Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time (B) [Mk 10:35-45]
17.10.2021
Ambitious
and Power-crazy Apostles
1. Theme in
brief
Christian
understanding of power
2. Focus
Statement:
Christian
disciples are called to use their power and authority not for domination or
“lording it over,” nor for exploitation, but for service to the point of making
painful sacrifices as Jesus did.
3. Explanation of the text
Today’s gospel tells us about two
things: (1) the weakness that the Twelve apostles had for power, position and honour, and (2) Jesus’ views on the manner
in which his disciples should use their power. The text shows how human the apostles were and how impure and ambitious their motives. They completely failed
to understand the nature of Jesus’ Kingdom. They were still thinking of him as
a political Messiah who would defeat the Romans and establish an earthly
kingdom. James and John thought when he would become a king in the near future,
they had a better claim to be his chief ministers for these reasons: (1) they
belonged to his inner circle and were his close and trusted confidants; (2) he had picked them up to be with
him when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Mk 5:21-43) and was
transfigured before them (Mk 9:2-8); and (3) according to some scholars
probably they were his cousins. They wanted to use the good offices of a close
relative for their own promotion. They approached Jesus with the hope
that he would do for them whatever they would ask of him (10:35).
In return, when Jesus asked James and
John about their greatest wish, they requested him to give them most important seats at his right and left hand (10:37)
without knowing that soon there would be two criminals or thieves on his right
and left side on the cross. Sitting at his
right and left hand implied their wish to be his chief advisors. Jesus replied their ambitious question
by challenging them whether they were willing to drink the cup of suffering he would drink, and take the baptism of blood he would take (10:38) – thus
symbolically referring to his sacrificial
death. In other
words, he compared his approaching suffering and death to drinking a bitter cup and undergoing a baptism or immersion in blood. He was asking them whether
they were willing to be immersed (or baptized) in his sacrificial death. They
answered that they were able (10:39) without understanding that one day they
themselves would have to drink the bitter cup of persecution for Jesus’ sake,
or without knowing that one day they would run away when Jesus would be
arrested (Mk 14:50). But Jesus told them plainly that the seats requested by
them were reserved by his Father for those who were willing to share his
passion and death (10:40). James and John seemed to have totally missed the
point.
Naturally, the request of James and
John must have created a deep resentment among the other ten. The other ten
were no better than James and John. They too were claimants for higher posts. Mark had already mentioned that they
too had similar ambitions and were quarrelling among themselves who would be
the greatest among them (Mk 9:34). They must have thought that James and John had
already got bigger posts which each one wanted for himself. Hence they were angry and jealous of those two (10:41). At this point, Jesus began to instruct
them about his notion of power and authority.
Jesus taught
them, according to worldly
standards, greater the power, greater is the supremacy. In the world, one’s
greatness is measured by how many people one controls; how much wealth one has; how much military power one possesses. Jesus
showed those Gentile rulers as negative examples of how power should be used. They
“lord it over them”
and “tyrannize” them (10:42). By
saying, “It should not be so among you” (10:43), he made it clear that the
standards of worldly kingdom – to which they were so much attracted and
attached – are totally different from his standards. According to him, a person
does not become ‘great’ just because he has power and authority. In his
kingdom, the ‘great’ person is the person who is willing to become a “servant” (10:43). As he
repeated this principle, he used a more radical term and said that real greatness
could be claimed only when a person was willing to become a “slave of all” (10:43).
Further, Jesus instructed them that he
had come to give his life or give up his life in
sacrifice as a ransom for many (10:45), which meant for all. In those days, ‘ransom’ was the amount of money paid to the master to buy
the freedom of a slave. What Jesus meant was that he would pay the price of his own blood to redeem humankind. In other words,
he redeemed humanity at the cost of his own life. His death would be the ultimate proof of his sacrificial service for the redemption of all. He took upon himself
the form of a servant and came not to be ministered to or to be waited upon,
but to minister (serve) or to wait on others like a
slave (10:45).
4. Application to life
In all of us there is a desire for power and prestige. In today’s gospel, James and John are shown to be the ones who were
hankering after power and the rest of the apostles are shown to be competing with them for the same. Like them, it
is natural for many of us to feel ambitious for power– though quite often it is subconscious and hidden. In the world
we notice a power
struggle as well as abuse or misuse of power in various fields
and states of life. In today’s text Jesus expresses his opposition to the abuse
of power, because it was precisely the abuse of power by the Jewish religious
authorities that resulted in his condemnation to death. Instead of nursing ambitions of power and position
and using them only for ourselves, Jesus calls us to use that power for ministering to the needs of our neighbours. At the Last Supper he himself took the
role of a slave when he washed his disciples’ feet
(Jn 13:1-16). For him greatness consisted not in how many people will be at our
service but how much can we serve others.
Today, Jesus personally reminds us his disciples not to hanker after rank, titles, and honours and curb our tendencies for power-mongering. Authority/ power exercised by Christian leaders, parents and superiors is not meant for domination, exploitation of the weak, taking advantage of their ignorance and powerlessness, but for ministering to their needs and working for their good. All the positions of authority for us are not meant only to fill our own pockets but also occasions to serve. People use power to fill their pockets not only with money but also with authoritarianism, power-conscious attitudes, pompous behaviour and promotion of a VIP-culture, cheap popularity, and desire for all types of titles and honours.
Jesus’ teaching on the Christian meaning of power
applies not only to political and religious heads/ leaders but also to tribal
chieftains and village headmen too. As per their tradition, the tribal chiefs
and heads of village communities are supposed to catch and punish
social offenders in their community. Fair enough, if it is done in a
justifiable manner as a social control measure. But as Christian disciples their
main concern should be how to use their authority for reforming and reconciling
those who have gone astray or deviated from the right path; or how to bring the
offenders/ social deviants to the mainstream
of society. Even if they need to follow the traditions/ customs/ rules of their
tribal system and impose reasonable fines on social offenders, at the end of
the day they need to show compassion, especially when they admit their
wrongdoing, and accept them into the community with clear words of forgiveness and reconciliation. If they could use their power
in this way, they could render a wonderful service to the community by becoming
ministers of reconciliation
and peace, by bringing back the strayed ‘sheep.’
While exercising power, Christians are called to be totally different from worldly rulers. Jesus clearly tells his disciples that their ambition for power for ‘lording it over’ others is a gentile perspective, not at all Christian. In his time, most of the rulers abused their powers. Their main concern was not so much to work for the welfare of the citizens, but to exercise control over them; not so much to protect them but to get their support and allegiance for their own splendour or grandeur. The Gentile rulers used power as a tool of coercion and control to dominate others and secure their own power or control. In God’s Kingdom honour belongs to those who serve rather than those who exact service from others. Jesus says that the greatness of his disciples is measured by the use of power to serve people. Depending on the linguistic usage of some communities, sometimes they speak of their leaders “dying” for power, and once those who are dying for it come into power, people say, they “get drunk” or intoxicated with power. The reason may be, they see so many negative examples such as dictatorship, authoritarianism and excesses of power exercised by political, civil, ecclesiastical, religious and tribal authorities.
For common people, the
word ‘leader’ in civil society and politics often connotes one who can wield a
lot of power. As Jesus taught, it should not be so in the Church. Instead of
seeking promotion
and positions, Church leaders are called to render humble service either to the
community or to the needy of human society. To
be at the service of others entails sacrifice of personal ambitions for power
and positions. Though many of us highly appreciate Pope Francis’
simplicity and shining example of reaching out to the marginalized, it is a
different matter how many of us really imitate his style of simplicity and leadership.
Both in today’s gospel as well as in
John’s, Jesus calls his sacrificial death on the cross an act of supreme service to humankind. In Jn13:7 he says that the real meaning of his washing the
feet of disciples – which is an example of humble service – will be understood
only “later on,” that is, when he will sacrifice his life on the cross. In
today’s gospel also he says that he has come not to be served but serve to the
extent of paying the price of a sacrificial death (called “ransom”). In other
words, he paid the price of sacrificial death on the cross to render an act of
supreme service, namely salvation of humankind. This is the message we get:
there is no service without sacrifice and every sacrifice we do out of love for
others is a great service for them. Even our visit to a sick person in the
neighbourhood is an act of service; of course at the cost of sacrificing our
time. As the world advances further and
further, people say they have no time for any service outside their families.
Since many do not want to sacrifice their time or find it painful, they say so
as an excuse. It shows that the quality of our love is dwindling day by day and
we are becoming more and more self-centred. Jesus always reminds us that we are called not to
be served but to serve and spend ourselves in service of others. He came to give his life as the price to make us free. Like him, we are called to serve to the point of giving our life for the welfare of others.
In English language, a job is called a ‘service’ because of the service rendered to the organization or to human society through it. Though earning money by doing jobs is essential for living, according to Jesus’ mind Christian jobholders need to consider their jobs not only as a means to earn money and live a decent life (which they are ought to do), but also as a means to render service to the nation or human society. When we do our jobs only for money, even smaller tensions of responsibilities in jobplaces look great; but when we do them with a higher motive of rendering a valuable service to human society or building up a welfare society, even bigger tensions become bearable. When we travel alone to our workplaces (or while we go for wage-earning in rural areas), it is a very beneficial habit to bring these thoughts to our mind that we are going to work to make not only our life but also other people’s life happy and comfortable. We need to think about the wonderful opportunity the Lord has provided us to be at the service of society and nation. If not, the monotony and routine of daily work will eat us up!
5. Response to God's Word
How
do we exercise our power as parents, teachers, leaders, pastors, superiors,
managers….? Do we use it for domination,
exploitation of the weak, taking advantage of their ignorance
and powerlessness or for service? Do
we abuse our power to use it only to fill
our own pockets, or to exhibit authoritarianism, power-consciousness, pompous
behaviour or cheap popularity? What is our attitude towards our daily work/
duty/ job? Parents, teachers, and all Christians who exercise leadership roles
must ask themselves, “Do I lord it over my children, co-workers and
colleagues?” Priests and religious who have dedicated themselves to the service
of the Church and the people must ask, “Am I here to be served or to serve and
spend my life for the people entrusted to my care?” Those who have left their
native place to become missionaries in another region have to ask, “Am I here
to lord it over the local people, or to serve and learn from them?”
6. A prayer
Lord,
I offer you all my duties and responsibilities in my workplace and also in my
family, society and the Church. Grant that I may use my power and authority in
all these areas with an attitude of service and human welfare, knowing well
that service done to humanity is service done to you. Deliver me from all type
of unhealthy ambitions at the cost of others, and tendencies towards authoritarianism,
abuse of power and seeking after honours and titles. Amen.
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