First Reading: Is 53:10-11
Second Reading: Heb 4:14-16
Dear friends we are in the twenty-ninth Sunday of the Ordinary Time. Last Sunday we reflected upon how one is caught up with the attachment to the worldly things despite knowing that they are transient. This Sunday we are directed to focus on one’s attachment to the Self – the Ego. Leaving the material comforts alone is not enough to follow Jesus, one must renounce and deny oneself (Mt 16:24). In today’s Gospel, we have sons of Zebedee – James and John – coming and asking Jesus for a favour. The two sons who had left their father in the boat upon the invitation of Jesus to follow Him (Mk 1:20) are now seeking places of honour in the Kingdom of God. They are seeking the place of power and position. Earlier, they neglected the inheritance of wealth by leaving their father alone. Having despised the wealth and material comforts they could move with Jeus freely wherever He went. However, their hearts are not fully detached. They want the best position in being with Jesus; sitting one at His right and another at His left, that too when Jesus comes in glory, not while he would be hanging on the cross.
When Jesus visits the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus at Bethany, Mary is found sitting at the feet of the Lord and listening to Him (Lk 10:39). Mary seeks the place of proximity with Jesus, but that desire for proximate seat next to Jesus is contrast to the proximate seats that James and John seek. Being near to Jesus to get wisdom, knowledge, grace and so forth from Him is different from seeking place near to Him in view of having power and dominance over others. Mary seeks discipleship in her proximate seat next to Jesus, whereas James and John seek authority in their proximate seats next to Jesus one at His right and another at His left. Mary seeks her identity in being the disciple of Jesus, on the contrary, James and John seek their identity in the position they could hold in the Kingdom of Jesus. Mary stands for the theo-drama; allowing oneself to be found in the character or the place that God, the director would assign. Conversely, James and John represent the ego-drama; seeking one’s desired place in the drama that is primarily of someone else’s. How can we ask God who did not seek our consent in creating us to grant us a role that we desire? Who could know us better than the one who shaped every cell in us (Cf. Ps 139)? Thus, there is no point is asking God what we want even if that seems to be good and correct. When each one in the drama seeks his/her own desired character, the proportionality gets lost. In seeking one’s desired place in the drama one is forgoing what s/he alone could contribute in the particular character. In opting for a desired role, one is trying to find his/her identity through the occupation of that particular role. Jesus teaches the disciples to seek the place which they alone could occupy. One’s identity should be sought from one’s uniqueness, from within, not placing oneself in the role of the other.
In the second reading, we are called to approach the throne of grace (Heb 4:16) with confidence. Leaving one’s ego implies seeking God with confidence that He would not put us to shame (Is 54:4). The grace, He grants would always secure the place that He has destined for us in eternity. Next to the wealth, the temptation we often face is that of EGO. No wonder why sanyasis (Priests and religious) seek the places of power, position and honour! The apostles too, having renounced material wealth are not completely out of the temptation to the Ego. This dominance of the ego in oneself is the enemy to charity. Wherever the ego reins there is no concern for the other. In seeking the desired place, one is not only renouncing his/her unique role but also stealing the role that the other could do so well. In this way, attachment to the ego is more dangerous than attachment to the wealth. Rich person may loot the material wealth of the other, but the ego-centric person loots the very person of the other. S/he rips away the other from their role in a theo-drama. As Christians, our role should be that of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus; seeking proximate seats next to Jesus, in other words sitting at the throne of grace (the cross). Having crucified our EGO with Him, let us confidently approach the Crucified One for mercy and grace in imitation of the good thief.
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