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Gospel Reading for May 29, 2024 – Mark 10: 32-45
THE LEAST BUT THE BEST
The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. “Behold, 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 and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.”
Then 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 chalice 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 chalice 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.”
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Christianity often teaches or “prompts” us to make paradigm shifts. Take for example, the meaning of leadership. In the secular world, a leader is expected to be on top of everyone in the group he/she represents. They enjoy honor and perks, and a lot of them even have subordinates who kowtow to them. Most leaders in the secular world have a need to be admired and even adored, always wanting to hear good things about themselves, and always making a count of their accomplishments. Perhaps, James and John were thinking along this line. Perhaps what they heard was only “after three days he will rise” and not the suffering and humiliation that Jesus would have to go through.
A Christian leader would be someone like Jesus – the opposite of a leader in the secular world. A Christian leader takes responsibility for all who are given to his/her care that even if he has to die in order for them to live, he would. He is not the one who will receive protection first, because he will protect his people first. A Christian leader is one who serves and not one who is served. He/she does not expect to receive anything in return for the good things he/she does for his/her people because he/she gladly and wholeheartedly does it for them. Hence, to be great in the eyes of God, is to be the least in the order of importance but the best in serving others. In short, to be truly great is to be THE LEAST BUT THE BEST.
Lord Jesus, teach us to be like you in every way wherever we may be!
