For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first of all shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

- Mark 10:32-45

 Yesterday we read that as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  My study bible points out here that Christ's repeated predictions of His Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they would face.  It suggests that this also confirms that Christ was going to His death of His own will and choosing.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  My study bible suggests that this question on the part of James and John Zebedee for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple.  It says that this shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  In Matthew's Gospel, we are told that it was the mother of Zebedee's sons who requested this honor (Matthew 20:20-21).  But clearly from their answer in the plural (and the text here in Mark), John and James themselves are involved in this request!  That's important, because it is consistent in the Gospels that we are given the mistaken understandings of the disciples, and their correction by Christ.  It tells us that we are all on a journey, and our faith and discipleship is not about immediate perfection.  Jesus makes this clear by telling them, "You do not know what you ask."   My study bible also comments that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  The Cross is a cup, it says, because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is baptism, as He was completely immersed in it, and yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6). 

So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first of all shall be slave of all."   Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in the same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom that each will indeed lead after Pentecost.  James would be the first among the apostles to be martyred (Acts 12:1-2).  John would face persecutions throughout his life, including exile on the island of Patmos, where the Revelation occurred (Revelation 1:9).  My study bible adds that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give does not mean that He lacks authority.  Instead, it means that they are not His to give arbitrarily.  Those places will be given instead to those for whom God has prepared them.   St. John Chrysostom comments with regard to those sitting as equals on the right and left hand of Christ in His Kingdom, that no one could possibly occupy this position.  Regarding the highest places of honor given to human beings, the icons of the Orthodox Church universally depict the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women, Luke 1:28), and John the Baptist (greatest born of women, Matthew 11:11) holding these places.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."   For many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

Over the past several readings, Jesus has been emphasizing humility and service, as well as sacrifice.  He has emphasized the apostles' care of the littlest ones, and made it clear the highest penalty would be paid for abuse.  He has taught about divorce, and the hardness of heart involved in easy divorce.  He has also spoken about the precious value of children in His sight.  In today's reading, there is once again a dispute about places of greatness (see also Monday's reading, which began this "cycle" of recent readings).  In today's case, it is James and John Zebedee who, in a sense, separate themselves from the rest of the disciples, and ask for the particular places of honor they desire.  But Jesus teaches them about honor by speaking about sacrifice.  He speaks of Himself first as one who will sacrifice, as He begins addressing this question by speaking about His own cup and baptism.  That is, His cup of the Crucifixion, and His baptism of death.  In a sense, He is telling them that they must be prepared to follow Him even into these places of the greatest sacrifice -- if they wish these places on His right and His left.  But even so, He cannot give these places in an arbitrary sense.  When we think of this Kingdom, we must accept that it is a communion far greater, wider, and deeper than we can understand.  Moreover, even He will defer to this wider authority than we understand.  But this leads Christ to a profound conclusion for all of us who live in this world and seek to serve that Kingdom, for Christ compares the values that govern His understanding of greatness to those which govern worldly kingdoms, when He says, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them."  He uses this as stark contrast to the living Kingdom which the apostles will bear into the world, and which we as faithful seek also to bear into the world, when He says, "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first of all shall be slave of all."  So, in the first place, Jesus seeks to give us an understanding of greatness for ourselves that is at odds with the "greatness" of the worldly.  Moreover, this teaching about sacrifice also applies to us, who form the Church today, as much as it did to the apostles.  We are once more given the understanding that to participate in Christ's kingdom, we will seek to follow Him wherever He leads.  But let's think for a moment about a pragmatic way of turning to this thinking about greatness.  We have modern notions of greatness that also have to do with aspirational achievement of a certain status within the society.  Due to the huge machinery of public relations, which also includes every medium of communication open to us today, we might think of rap stars, movie stars, or pop stars of any kind as "great."  We have ratings agencies that monitor the attention the public pays to various public spectacles (for want of a better word) such as popular television programs, or sports spectacles.  We follow our favorite teams, or city teams in all kinds of sports.  Individual athletes, as in the ancient world, may also be considered great.  We root for politicians and parties, we hate their opposition.  But Jesus addresses directly the notion of power as tied with greatness, and that worldly notion of power as one who may "lord it over" another.  In this sense, we can still see Jesus' understanding in the ways in which the person who occupies a "great" place may exploit, use, and command power over others.  There is a great deal of popular attention to the abuse of positions of "greatness," especially private abuses of individuals (such as sexual abuse of any kind) that would not be so readily tolerated by others.  In this difference we can see to some degree the conflict of Jesus' perspective with a worldly perspective.  But far from being merely moralistic, Jesus' understanding of greatness extends right down to our identity and existence, for we are to see ourselves within a continuum in which the One who sacrificed for all is at the top.  And it is this "greatness" with which we are to ally ourselves and our sense of ourselves.  Those for whom aspiration includes a place of greatness in which we may simply "lord it over" others are therefore still opposed to the kingdom of God.  For there is a fundamental disconnect between these concepts of greatness.  As we still, to a certain extent, live in a world in which some who lord it over others are seen as great, let us consider where our own understanding of greatness comes into our lives in order to monitor or regular our responses to life.  What do we admire?  Whom do we admire?  To what sort of greatness do we aspire?  Moreover, we could ask ourselves what sort of greatness we model for others.  Do we show the maturity of sacrifice for the sake of the good?  Or are our own notions of greatness for ourselves nevertheless tinged with the selfishness of this worldly model Christ presents of the Gentile kingdoms?  What kind of love do we carry?  What friendships are important to us?  Where is our honor?  We live in a world rich in material goods and prosperity, particularly for those "first world" countries at the top of a list of developed or industrial nations.  But at the moment, as I write my blog, due to the pandemic of the coronavirus, each country is to some extent shutting down its usual economic activity in order to combat the virus, so that health care systems do not become more overwhelmed than necessary.  This is an admitted prioritization of particular need over other need, and it is also a prioritization of health care for all who may have access to that system.  So we see ourselves as sacrificing for the greater good.  We call our doctors heroes, as well as so many others who work for us all.  At this time, let us stop to consider our models of greatness.  How do they fit with this particular time, or our actions right now?  What can we do to get more closely in touch with Christ's vision for what makes us truly great?  It is a good time, an important and essential time to focus in prayer.  For it is in a crisis like this that time for ourselves in prayer is so important.  Through prayer we will find strength and hone our top priorities.    We will find guidance for how to conduct ourselves through uncertainty.  And we will focus on better ideas of what is essential and important, and what is not.  It is at times like these, in fact, that God lifts up the lowly and scatters the proud in their conceit (Luke 1:46-55).  If we are wise, and willing to see beyond the usual appearances the world presents, this is a time of opportunity to focus on who we are and where we are, to get ourselves "right with God," to refocus on life with the right priorities to stand us in good stead through the future.  We may adjust ourselves and our identities better, and repent (or change) the things that don't put us on a good road.  Let us not be like those who scatter.  Let us endure in His word, in His strength, and in His love, by finding what is real and true in God's sight.  This is our opportunity!