His Excellency,
The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., S.T.D.
Diocese of Belleville
October 20, 2024, 9:00 AM Mass
St. Luke Parish, Belleville
What Do You Wish Me to Do for You?
(This is the text as originally written. During the actual delivery, some passages were omitted and other comments were added spontaneously. Nota bene: This text has not been thoroughly proofread. Therefore, there may be errors in spelling, grammar and punctuation.)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:
“What do you wish Me to do for you?”
What if Jesus of Nazareth were standing in our midst this morning and asked you: “What do you wish Me to do for you?” How would you reply?
Jesus, give me good health, a long life, and enough money to care for my family. Jesus, give me the wisdom to find a cure for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, and AIDS. Jesus, give me the skills needed to create real and lasting peace in Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
Jesus, give us truly exceptional candidates for President of the United States, with deep moral convictions, a genuine desire to serve all people, and the skills to reconcile our polarized country with economic prosperity for all. Jesus, give us the ability to end Euthanasia, Abortion, and Capital punishment.
“What do you wish Me to do for you?” This was the reply of Jesus when the sons of Zebedee, James and John, presumptuously said to Him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
Even more presumptuously, the two disciples said, “We want to sit on your right and left side when you come into the glory of your kingdom.” In other words, they wanted the most powerful positions in this Kingdom of heaven about which Jesus spoke so often. Mark makes it clear that these two brothers, who had been following Jesus for several months, had no idea of who He was or what kind of kingdom He was talking about.
They saw the authority of Jesus’s words and deeds. Thinking this would lead to a powerful royal rule, they wanted to ask for key positions before the other disciples had the chance to do so. Jesus challenges their complete misunderstanding of everything He has said and done. “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” Without giving it a thought, James and John reply, “Sure we can. Whatever it takes to get powerful positions in your kingdom, we’ll do it.” They are still thinking of earthly power.
Apparently, they were not listening when Jesus told them a few verses earlier that torture and death awaited Him in Jerusalem because He is destined to be a despised and powerless “king” with the opposite of worldly power. Mark is stressing that those who wield power in Jerusalem and any place in the world will do all they can to protect themselves from being asked to embrace the powerless servant leadership Jesus is demonstrating by His ministry to the powerless.
Although James and John tell Jesus they are willing to endure suffering with Jesus, we know this is not true. No sooner than they arrive in Jerusalem and have their final meal with Him, Zebedee’s sons and the other apostles abandon Jesus because of their fear of the power of the Roman and Jewish rulers who reject Jesus’s message that true power comes from humble, selfless service to those most in need. Human nature being what it is, James and John want worldly power and prestige. Then Jesus tells them enigmatically that He cannot give them what they want: “To sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” Jesus does not say who, if not Him, has the power to give these positions.
The other ten apostles became angry when they learned that James and John had gone behind their backs to ask Jesus for the very positions they may have wanted for themselves. Once again, Jesus tries to explain to His followers and to all of us that His power is not like the power of those who will soon unjustly execute Him. “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them. But it should not be so among you. Whoever wishes to be great among you must be the servant 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.” (It seems somewhat strange that Jesus suggests that He gives His life for only “many” and not for “all.”)
What does Jesus mean when He says He is willing to give His life as a ransom? He is saying His death will be more than just an inspiring example or a martyr’s tragic protest against injustice. The word ransom implies that Jesus’s death will be an act of deliverance and liberation by divine strength. Jesus is telling us that God, through Jesus’s death, will free us from oppression and captivity to worldly powers, making us members of the spiritual community of beloved disciples, leading us to be servants to all, seeing the image of God in everyone, treating each person with respect and dignity, by showing this world there is another way to be great, a way not based on power and greed, but a way based on love and concern for others.
********
Dear People of God:
Jesus IS in our midst this morning! He is asking, “What do you wish Me to do for you?” He tells us, as He told His apostles, “I cannot give you what you ask. But, look at what I have given you. I have given you what you need to live a truly great life: the beatitudes, the Law of Love, ‘Love God with your whole being and your neighbor as you love yourself.’ I have given you the spiritual food of my Body and Blood. I have given you the sacrament of Reconciliation, which many of you neglect. I have given you redemption’s abundant grace empowering you to do for yourselves many of the things you have asked Me to do for you.”
“I have given you real power on earth as members of my Beloved Community!”
Praised be Jesus Christ. Both now and forever! AMEN!