For the celebrations of the Lord's Day, I shared some thoughts about the relationship that existed between Jesus and his disciples, and the lessons he taught them about love and service.
Today’s gospel passage begins with a very bold request. Two of the disciples – James and John – who are brothers, come to Jesus and say: Teacher, we want you do for us whatever we ask of you (Mk 10:35). There was a time when some of us may have thought that such a question was rather impertinent, disrespectful, but in many cases today, the rules that once applied no longer seem to apply. In fact, if we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we all act in this manner when we come to Jesus to ask him for what we want: we present our prayer and we want him to do for us whatever we ask.
Sometimes, these prayers are couched in hidden desires too. We attend Mass more often, we do our best to act obediently, and we secretly hope that in return, God will do whatever we ask of him, but how would we feel if the shoe was on the other foot? Have we ever known a situation where people seem only to have time for us when they need something? The human tendency is to react to such requests by pronouncing judgment, but Jesus is able to see beyond the limited vision of the disciples’ question. He does not scold them for asking, nor does he punish us for presenting our requests in prayer. Rather he encourages us to widen our understanding.
The question he asks of James and John, Jesus also asks of us: Are you willing to drink the cup that I must drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I must be baptized with (Mk 10:38)? Even then, in their eagerness, the disciples speak without thinking. How often have we said yes to such conditions without giving them much thought and only later discover the truth that we have agreed to something that we didn’t truly understand? In the world of business, we are always taught never to sign a contract before we have read it and understood the terms and conditions. This same rule should apply in other circumstances too, but sometimes we act before we think.
Thankfully, Jesus is able to sympathize with us (cf Heb 4:15). He knows that we sometimes speak out of turn, and he loves us so much that he is able to overlook our eagerness. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Who among us has not prayed for something and thought that our prayer had gone unheard, or at the very least unanswered. Could it be that what we were asking for was not what we truly needed at the time?
The boldness of the question asked by James and John also provoked jealousy among the other disciples (cf Mk 10:41). Here again, we see that they were unable to comprehend the meaning of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. Jesus was always compassionate with them. He was always willing to use such moments in order to teach important lessons: about love and sacrifice, about authority and power.
The prophet Isaiah spoke about the servant who would make many righteous (cf Is 53:11), but no one expected this servant to define greatness in terms of being servants (cf Mk 10:43-44), yet this is precisely what is needed.
What we want or what we need
Today’s gospel passage begins with a very bold request. Two of the disciples – James and John – who are brothers, come to Jesus and say: Teacher, we want you do for us whatever we ask of you (Mk 10:35). There was a time when some of us may have thought that such a question was rather impertinent, disrespectful, but in many cases today, the rules that once applied no longer seem to apply. In fact, if we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we all act in this manner when we come to Jesus to ask him for what we want: we present our prayer and we want him to do for us whatever we ask.
Sometimes, these prayers are couched in hidden desires too. We attend Mass more often, we do our best to act obediently, and we secretly hope that in return, God will do whatever we ask of him, but how would we feel if the shoe was on the other foot? Have we ever known a situation where people seem only to have time for us when they need something? The human tendency is to react to such requests by pronouncing judgment, but Jesus is able to see beyond the limited vision of the disciples’ question. He does not scold them for asking, nor does he punish us for presenting our requests in prayer. Rather he encourages us to widen our understanding.
The question he asks of James and John, Jesus also asks of us: Are you willing to drink the cup that I must drink, or to be baptized with the baptism that I must be baptized with (Mk 10:38)? Even then, in their eagerness, the disciples speak without thinking. How often have we said yes to such conditions without giving them much thought and only later discover the truth that we have agreed to something that we didn’t truly understand? In the world of business, we are always taught never to sign a contract before we have read it and understood the terms and conditions. This same rule should apply in other circumstances too, but sometimes we act before we think.
Thankfully, Jesus is able to sympathize with us (cf Heb 4:15). He knows that we sometimes speak out of turn, and he loves us so much that he is able to overlook our eagerness. He knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Who among us has not prayed for something and thought that our prayer had gone unheard, or at the very least unanswered. Could it be that what we were asking for was not what we truly needed at the time?
The boldness of the question asked by James and John also provoked jealousy among the other disciples (cf Mk 10:41). Here again, we see that they were unable to comprehend the meaning of Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice. Jesus was always compassionate with them. He was always willing to use such moments in order to teach important lessons: about love and sacrifice, about authority and power.
The prophet Isaiah spoke about the servant who would make many righteous (cf Is 53:11), but no one expected this servant to define greatness in terms of being servants (cf Mk 10:43-44), yet this is precisely what is needed.
Ce que nous voulons ou ce dont nous avons besoin
Le passage de l’Évangile d’aujourd’hui commence par une requête très audacieuse. Deux des disciples - Jacques et Jean - qui sont des frères- viennent à Jésus et disent: Maître, ce que nous allons te demander, nous voudrions que tu le fasses pour nous (Mc 10, 35). Il fut un temps où certains d’entre nous auraient pu penser qu’une telle question était plutôt impertinente, irrespectueuse, mais dans de nombreux cas aujourd'hui, les règles qui s’appliquaient autrefois ne semblent plus avoir leur place. En fait, si nous sommes honnêtes avec nous-mêmes, nous admettrons que nous agissons tous de la même manière lorsque nous venons à Jésus pour lui demander ce que nous voulons: nous présentons notre prière et nous voulons qu'il fasse pour nous tout ce que nous lui demandons.
Parfois, ces prières sont également formées de désirs cachés. Nous assistons plus souvent à la messe, nous faisons de notre mieux pour agir avec obéissance et nous espérons secrètement qu'en retour, Dieu fera tout ce que nous lui demanderons; mais que ressentirions-nous si la chaussure était sur l'autre pied? Avons-nous déjà connu une situation où les gens semblent venir nous trouver seulement lorsqu’ils ont besoin de quelque chose? La tendance humaine est de réagir à de telles demandes en prononçant un jugement, mais Jésus est capable de voir au-delà de la vision limitée de la question des disciples. Il ne les réprimande pas pour avoir demandé et il ne nous punit jamais pour avoir présenté nos demandes dans la prière. Il nous encourage plutôt à élargir notre compréhension.
La question que Jésus pose à Jacques et à Jean, il nous la pose aussi: Pouvez-vous boire la coupe que je vais boire, être baptisé du baptême dans lequel je vais être plongé (Mc 10, 38)? Même alors, dans leur empressement, les disciples parlent sans réfléchir. Combien de fois avons-nous dit oui à de telles conditions sans y accorder beaucoup d’attention et découvert seulement plus tard que nous avions convenu de quelque chose que nous n’avions pas vraiment compris? Dans le monde des affaires, on nous apprend toujours à ne jamais signer un contrat avant de l'avoir lu au complet et compris tous les termes. Cette même règle devrait s'appliquer également dans d'autres circonstances, mais parfois nous agissons avant de penser.
Heureusement, Jésus est capable de sympathiser avec nous (cf Héb 4,15). Il sait que nous parlons parfois de manière irrégulière et il nous aime tellement qu'il est capable de négliger notre empressement. Il sait exactement ce dont nous avons besoin et quand nous en avons besoin. Qui parmi nous n'a pas prié pour quelque chose et a pensé que sa prière était passée inaperçue, ou du moins est restée sans réponse? Se pourrait-il que ce que nous demandions ne soit pas ce dont nous avions vraiment besoin à l'époque?
L'audace de la question posée par Jacques et Jean a également suscité la jalousie parmi les autres disciples (cf Mc 10,41). Ici encore, nous voyons qu’ils n’ont pas compris le sens du sacrifice ultime de Jésus. Jésus a toujours été compatissant avec eux. Il était toujours disposé à utiliser de tels moments pour enseigner d'importantes leçons: concernant la relation entre l'amour et le sacrifice, l'autorité et le pouvoir.
Le prophète Isaïe a parlé du serviteur qui justifierait les multitudes (cf Is 53,11), mais personne ne s'attendait à ce que ce serviteur définisse la grandeur en termes de service (cf Mk 10: 43-44). Pourtant, c'est précisément ce qu'il faut.
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