B Cycle – 29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time 24

Mk. 10:35-45

This gospel is more about our human weaknesses and needs than it is about James and john. It is also providing an amazing insight into how wrong we are about how God views those weaknesses.  Jesus’s response to James and John was not to chastise them but instead He gently reveals something they failed to understand about what God demands of all who believe.  James and John had an incorrect vision of why Jesus came.  They believed Jesus would restore the kingdom and glory of Israel.  He would reign as king as did King David and He would need trusted advisers to rule with Him.   

It is in our human DNA to strive for excellence, for affirmation, and for recognition. That desire is part of our human nature, and we strive to be good husbands, wives, employees, and success in every facet of our life.  The problem John and James had was that they failed to grasp what God wanted to restore was our holiness, our rightful standing as sons and daughters of God.  Rank and privilege do not exist in the Kingdom of God.  The kingdom is one of interdependence on one another as members of the Body of Christ 1 Cor.12).     

Jesus gently reminds us today that we need to reorient our thinking.  We, like James and John, live in a hierarchal society.  We see that hierarchy in our local and national government. We see it in church, in schools, in industry, the playground and in finance.  We carry that structured thinking into our faith.  It is formed in our minds as we grow up and we learn to respect those in positions of authority, including the church.  In one sense we have failed to understand what God desires of us and in doing so we misunderstand the mission of Jesus.  At this point in their discipleship, James and John’s thinking was formed by society and the teachings of Jesus had not penetrated their hearts. That was the source of their desire to be at the right hand of Jesus.  Being present before Him was not enough, they needed something more.   

Jesus is reminding us how the Christian life demands we surrender our desires for recognition and stive just to be a servant.  We, like them, have the wrong image of discipleship. We fail to understand to be a disciple means to follow not to lead.  It means we must grow in our ability to allow the Word of God to penetrate our hearts and change what motivates us.  It means we must allow the embrace of forgiveness to satisfy our need for affirmation and recognition.  It means we must hear every story, every parable each week and realize Jesus is speaking directly to you. 

It means we must love the unlovable, forgive the unforgivable and serve without a desire to be applauded.  It means we must depend on the Holy Spirit to open our minds and hearts to seek first the Kingdom of God and discover the wonder of God around us each day. It means being open to the promptings of the Spirit to step out in faith and begin to walk on water.  Not actually walking on water but metaphorically go where we would never believe we could go and do things we would never believe we can do. 
It means we must grow in our knowledge of what God desires of us. It means we must believe the promises of God to be with us always and to equip us for holiness. It means learning to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us, shape us and continually reveal to us how easily we can be tempted to seek what the world offers instead of what God offers.

The world can easily and quickly seduce us into a state of complacency about our relationship with God and how we are daily living our faith according to what we believe God desires instead of understanding the meaning and purpose of our lives.  If we fail to surrender our will to God’s will, we can easily become prideful and seek those places and things which give us affirmation.  We will become promotors of self without realizing we are missing out on a life filled with wonder and awe at the things God does among us.