RBWords

     These words of Jesus come toward the end of his journey toward Jerusalem in the Gospel According to Mark.  They could serve as a lens through which one might read the whole of this gospel.  Mark's account of Jesus' mission includes three predictions of his passion.  In each case the disciples react with dismay and misunderstanding.  In our own day, we might use the word "denial" to describe their reaction.  In today's passage, the rather political request of James and John shows that they have a very different notion of Jesus' "glory" than Jesus does.  Jesus reminds them that suffering will be a part of his glory and that any honor to be had will come from the one who sent him.  Any "power" among his disciples will come from giving up one's life for others, not from ruling over them.

     One way I have come to use in understanding pastoral situations that confront me is to ask, "Who is 'powerful' in the given situation?"  Although power-relationships permeate almost all human endeavor, they can be most dangerous in preaching the gospel and in service within the Church.  Lord Acton's famous dictum rings true again and again: "Power tends to corrupt.  Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely."  [He was writing about Pope Pius IX!]  On a local level, this can be manifested in a parish by asking, "Who has a key to what?"  If we can use the words, "rules the roost," about anyone in a local church, we are facing the question of "power."  This can be multiplied over and over again and becomes more dangerous as it ascends the hierarchical ladder.  Pope Francis is shaking up that ladder and warning all disciples as Jesus did those original ones that power is for service and not for ruling.  

     Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.  There is the definition of power in the Church.  Anything else is corrupt!  AMEN