Mount of Beatitudes
Mark 10:32-45
Ever run for class president? Or maybe pushed hard to lead your small group on its Final Project? What about lobbying to be the manager of the basketball team? And then, good gracious, you actually won! You got the job! And then reality settles in! Oh boy, this is gonna be work. You thought it was all about the title and now everyone is looking at you for direction, for leadership. No one told me I would have to sacrifice time and energy. I thought the title was just kind of ‘ceremonial.’ How can we be so focused on the trappings of power that we completely miss the boat about what it’s going to take to keep it.
That is what’s happening in today’s Gospel. Jesus has just revealed to His disciples that they are going up to Jerusalem where He will be arrested, condemned, mocked, tortured and crucified! No flowery language, no story, just the simple blunt words! You would think they would all be horrified, terrified. And yet James and John jump in and ask for a favor. Can we have places of honor in Your kingdom, one on the right and one on the left? No signs of sadness at Jesus’ words! No attempt to talk Him out of going to Jerusalem! Apparently blinded by ambition or power, they are in complete denial about the meaning of Jesus’ words. You have to wonder about Jesus’ reaction. Were you even listening? Did you hear what I said? And the other disciples? They aren’t too pleased either. They became indignant!
Such a situation, unfortunately, is not foreign to us. Most of us have seen something like this at work. Someone so intent on their own ambition and advancement that they stab others in the back in order to get that promotion or pay raise! So focused on themselves that they refuse to see what is right in front of them! So consumed with ambition, they lose sight of what’s really important.
It is up to Jesus to remind the disciples that His mission has nothing to do with power or thrones. It is a mission to others! It is dedication to a life of service and sacrifice for the love of our neighbor!
We celebrate today the Feast of St. Philip Neri, known as the Second Apostle of Rome, after St. Peter. He loved walking the streets and engaging passer byes in conversation. He had an outgoing personality and witty sense of humor. He had a knack for converting good conversation into good actions. He would often lead his followers to hospitals to serve the sick. He was, quite simply, an evangelist who loved to share the Gospel message and encourage others to be of service. As Jesus instructs us today in the Gospel, St Philip looked beyond the trappings of wealth and power and the evils of greed and envy and focused instead on a life of service and sacrifice.
Great Spirit, help me today to treat everyone as if they were You!