Ambition of James and John
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.”
REFLECTION
THE TEMPTATION OF POWER. Jesus has intimated for the third time to His disciples that they are going to Jerusalem where He will be condemned and killed, in the manner of the mysterious Suffering Servant of God who by His suffering “shall justify the many” (Is 53:11). With a touch of irony, Mark records that at this solemn and sorrowful occasion, the Zebedee brothers are lost in their political illusions of religious triumphalism. They ask Jesus a share of power and profess to merit it by their resolve to stick with Jesus through thick and thin.
Jesus takes the occasion to inculcate a lesson on power and authority on the two brothers and the other ten disciples who behave no better, getting jealous of the two. Power is shown by a person’s ability to stoop down and serve; the greatest among Jesus’ followers are those who forget their position so as to minister to the needs of all.
Mark gives his readers two pictures. On one side is the despotic Herod Antipas who makes his importance felt by living in a grandiose palace, taxing the people, and deciding the fate of his servants. On the other side is Jesus who mingles with the poor and the outcast, who pays taxes, and who is later brought to trial before the high priests and rulers.
The lines are clearly drawn. When the disciple aims for power and takes side with the oppressors, he betrays his master. When the disciple who has been given the power and authority in the community turns to be a proud despot, looking for influence, he destroys the Church, turning it merely into a sociopolitical organization. When the Christian community allows itself to be blinded by the fascination of power and the strength of structure, it is no different from the pagans. It cannot be like that with Jesus’ disciples.
Paul describes “positions” as “charisms,” gifts of the Holy Spirit for the service of Christ’s body (cf 1 Cor 12:2731). “Power” in the Church comes from service, and this, in a sense, is not determined by “positions” or “offices.” St. Augustine, reflecting on his position as a bishop, wrote: “What I am with you gives me joy, what I am for you frightens me. For with you, I am a Christian; for you I am a bishop. The former is grace, the latter is an office. The former is salvation, the latter a temptation.”