Jesus lays out the clear and profound meaning of his upcoming death. It is the ultimate expression of leadership that is service. It is the great redemptive act of love in the ransom of all sinful humanity releasing them from the bondage of sin and death.
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. The gospel is always calling us to find meaning and purpose n the lived experience of our daily life.
