October 20, 2024 at Saint William & Saint Peter Catholic Churches in Naples, FL
Isaiah 53: 10-11 + Psalm 33 + Hebrews 4: 14-16 + Mark 10: 35-45
When I read these verses from Mark’s Gospel, I always wonder exactly why the other ten were so angry. Was it because they didn’t ask first and James and John beat them too it? Or, was it because it was such an inappropriate question. We’ll never know the answer, but it is worth thinking about if we put ourselves into the moment. What we see is that self-interest and a quest for power have fractured the very community Jesus has been forming. The whole situation sounds too much like us these days. The ideal of a more perfect union has fractured by a lot of self-interest and a quest for power. “It shall not be so among you” says Jesus Christ. My bet is that he shouted that at them in frustration and disappointment.
What is on display here are the symptoms of communal life disrupted by distrust and division. They don’t want to serve. They want to be served. With that, the entire mission of Jesus is revealed, and its success or future is called into question.
I think it is important here to realize that Jesus does not criticize James and John for asking to sit at his right or his left in glory. He simply suggests that they are not clear about how you get there. We have the benefit of knowing what they did not know. At the time this discussion happens, they have not yet been to Calvary. They do not yet know that the “glory” of Jesus will be revealed from a Cross. Even though we may understand that intellectually, our position of privilege in this world still makes it hard to see what this gospel makes clear. Glory is not about power or winning. It is about something quite the opposite.
Jesus asks a question here, “What do you want me to do for you?” He will ask the exact same question of a blind man named, Bartimaeus a little later when he gets to Jerusalem. Guess which one sees clearly enough to follow Jesus “on the way.”
This is the question at the heart of this story. What do you want Jesus to do for you? If we have some power or influence and use it for a good purpose then we might want Jesus to keep things as they are or even increase our influence so that we can do even greater things in his name. If we are somehow powerless against neglect or abuse, a victim of prejudice or hate we might ask Jesus to make this world more fair, just and loving. We might ask Jesus how a whole community like us might change things, give up something and give ourselves away on behalf of others and give us enough love and courage to really want to serve rather than be served.
I’m glad that Jesus did not scold or judge James and John but rather continued patiently to teach them his way and the possibilities they could not see at the time. He came as a ransom to set us free. If we can only begin to acknowledge how we have been enslaved by a desire to secure our privileges and to be served grace has begun to set us free, free to ransom others by service and sacrifice. This is not an idea. It is a frame of mind and a way of life called discipleship.