Twenty-Ninth Sunday Ordinary Gospel Reflections B

· The passage that precedes this in Mark’s Gospel is Jesus’ second prediction of his upcoming passion and death on the cross.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish (me) to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." 
· Does this sound like one up-manship to you? Does our prayer to Jesus sound similar at times? Are we more focus on ourselves than on Jesus and others at times?

Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 
· Jesus reminds them of what he just said about his upcoming passion and death. In other words, can you drink of the cup of suffering I am about to experience? Are you willing to embrace the cross of suffering?
· Jesus offers each of us the same invitation: to join him in the mystery of his passion and death. How do we understand and respond to this invitation?

They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." 
· Jesus is predicting their future sharing in his suffering and death. James was beheaded and John was persecuted. We can’t avoid the cross. It is part of our journey to eternal life.

When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 
· Why do you think they were indignant? Was it because they were thinking of the same thing but were upset that James and John beat them in the asking?
· When was the last time we became indignant at the way others act, especially when it makes us look bad?

Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their 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." 
· What does having a servant’s heart mean to you?
· What kind of a servant are you in your family setting? In the Church? In the community?
· To what extent are you willing to give your life for the sake of others, not literally, but figuratively, by thinking of what is best for others rather than what is best for you? How easy or hard is this to do daily? What are the consequences?
· What needs to be rectified in our relationship with Jesus and the faith community, if we are going to embrace the cross in our own lives?
· What application in our daily life this week will we make from this reflection?