Word to the Wise
Sunday, October 17, 2021 - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - B
[Isa 53:10-11; Heb 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45 or 10:42-45,]"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over 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 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." [Mark]
These words are addressed by Jesus to the "Twelve." But they were provoked by a situation in which two of the Twelve had approached Jesus for preferred status in the "kingdom" that Jesus was preaching. When the Twelve learned of this "end run" they were upset. The reason seems to be that James and John were trying to get ahead in a "power game." Jesus responded James and John's request by warning them first of all that the status they sought would not be the result of a political decision, and secondly, they would indeed share his fate.
The "pep talk" that follows this situation is a warning to all of us about ambition for power and the abuse of it. As Jesus points out, those who are powerful want people to see this. (Every photo opportunity in the Oval Office is carefully choreographed as to who stands where.) But it is not always the people who hold the office, but those who are "powers behind the throne" that can be corrupted by power. I have seen this time and again in groups or organizations in church or political settings. The great English Catholic layman, Lord Acton, wrote to one of the English bishops in 1887 words that have become commonplace wisdom: "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men." When power loses its purpose to serve, it becomes abusive. Our national political system shows this over and over again when decisions are made solely with the idea of keeping one party or person in office to the benefit of one particular class or organization. Our church is equally prone to this problem from the Vatican down to the least parish organization.
The prophecy of Isaiah in today's first scripture offers the model of the Suffering Servant,. Jesus personified that model and warns all of us who exercise power in the Church that we must serve and not BE served even to the cost of our very lives. AMEN