Reflection for Sunday 20th October, 2024

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Christ the Servant (Mark 10:35-45)

For the past few weeks, the Sunday readings from Mark’s Gospel set us on the road to follow Jesus on the way towards his death and resurrection in Jerusalem. The Gospel each week has been a challenge asking us are we true followers or not.

Today’s Gospel is about the wrong ambitions still nurtured by the apostles. What Jesus had been saying to them about his forthcoming death had not sunk in one iota. It often happens that unwelcome news hits a wall of denial. And it seems that they remembered nothing of their earlier argument regarding which of them was the greatest.

On that occasion, Jesus told them,

“If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.”

“No, anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be the first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 The brothers, James and John, came looking for a favour. But there was something horribly selfish in their request. They often heard Jesus talk about God’s kingdom. Thoughts of earthly power and prestige grew in their minds. The favour they wanted was nothing less than the two highest places in this misunderstood kingdom, one to sit at his right hand, the other at his left. Jesus took their request in the most compassionate way possible by allowing for their ignorance. “You do not know what you are asking.”
The other ten apostles were no better. They were not one bit pleased that the brothers were trying to steal a march on them.

Jesus came to serve

It was time for Jesus to call them together. He outlined his ideal of leadership and authority. “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 the first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Where do we stand today?

The word of God in sacred scripture is like an X-ray penetrating the secret thoughts of the mind and emotions of the heart. Like the apostles, do we as individuals need to learn that true followers of Jesus are those who serve? Is it a challenge to the Church as a whole?
When Pope Francis chose the name of the poor man of Assisi it was a statement of his understanding of the mission of the Church. The first line of every Franciscan rule is about the observance of the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Pope Francis’ idea of tradition was not about retaining the centuries when bishops lived in palaces, cardinals were princes and holy Mother Church would answer to nobody as scandals were covered up. In his first Christmas address to the Roman Curia, Pope Francis identified careerism and whispering in the corridors among the practices to be addressed.
Ambition can be either good or bad. It sets our ideals as a target to aim at. It becomes a source of energy and dedication. But ambition will be harmful when it becomes selfish, as in the case of James and John.
Saint Paul directed the people in Corinth to be ambitious for the higher gifts, especially the sort of love which is expressed in humble service. It is generous, patient, kind, never resentful or jealous, always putting the other person first. “Anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be the slave to all.”
Mission Sunday
This is Mission Sunday. The theme chosen for this year is Go and invite everyone to the banquet (Matt 22:9). The mission of the Church is not confined to priests and nuns but it is a mission for everybody who received the light of the Easter candle at their baptism. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. He simplified the last judgement to one question: what did you do or what did you neglect to do to the least of my beloved people? His mother, Mary, described herself as the handmaid or servant of the Lord.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, you came to show us how to serve one another. You emptied yourself of divine glory when you came in the poverty of a human body. You came to serve and to give your life as a ransom for many. You did the slave’s job when you washed the feet of the disciples. Open our minds and hearts to follow in your footsteps. May we live as people here to serve. You have no hands now but ours.