Gospel
The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus went ahead of them.
They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them
what was going to happen to him.
“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man
will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death
and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,
but after three days he will rise.”
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.”
Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
They said to him, “We can.”
Jesus said to them, “The chalice 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.”
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
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.”
We are on the other side of Easter.
The Easter season for Catholics has just ended and now we move into Ordinary Time. A time for business as usual. To move forward with the daily life of work and serving and striving in the middle of the messiness of life.
And we are inspired today to ask if we are presenting ourselves as deserving position and prestige and power or do we serve as Jesus served. The servant leader is our model. Yes, we lead by providing example and direction and steering others toward goals. In this case eternal life.
But we position ourselves as the servant who focuses on enabling others to succeed. We position ourselves not above other but as one who ensures they have what they need to succeed. Jesus positioned himself as their servant. He only positioned himself over them while he was held high on the cross dying for them. He never lorded over them raising himself up while pushing others down. His concern was their salvation and so should our concern be.
Do our words and actions inspire and lift up or tear down and sadden.
Do we approach others with the goal of how we can help them and be of benefit to them even in serving them. So they can bring Jesus Christ into their lives and hearts more deeply.
Do we look more like a person of high position who loves himself or a person of love for others. That’s really what serving others springs from. Our love for others.
It is not an easy task, this road he asks us to take. But for the disciples and you and me, it is the road we must take and are called to take, as a people baptized in his spirit and members of his body.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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