The Monday after Quinquagesima Sunday
Posted on March 3, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. Mark 10:35-45 (NKJV)
10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.”
36 And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
37 They said to Him, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory.”
38 But Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
39 They said to Him, “We are able.”
So Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 40 but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared.”
41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John. 42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. 44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Devotion
It is a very human thing to want to be rewarded for doing a good job. From very early in childhood we are taught to strive for the gold star and the A+ grade. We feel very wronged if we believe we deserve it but do not get it.
James and John believed they deserved special treatment from Jesus, special places next to Him in His glory. And why not? James and John were among Jesus’ first disciples, they were part of His inner circle even among the twelve, and they would be leaders among the Apostles in time. James would become a martyr; John would live long enough to see all the other Apostles die; many violently, including his brother James.
Yet our Lord warns them that, even if they deserve such honor, honor and glory for ourselves is not what we should seek. Who else could deserve honor, power, and glory more than our Lord Himself? And yet we see Him washing His disciples’ feet. He did not seek glory for Himself, but humbled Himself beyond measure, giving His life to pay for our sins. Thus, even if we absolutely deserve honor, power, and glory, we should rather seek to serve. That is what Christ did, and we can have no better pattern to follow than His.
Collect: O Lord, we beseech Thee mercifully hear our prayers, and, having set us free from the bonds of sin, defend us from all evil; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
