Mark 10:32-45 NRSVue
32They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33saying, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the gentiles; 34they will mock him and spit upon him and flog him and kill him, and after three days he will rise again.”
35James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 36And he said to them, “What is it you want me to do for you?” 37And they said to him, “Appoint us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” 38But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” 39They replied, “We are able.” Then Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized you will be baptized, 40but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to appoint, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
41When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43But it is not so among you; instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”
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Some thoughts on this scripture
Reflection
The apostles heard what Jesus told them with their heads, but not their hearts. We become able to hear with the heart only when we enter into the experience of another. But this means making ourselves vulnerable to their pain.
Reflection
We can sometimes feel that friends and family do not really understand and support us. They may be preoccupied with their own cares. This is what Jesus experiences here. But he understands and supports me in my struggles, and I in turn can learn to support others.
Reflection
The apostles heard what Jesus told them with their heads, but not their hearts. We become able to hear with the heart only when we enter into the experience of another. But this means making ourselves vulnerable to their pain.
Reflection
We can sometimes feel that friends and family do not really understand and support us. They may be preoccupied with their own cares. This is what Jesus experiences here. But he understands and supports me in my struggles, and I in turn can learn to support others.
Reflection
James and John wanted to have the places of honour for themselves. How often even the followers of Jesus get caught up seeking honours, titles and insignia, thinking that in this way they are honouring God! Jesus was interested rather in their willingness to drink the same chalice he was going to drink. I ask for the grace to be able to drink the chalice when it is offered to me, and not to be seduced by the attractions of prestige.
Reflection
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. I stay prayerfully with these words of Jesus and consider how true these words are. I hear them as a call for me too, to make them my own, as I desire to live a life of service to others. I ask for pardon when I choose to be served rather than to serve.