Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 17, 2021
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 baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
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 baptized, you will be baptized;
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.”
Jesus knew human nature well and thus understood the desire of James and John to be first. Jesus also understands our desire to be our best, but the path he suggests to the disciples and likewise to us to attain it seems illogical to most people—even many Christians.
Why is service to others, a theme prominent throughout the Bible, so important, and how can it be a way to achieve greatness?
I believe the answer to the first question lies in the last line of today’s gospel. Jesus says, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus helped the poor, healed the sick, fed thousands, and overcame incredible temptations. In addition to this selflessness, he followed God’s will and gave up his life for us. As Christians, we strive to model our actions on how Jesus lived his life on earth. It seems clear that the whole foundation of our faith is built on his example of self-sacrifice, and we too are asked to take up our cross and follow him.
I believe the answer to the second question can be understood in one of my favorite quotes: “Satan’s biggest fear is for you to become everything that God created you to be.” By putting our desires for self-promotion last, we start becoming everything God created us to be and through that become great.
This is hard work, takes discipline, and is nearly impossible to do alone, but when we rely on God for the strength to carry out what God desires for us, we can reach our full potential. While we may fall short at times, we must persevere. The closer we get to our God-given potential, the more God can work through us and achieve the kind of greatness that Jesus promises us.
Prayer
Lord, if we drink the cup each of us is poured and given in life, we know that we, your servants, just like the first disciples, will fare no better than you, our master. But if we shirk the cross in our lives, gone too will be our hope. Strengthen us to be faithful to our vocations that in serving rather than being served, we will find the dying and the rising equally assured. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Ignatius is the most prominent of the early Church fathers to suffer martyrdom—the account of his trial and death have encouraged Christians for thousands of years.
He converted to faith in Christ through following St. John the Evangelist, and Sts. Peter and Paul named him bishop of Antioch (in present-day Turkey). He served the people there as bishop for 40 years.
Christians faced persecution from the Roman empire under the reign of Domitian and found reprieve after his death in 96 AD. A little more than a year later, the emperor Trajan came to power.
Trajan won several major battles and attributed the victories to benevolence from the gods. He could not understand why Christians would refuse to honor the gods that brought success to the kingdom—their refusal, in his understanding, put the empire in danger. He renewed the persecution of Christians, and Ignatius was among those arrested and tried during this period.
Tradition holds that Trajan himself cross-examined Ignatius and sentenced him to death. When he heard he was to be chained and sent to Rome to be fed to lions for the entertainment of the public, Ignatius said, “I thank you, O Lord, for putting within my reach this pledge of perfect love for you, and for allowing me to be bound for your sake with chains, after the example of your holy apostle, Paul.”
He was placed on a ship that was headed to Rome after making numerous stops along the south and west coast of the Mediterranean. The trip was difficult—he had mean guards, whom he described as "ten leopards." In his words, “they only grow worse when they are kindly treated.”
The prolonged journey gave Ignatius time to address the growing Church in the small sea communities they passed through. He had several followers with him who composed letters to each community. Wherever the ship landed, Christians flocked to the port to hear his greeting and receive his blessing.
His letters survive and give scholars an excellent window into the state of those early communities, and the shape of the Church’s understanding of important tenets of faith such as the Trinity, the Eucharist, and the Incarnation.
Because the ship carrying him was making its way to Rome so slowly, his followers arrived there ahead of time. Several had friends in high places, and he asked them to not intervene in his case to save him from martyrdom. He wrote:
"I shall never again have such an opportunity to win my way to God… Only pray for me that God may give me grace within as well as without, not only to say it but to desire it, that I may not only be called but be found a Christian… Allow me to be the food of wild beasts that I might come to God. I am God’s grain and I am to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Rather entice the beasts to become my tomb, and leave no scrap of me behind, that when I am dead I may not be a burden to anyone. I shall be a true disciple of Christ when the world no longer sees my body. Pray to Christ for me so that by these means I may become a sacrifice to God… Now I begin to be a disciple. May nothing visible or invisible begrudge me that I may attain unto Jesus Christ. Come fire and cross, gashes and rendings, breaking of bones and mangling of limbs, the shattering into pieces of my whole body and all the wicked torments of the devil—come what may, if only I may gain Jesus Christ."
Eventually, the ship arrived at Rome—he was hurried to the amphitheater and two lions were set upon him. They killed and consumed him immediately. Only his larger bones remained.
The reliquary chapel in the Basilica contains relics of St. Ignatius (perhaps not first degree—actual parts of these bones—but maybe of a lesser degree—an item he used in life, or something touched to his body).
St. Ignatius of Antioch, who encouraged the early Church with your self-sacrifice for Christ—pray for us!
Image Credit: (1) Our featured image of St. Ignatius is in the public domain. Last accessed October 4, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons. (2) The image of St. Ignatius' martyrdom is also in the public domain and was last accessed October 4, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
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