Thursday, July 25, 2013
St. James, Apostle
1st Reading: 2 Cor
4:7-15 Gospel: Matthew 20:20-28
The mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down to ask a favor. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?” And she answered, “Here you have my two sons. Grant that they may sit, one at your right and one at your left, when you are in your kingdom.”
Jesus said to the brothers, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We can.” Jesus replied, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right or at my left is not for me to grant. That will be for those for whom the Father has prepared it.”
The other ten heard all this and were angry with the two brothers. Then Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations act as tyrants, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you; whoever wants to be more important in your group shall make himself your servant. And if you want to be first, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man who has come, not to be served but to serve and to give his life to redeem many.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Struggle for power is destructive. As Bertrand Russell skillfully puts it, “War does not determine who is right but who is left”. Despite the unavoidable collateral damage, however, many people pursue the struggle, including the disciples who were supposed to be attuned to the concerns of the soul. Mark’s version of Today’s Gospel says that it was not their mother who arranged for reserved seats in heaven but James and John themselves (Mark 10:37). The request came close to a demand and amounted to a false claim because determining who should sit at the left or at the right hand of Jesus was a matter of discretion by the Father.
The reaction of the other disciples showed that they too were eyeing on the same seats. Jesus knew what kind of followers they were and what their motives were. Yet he did not give up on them but tried all means to educate them. He even taught them by example. In many instances he refused to perform miracles to impress the public even if such could have won for him so many instant followers. All the time he refused to move higher until it was time to climb the cross. And when he was up there, he was higher than Calvary – higher than his ordeal. This is the height one reaches when he seeks the power to serve.
Did the disciples learn? At Calvary they disserted him like they had followed the wrong Messiah who turned out not to be an heir to a throne but to a cross. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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