REFLECTION

Gospel

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 cup that I drink or be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised?"  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 baptised, you will be baptised; 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."                                                  Mark 10:35-45

Reflection

We can sometimes feel that friends and family do not really understand and support us. They may be preoccupied with their own cares. This is what Jesus experiences in today’s Gospel reading. But he understands and supports me in my struggles, and I in turn can learn to support others.

We continue to grow to understand more deeply, the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. I stay prayerfully with these words of Jesus and consider how true these words are. I hear them as a call for me too, to make them my own, as I desire to live a life of service to others. I ask for pardon when I choose to be served rather than to serve.

Julie Leonard Religious Education Leader/Wellbeing Leader