October 21^st 2018. Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL Mark 10:35-45

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL Mark 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . James and John ask Jesus to give them the most important positions of glory in the future kingdom. It might surprise us to read that Jesus does not chide or scold them. Instead he seeks to purify their desires and looks for what is good underneath their egoistic demands. Yes, they can indeed have the glory that they seek, but they must first be close to him in his sacrificial love. This is how it is for all of us. We all have disordered desires for self-advancement. Underneath these is the authentic desire for true life. If we wish to be close to Jesus in his glory, then we must be close to him in the way we love and serve others. This is true glory! The worst aspect of the demand made by James and John is that they sought to choose their own positions in the future kingdom. But it is God who chooses that. We must receive what he gives us and follow him. It is communion to which we are called, not individual self-aggrandisement. The other apostles become indignant when they hear that James and John have made such a request, but their indignation is really a form of competitiveness. Jesus then addresses himself to all of them. “Do all of you wish to be great? Do you all wish to have glory? That is good! It is not a bad desire in itself. But if you wish to have real glory, then put yourselves at the service of others. If you wish to be great, then become the slave of others. It is love and service that gives glory. It is self-transcendence that makes us great. It is the overcoming of our egos that makes us wonderful.” This authentic glory is buried within our disordered search for human glory. Let us allow ourselves to be annihilated by this authentic glory revealed in the Gospel for Sunday.

The life that Jesus offers us is a life of love and service to others

On this twenty-ninth Sunday of the year, we hear the announcement of Christ’s way, his very mode of being: “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life in ransom for many”. These words are so important. They reveal the meaning of the life of Christ and the meaning of all of our lives. We are all born to love and serve others. If there is no-one who is not happy on our account, then our life has no meaning. We feel contented when we are of use to others, and we suffer when we feel irrelevant.

James and John ask for greatness. Jesus does not dismiss their request but instead seeks to focus on the good that is buried underneath the egoistic exterior

These words of Jesus are illuminating, but they come in response to something which, on the face of it, betrays a very different attitude. James and John come to Jesus and tell him they have a request. Jesus asks them what it is that they desire. They ask if they can sit on his left and on his right when he enters into his glory. It is important to note that Jesus does not respond with indignation to this request for importance and greatness. He does not say, “What a terrible thing you are asking me for!” Rather he seeks in this distorted desire a core that is good. Within every desire of the human heart, even those desires that are wayward and destructive, there is the good desire for life. This internal core of every desire may well be tiny but it is always there and it is something healthy. This is the part that must be conserved.

Jesus leads James and John to a purer desire for greatness. This greatness does not involve having a prominent position above others, but having the correct relationship with Jesus. In other words, true glory involves union with Jesus in his self-sacrificial love

In fact, Jesus says, “You do not know what you are asking for”. He tries to lead them to a correct awareness of what is good in their desire. “Can you drink the chalice that I drink?” In other words, if you wish to be associated with me in my glory then you must be immersed in me in the fullest sense. You must be baptised in the baptism that I undertake; you must live the kind of self-giving that I live. The two brothers reply, “Yes, we can do that!” This presumption on their part that they would be able to follow Christ is not mistaken! Rather, it is sound. We can indeed follow Christ, but maybe not in the way that we expect or would like to. In this exchange, we see how Jesus saves what is good from the question put to him by James and John. He purifies their request and transforms it into a form of relationship with him. If they wish their request to be granted, then they must drink what he drinks, immerse themselves in the kind of life that he is immersed in.

The worst aspect of the demand made by James and John is that they seek to choose something which only God can choose

Jesus then affirms that they will indeed drink his cup and be immersed in his baptism. This is the call of every Christian. For each of us, there are moments in life when we must face this baptism of self-renunciation. Let us hope that we will all be ready for such moments. James and John will indeed be ready when this future moment comes. We are all on the journey into the future when we will have the opportunity to drink this chalice. Jesus, however, cannot promise James and John that they will sit on his right and on his left. There is to be no favouritism of that sort. The Lord is calling us into communion, where everyone takes his proper place, the place where each one of us will attain greatest happiness. And we will be happy when we go where the Lord is leading us. This is what is missing in the question of James and John! This is the element of their question that is most distorted. They wish to choose something that can be chosen only by God. There are many such things in life that we cannot choose but must instead receive and welcome from the Lord.

The search for human glory is disordered, but within it there is the genuine desire for life. True life and real glory come, not from promoting oneself, but annihilating oneself with Christ for others

The other apostles are indignant that James and John have made such a request, but their indignation is really a form of competitiveness. They are annoyed that the brothers have tried to usurp something that they themselves may have wished for. Jesus then addresses himself to all of the apostles. “Do all of you wish to be great? Do you all wish to have glory? That is good! It is not a bad desire in itself. But if you wish to have real glory, then put yourselves at the service of others. If you wish to be great, then become the slave of others. It is love and service that gives glory. It is self-transcendence that makes us great. It is the overcoming of our egos that makes us wonderful.” This is what brings us to the fullness of communion with Christ. What remains, what endures, is not the capacity to impose oneself upon others, but the capacity to love, to be close to others, to be of service. This is authentic glory. It is a glory that is buried within our disordered search for human glory. Let us allow ourselves to be annihilated by this authentic glory revealed in the Gospel for Sunday.