Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Where could you go and say, “I want you to do for us whatever I ask of you?” Tell me one place where life works like that. Yet, that is exactly what James and John said to Jesus. They said, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you" (Mk 10:
Let me put today’s readings in a context. The way the gospel of Mark is written the central question of the Gospel occurs in the central section of Mark’s gospel Mk 8:29-10:45). It begins with Mk :8:29, where Jesus asked his disciples the question, “Who do you say that I am?” Once Peter made the messianic confession, “You are the Christ,” Jesus began to reveal to the disciples that his messiahship included suffering and death. This came as a shock to the disciples. After Peter’s confession, Jesus predicted his passion three times. After each passion prediction, Jesus gave his disciples a lesson discipleship, especially since they did not understand Jesus’ messiahship. Today gospel reading, where we hear James and John’s “Whatever we ask you,” question and Jesus teaching on servanthood, occurred after the third passion prediction.
There is a pattern in Mk 8:27-10:52:
Peter’s Confession: You are the Christ (Mk 8:27-30).
Jesus’ Frist Passion Prediction (Mk 8:31)
Disciples are oblivious - Peter rebukes Jesus (Mk 8:32)
Jesus’ lesson in discipleship: “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me” (Mk 8: 34-38).
Jesus’ Second Passion Prediction (Mk 9:31)
Disciples are oblivious - “Who is the greatest? (Mk 9:33-34)
Jesus’ lesson in discipleship: “Whoever wants to be the first must be the servant of all” (Mk 9:35-37).
Jesus’ Third Passion Prediction (Mk 10:33-34)
Disciples are oblivious - “Do for us whatever we ask” (Mk 10:35).
Jesus’ lesson in discipleship: “Whoever wants to be the greatest must be the servant of all” (Mk 10:42-45)
In other words, Jesus taught his disciples about the costs and demands of discipleship against the background of his own impending suffering and death.
Today’s lesson is, “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." Isaiah’s prophecy in today’s first reading had prepared Israel for a very different kind of Messiah. This Messiah was not a warmongering, triumphalist, condemning messiah but one who would lay his life as a ransom for the world. Israel, just like the disciples, did not understand this kind of messiahship. For Jesus, without radical self-surrender is no salvation. In other words, Jesus’ own life is a paradigm for discipleship.
I would like to draw three practical implications from today’s readings.
A Spiritual Paradigm Shift
The first point that today’s readings present is a paradigm shift in the way we conceive religion, faith and spirituality. It calls for moving from a “Whatever we ask you” relationship with God to a “Lord, what I can do for you?” spirituality.
Our relationship with God on the most primary level has to be independent of any fringe benefits. Faith and discipleship are not about “Whatever we ask.” Jesus points the way to Christian growth and maturity by pointing to his own suffering and death. Christian discipleship is not about waiting for God to do things for us, but rather, being at the service of God’s kingdom and God’s people. This his change of focus of our faith often calls for a paradigm shift.
The Call to Conversion
In all the three lessons of discipleship that Jesus gives, the consistent message is of humility self-denial, and servanthood. C. S. Lewis once said that humility is not thinking less of yourself, but rather, thinking of yourself less. This is exactly what Jesus meant when he said, that to be first we must be last; that to be the greatest, we must be the servant of all; that we must deny ourselves not in a way that denies us our dignity but in a way that empowers us to take up our cross and follow Christ all the way to the resurrection and eternity.
In our daily lives this means conducting ourselves in a way that honours Christ and the Gospel above all else, especially our own selves; that gives people their God-endowed respect and dignity; that we embrace life with all its complexities in the same way that Jesus embraced his cross; that we treat the earth and all God’s gift with the sense of reverence and awe; that we see in the poor and those on the periphery of life the face of Christ; that we forgive those who hurt us and dare to love even our enemies.
Determining Our Eternity
Do we want to know if we will truly sit one at the right and one at the left hand of God? The answer is simple, but it does not lie in “We want you to do for us whatever we ask.” If we want to assure ourselves of a life with God, then the humility, the love, and service of Jesus must characterize our lives.
Discipleship is a life of humility, of self-denial and of servanthood. To rephrase C.S. Lewis, discipleship is not thinking less of ourselves, but thinking of ourselves less. Discipleship is the journey of walking behind Jesus with fellow disciples and giving ourselves selflessly to the work of furthering God’s reign.
In conclusion let me say this: Today’s second reading ends with the words, “So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (Heb 4:16) This altar is the throne of grace. Here we relive the suffering, death and resurrection of the suffering servant of God. Let us approach this throne of grace, so that we might be disciples who walk in the footsteps of Jesus who “did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
- Fr. Satish Joseph