Not to be served but to serve

 Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 17th October 2021

Gospel Mark 10: 35–45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus. ‘Master,’ they said to him, ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’, Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for the seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant: they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’

When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

The cup that I must drink

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

I come to my place of prayer. I take the time to relax my body as I come into God’s presence. I remind myself that I am enveloped in his unconditional love.

In time, I read the Gospel slowly. I picture James and John – their youth, impetuousness, confidence and ambition. What are my attitudes as I come before the Lord with my requests?

I contemplate Jesus’s reaction. I consider his gentleness and patience, but also his direct teaching, his humility. Can I learn something from his example in my dealings with others? I speak to him about this.

Perhaps I can also learn from the indignation of the other disciples?

How do my reactions fit in with Jesus’s call to me to serve, and to be willing to suffer for the sake of others?

I spend time speaking to him about my feelings ... and maybe also about my reluctance. I ask him for the graces I need to follow him more closely.

I end my prayer with gratitude for his gift of himself.

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