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Mark 10:35–45 (NLT), James and John Request Positions of Honor

     Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”

     “What is your request?” he asked.

     They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

     But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

     “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

     Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

     When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

More than the other Gospels, Mark repeatedly shines a light on Jesus’ disciples as ones who just didn’t get it.  They seem to have a constant question mark over their heads and a deer in the headlight look in their eyes.  This week’s passage is an example of this phenomenon.

     Despite many opportunities to see and hear Jesus talking about how the Way of God is a reversal of the dominant ways of the world, they clearly showcase their struggle to understand that climbing the ladder and gaining power in ways the world employs is not how Jesus operated and is at cross-purposes with God.

     James and John thought that they were headed for Jerusalem where Jesus would eventually take the throne of power.  They wanted to claim their seat of honor before the other disciples, which would then, of course, grant them more power and honor than their friends.  This was more than calling shotgun on the way to the car before your siblings or friends thought of it.  Their ascent meant something significant to their brothers.

     The model of success that still rules the day is one whereby you ascend the ladder of success, gaining greater title and power and usually with it increased wealth and privilege.  Sometimes that rise honors all those lower on the ladder.  Much of the time it does not. James and John wanted exactly what the world shaped them to pursue.  It is easy to shake our finger at them and be a little embarrassed for them as well.

     I wonder when they hatched the plan.  How many sermons did they tune out, how many obvious signs of the counter-cultural Way did they miss as they dreamt of the day to come when they would get to rule over others (even if in a benevolent sort of way)? Were they at all aware that they were struggling?  Probably not.  Were the other disciples in the same struggle?  Of course.  Were they upset, then, that James and John simply called “shotgun” before they thought of it?  Maybe so, which is why Jesus had to set things straight. Again. 

The reality is that we are all human like James and John, having been shaped by the inescapable cultural forces in our place in time and space.The question is whether we are willing to notice those forces and wonder how they contrast with the invitation to be live the Way of Christ.The ways of the world lead to more of the same.The Way of Christ leads to life for all.Shalom.What everybody truly desires for life and the world.How are you managing the tension?