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29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time
The text from the first lesson from Isaiah today is the text about the Suffering Servant. We listen to that reading a lot in Lent. The Servant is willing to suffer for the sake of the many. The Servant is willing to pay the ransom so that we don’t have to suffer for our own sins. We owe Him a debt of gratitude. The letter to the Hebrews tells us about our great High Priest, Jesus the Lord. We are reminded that Jesus has suffered like us. He knows what we have to go through. He sympathizes with us in our weaknesses. That is a consolation to us. Jesus understands what it is we pray about. Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace confident that Jesus will listen to us. What a right pair James and John are in the Gospel. They have a terrible cheek telling Jesus what they want from Him. “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Can you imagine how you would react if your child spoke like that to us. “I want it and I want it now, Mom!” I think maybe every child has tried that tactic and failed. They didn’t want much, did they? Basically they asked for privilege. When Jesus begins to dole out the prizes at the end they want a big share of the spoils. The other Apostles were annoyed at James and John. The actual reason was because they were showing their card to Jesus. We remember that many times the Apostles discussed which of them would get the top rank among the Apostles. We all want to be the favorite. We all want advantage over the rest. It don’t work that way. That conversation allowed Jesus to say something about greatness. The true followers of Jesus do not aspire to rank and privilege. They aspire to service and love. The Christian places himself/herself at the place of servitude. We are servants first. We remember when Jesus told the story about the banquet. We are to sit ourselves at the lowest place. Then let the host invite us to go higher. That will be enough.
With love, Fr. Pat