Gospel & Reflection for the 29th Sunday.
Mark 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus. ‘Master,’ they said to him ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’
When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Reflection
Friends, born in January of 1942, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, would go on to be famously known as the iconic Mohammed Ali and was one of the most significant, if not the most important, sporting figures of the twentieth century. He is regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. But long before he was regarded as such by others, from an early age he had a habit of saying ‘I am the greatest.’ But no one took exception to this statement because it was generally acknowledged among boxers that he was indeed the greatest. But interestingly, whenever he said, ‘I am the greatest,’ while believing it wholeheartedly, he always did so with a glint in his eye and a rye smile on his face. Somewhere, deep down, he never took himself too seriously.
Unfortunately, in other spheres of life, there have been too many who have laid claim to being the greatest in other ways. Taking everything very seriously, the results have been devastating for humanity. The absolute ruler who considers himself the greatest and will allow no challenge to his supreme authority can be a terrifying phenomenon. It has led to world wars and many other conflicts, and even now, learning nothing from history, our world is still full of political leaders who listen to no one except their own opinion, and are guided only by their bloated perception of themselves, minus the glint and smile of self-deprecation. Their ambition is dangerous, cruel, and destructive; devoid of all meaning, understanding and consideration – just look at the horror in the Ukraine and Middle East.
However, our Gospel for this weekend reminds us that the question of ‘Who is the greatest?’ was alive and well in ancient times and even among Jesus’ first disciples. The brothers James and John took an opportunity to stake their claim to be the greatest among the disciples, as they misunderstood greatness to be. They asked Jesus for the best seats in the house, the best seats in His Kingdom. The other disciples took exception to this, but their annoyance was only in the fact that James and John had got their request in ahead of them! The others felt that they too had what it took for similar greatness and position.
Unfortunately for them all, their ambitions are quickly ended.
While fixated on the question of ‘Who is the greatest?’ Jesus makes them think of the more important and challenging question, ‘Of what does greatness consist of?’ It is only when we have answered and witnessed to the question, ‘Of what does greatness consist of?’ can the question, ‘Who is the greatest?’ be answered.
Jesus never spoke of Himself as being great, yet in everything that He said and did, He proved His greatness. But His greatness was defined through what we call ‘kenosis,’ that is, His self-emptying love of others, even His enemies. In everything, Jesus never put Himself or His own interests first. He put others first. In the end, He would sacrifice Himself so that all others would be saved. As He declared at the end of the Gospel, He came “not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Friends, in a world where some see and exercise their self-considered greatness only in force of arms, war, conflict, death and destruction, the rest of us see not greatness but madness. But yet, all of our lives have been beautifully touched by people who in selfless ways have done so much, for so many. We have people in our families, our community and thankfully, in our society at large, who without looking for anything in return, have served, loved, and committed themselves to us and others in so many ways. Once we have met them, or experienced them, we never forget them. We say of them, they are great!
No doubts too, but there have been many occasions in your own lives when you have risen to this same greatness also. I am sure there has been countless times when you gave of yourselves to others, at some cost to yourselves, without any benefit. Doing so, may not have always come easy, as such a way of life did not come easy to the Apostles either, but still such selfless service expresses true greatness – our greatness as disciples of the Lord and children of God.
St. Thomas Aquinas defined true love as that which willed the good of another. Let us pray that in our world today, the only ambition of society, its leaders and people, will be for the good of others – showing greatness in generosity, service, and peace because now more than ever, is such a way of life and love needed in our troubles world.
Fr. Richard