Gospel Mark 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
They said to him, “We can.” 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; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, 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.”
Homily
One of the characteristics of childhood is the ability to dream. The dreams of childhood, of whatever stuff they are made are always of impending glory. Be the dreams of athletics or world cup soccer; be they of Hollywood stardom or politics; be they of economic advancement or professional expertise, they always mean having the ability to be placed above others, whether the motive be good or bad. The motives very often depend on the environment out of which the dreamer comes.
Once this happens, the male reproductive organ becomes http://www.slovak-republic.org/lesser-fatra/ overnight shipping cialis hard and erect with firm erection. Erectile dysfunction is a sexual inhibiting disorder which takes away the ability of men in levitra overnight delivery attaining tough penile erection by which they can have long hours of sexual pleasure. More important, wholesale viagra pills slovak-republic.org you’ll want to comprehend that a museum director, Dr. Therefore, men may rest assured that a viagra 25 mg slovak-republic.org pill is not sufficient in itself to trigger sexual desire in men. Some years ago I met a ten year old whose dream was to be a bandit. On the other hand, one of the books I most treasure is one called the “Family that overtook God”. It is the story of St. Bernard and his family who all strove to outdo each other in chivalry but chivalry towards God. I thought of the above as I began preparing for the homily for this weekend because of the words of the sons of Zebedee, James and John. They tell Jesus, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” The disciples are of course thinking of earthly glory. Jesus has to teach them that in the Kingdom which he came to proclaim, glory is never about power and status, it is always about servanthood and the conviction that one has to have an attitude of servanthood in all relationships. This of course is totally against the culture of the world in which we live.
In the Caribbean to speak of servanthood is to bring back many painful memories associated with indentureship and slavery. Yet a deep meditation on the incarnation, reveals to us a messiah who reversed the movement of upward mobility which still characterizes our world and lived in his very flesh a movement of downward mobility. But Jesus not only lived this movement, he asked his disciples to make it the pattern of their lives. “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be
first among you will be the slave of all.” Glory therefore for disciples of Jesus, is seen in lives spent in the service of others, not in the amount of power one that one can accumulate. Our heroes in the faith, the saints lived this and you and I are called to live the same.
The implication of all of this is that unless we begin to dream of being saints, we find it very difficult to live the downward mobility which is the sign of holiness. In the age of knights, when all young men dreamt of living the chivalry which characterized the nobles of his age, the future St Bernard dreamt of living a greater chivalry. His passion for this greater chivalry influenced others to join him in the Cistercian life. St Damian of Molokai dreamt of bringing lepers to know the love of Christ and left everything to make this a reality. In the present age in which we speak so glibly of “Love”, the passion of Teresa of Calcutta for true love led her and her companions to spend their lives serving those dying on the streets of Calcutta. Today we have to have passion for the modern day equivalent of the chivalry of St Bernard and the passionate love of Teresa of Calcutta and our families have to be schools of authentic discipleship so that our young persons may again dream of heroic lives spent in the service of God and those most in need.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God the world in which we live glorifies power and wealth. Our young people dream of status and the comfort which wealth can bring. We no longer dream of sainthood and the heroism which sanctity demands. Help us your people to not be satisfied with mediocrity. Help us to seek the glory which only comes through the selfless love which you taught us on the cross. Help us to be touched and energized by the examples of the saints who lived this selfless love. Help us your disciples to dare to live heroically. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our mother and Jesus your Son .Amen
