‘The greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour’ that the Book of Chronicles (29: 11) speaks of as belonging to the Lord belong to us humans as well. The difference is that in God’s hands those values are transformative; in human hands, they turn ordinary and dull, and often degenerative.
Today’s Readings speak of the purpose of those values and how to avoid the most obvious pitfalls. The First Reading (Is 53: 10-11) is taken from the Fourth Song of the Servant, which begins thus: ‘Behold, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.’ While this is sure to give every human a high, in the verses that follow, which make up today’s Reading, we see that glory comes with a price – also very high.
Isaiah’s Suffering Servant prefigured Jesus Christ. His Song indicated that He would be despised, rejected, esteemed not, afflicted, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, oppressed, stricken… And if this is not a description of Our Lord’s Passion, what is? He redeemed us through His Passion and Death. The Jews, too, traditionally believed that the Suffering Servant referred to the Messiah or Redeemer who was to come to Zion. But, irony of ironies, they rejected Him when He actually came!
Hence, in the Gospel (Mk 10: 35-45), Our Lord makes it amply clear that the Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom. He did not come to enjoy earthly glory but rather to suffer for the sins of humankind and raise it to a glory that is eternal. Here, two of His close disciples – James and John, sons of Zebedee – were hideously off the mark. They sought the highest ministerial berths from Him who they thought had come to rule over Israel! Our Lord obliged the Good Thief instead, who was crucified to His right hand….
However, handling the disciples’ feelings of self-importance with utmost care, Jesus didn’t say an outright no, but asked them what they wanted Him to do for them. And then came the full truth: ‘You do not know what you are asking.’ Which is often the case with you and me; we want gains without the pains. Yet, it was not for Jesus to grant their request, but for God the Father to decide. The high place they coveted would be ‘for those for whom it has been prepared.’
This is so much the story of our own lives. As the saying goes, man proposes; God disposes. Although there is nothing wrong in proposing, this must be accompanied by a wilful surrender to the divine will. God’s will can be way different from our own, so we must be ready to accept it, firmly trusting that it will work for our good. The golden rule, then, is to believe that ‘there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens’ (Eccl 3: 1).
Setting the common good above everything could be another guiding principle. Also, we must ascertain that our goal has a higher purpose. This sanctifies what we desire – power and glory included. If it be for God, let it be done! That is what a 300,000-plus gathering meant to say when they sang ‘We want God’, on John Paul II’s first visit to his homeland, in 1979, shortly after he succeeded to the Chair of Peter. He invoked the power of the Holy Spirit to renew the face of Poland and liberate it from the bondage of communism and atheism.[1] The prayer was transformative.
That is a perfect illustration of what those in power should do. Jesus pointed out that, unlike the Gentile rulers who lord it over their people, Christians must rule through selfless service. ‘Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.’ There is no better example of this than Jesus Himself, who came not to be served but to serve, not to live but to give His life as a ransom for us.
Finally, the Second Reading (Heb 4: 14-16) makes it clear that we must envision the ‘throne of grace’, where Jesus is seated, at the right hand of God the Father. Our High Priest sympathises with our weaknesses, so we can easily draw near to His throne, trusting that we will receive mercy and find grace. Which is so much unlike the earthly seats of power that are hotbeds of inconsideration, corruption and degeneration. Thus, there is not a doubt that only those who have gone through the passion are deserving of the glory.
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