The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
“What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
In this reading it is clear that the sons of Zebedee do not fully understand the fate of Jesus. They do not clearly understand the purpose of Jesus' mission and fail to understand their relationship with God and God's people. Jesus' message is about serving others and being meek. This is because when we become full of ourselves we forget the true things in life: loving God and loving our neighbour. We make ourselves into gods when we wish to lord over others. Today's reading reminds us that true freedom and success is not about boosting our own ego, but deconstructing ourselves and allowing the Holy Spirit to be our true guide.
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