Ambition and Suffering Discipleship
One of the most intriguing passages of the Hebrew Scriptures (our Old Testament) is Isaiah Chapter 53, from which our first reading for this Sunday is taken. Isaiah describes the suffering of God’s servant, whose personal sacrifice of himself brings about redemptive healing to the people. While some Jewish interpretations view the "servant" as representing Israel collectively, the details align remarkably with Jesus' individual experience. For Christians, Isaiah 53 powerfully foreshadows Christ's atoning work on the cross and continues to be a cornerstone text connecting Old Testament prophecy to New Testament fulfillment. Some scholars even call it, “The passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Isaiah” written 700 years before the actual event of Christ’s passion and death.
The second reading is from the Letter to the Hebrews and continues the same theme. We have a high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses because He has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. The concept of kenosis refers to Christ's self-emptying or self-limitation in taking on human form, as described in Philippians 2:7 and described in liturgical and temple sacrifice tones in our second reading today. Christ voluntarily limited the use of certain divine attributes in His incarnation. This allowed Him to genuinely experience human life, including physical limitations (hunger, thirst, fatigue), emotional experiences (sorrow, anger, joy) and temptation. Yet critically, Christ did not empty Himself of His divine nature or moral perfection. He remained fully God even while fully human.
The Gospel narrative is situated on Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem and His third prediction of His passion, death and resurrection. The disciples who are with Christ are caught up in a power struggle. To understand the mind-set of the disciples, we need to understand how the people in the Mediterranean region in Jesus’ time used time tested ways to gain prominence in society. The primary mechanism for gaining power was through a system of patronage. Influential leaders, known as patrons, would extend favors, protection, and resources to their followers, called clients. In return, clients offered loyalty, political support, and services to their patrons. This reciprocal relationship formed the backbone of power distribution within factions. In Jewish sects like the Pharisees and Sadducees, power often stemmed from religious knowledge and interpretation of sacred texts. For groups like the Zealots, power was often tied to military capability and the ability to resist Roman rule. Leaders who demonstrated skill in guerrilla warfare or inciting rebellion could gather a significant following. There were several rebellions against the Romans before Jesus appeared on the horizon. These uprisings were brutally dealt with by the Roman might.
The ’kingdom’ that Jesus was proclaiming was an opportunity for gaining positions of prominence. Probably, judging that this journey to Jerusalem was an opportune time with Festival of Booths when participants would wave a bundle of branches (lulav), the sons of Zebedee, James and John, two of Jesus’ closest disciples, approached Jesus and asked Him for a favor. They wanted Him to guarantee them the highest places of honor in His coming Kingdom. Actually, their request sounded rather like a peremptory demand: ‘We want you to do us a favor’ (Mark 10: 37). Overhearing the conversation between Jesus and the two brothers, the other disciples are furious, not because they are any less ambitious, but because they have been upstaged by James and John.
It is worth noting that Jesus does not berate the two brothers or express indignation at their foolish demand. With remarkable patience, He tries to open their minds to what being His disciple really means. So, Jesus calls all the twelve together for a much-needed lesson about power and authority. Painstakingly, He explains the difference between the common understanding of authority, exemplified by ‘the pagans’, their Roman colonizers, and the exercise of authority in His kingdom. ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This must not happen among you (Mark 10: 42). In Jesus’ kingdom, power and leadership are manifested in service of others. Jesus Himself is the living embodiment of this kind of leadership. He is the humble, suffering servant depicted by Isaiah in the first reading today, whose innocent suffering brings healing to others. He is the supreme high priest who, as our second reading tells us, took on Himself our human weakness and identified Himself with us in every way except sin.
The values of Jesus are profoundly counter-cultural and diametrically opposed to the worldly lust for power and status, which, as Pope Francis frequently reminds us, can also be found within the Church at every level. The message of today’s gospel is as relevant to our time as it was in the time of Jesus. As members of Christ’s body, we the Church, are all called to be countercultural witnesses by our self-less service to bring about God’s reign of justice, peace and love. Fr Tom Kunnel, C.O