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.”

Reflection on the Gospel

Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.

Often we are like James and John asking or commanding God to do whatever we ask Him to do.   He could easily respond with a “Do you know what you are asking?” but He doesn’t.  God allows us to ask for anything we want, but He doesn’t necessarily give it to us.  He knows what is best for us, and if we can truly drink the cup that we are to share with Him.    Can we be like James and John and say, “Yes, I can drink of the cup”?  How often do we become like the other ten who became indignant towards James and John by being annoyed at those that always seem to ask and receive?  Pope Francis in his recent trip to the United States and Cuba reminded us that as Jesus tells us in the Gospel that if we wish to be “great” that we are to serve others.  May we remember that any little action, like opening a door, smiling at a stranger, helping someone or just simply being nice to those that annoy us, is a service to others and to God.

Ms. Mary Woolley
La Salle Academy – New York, NY

Saint John Baptist de La Salle – Pray for us.
Live, Jesus, in our hearts – Forever