Wednesday March 15
There is a certain sadness to today’s gospel, for the disciples seem to be totally out of sync with Jesus and Jesus appears to be lonely though surrounded by the disciples. All along the way, Jesus is patiently explaining to them his impending humiliation, passion, and death.
These are themes that should make a disciple’s heart skip a beat and be worried for Jesus. Perhaps Jesus would have liked a word of consolation or concern, a gentle hand on his shoulders. Instead, the disciples are caught up in a fight over who will claim the best of positions when Jesus comes in glory. A failure of empathy. The disciples seem to have lost sensitivity to the person as well as his message.
Are there moments in our lives when we turn insensitive to the sufferings of Christ in the people around us (“Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” [Acts 9:4]), but are caught up in our petty, ego-centric projects?
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The naive claim of the mother of the sons of Zebedee, her desire to see them become ministers of the Messianic kingdom of Jesus, collides with the words of Christ himself forming the code of true Christian authority. It is a power very different from what is exercised by politicians and the powerful. It is choosing the humble service of love and commitment. It is the great who humbles himself, becoming a servant; the first is to be a slave and helps his brothers. Jesus is always the model who announces his mission for the third time: to give his life as a ransom for many.
