It is no wonder the apostles call Jesus ‘teacher’ so frequently in the Gospels. At times all of them come across as spoiled, squabbling children rather than mature adults, undertaking a mission greater than any other the world had seen.

Today’s gospel is a very good example of this. After all Jesus taught them; after all the parables, the miracles and the encounters they had witnessed; after hearing Jesus say over and over again that lording it over others, considering ourselves better than others runs counter to the Kingdom of God; after listening to him castigate the Pharisees for wearing elaborate clothes and praying in the front seats in the synagogue, they still did not have a clue what the Kingdom of God was about.

In this Gospel James and John, who really should have known better, sneak behind the others’ back almost demanding the two top jobs in the Kingdom of God. Truly, they are like two naughty children wanting more sweets than their brothers and sisters, and more attention from their parents. The result of their action is exactly as might be expected of children. The others find out and are furious, probably demanding that Jesus sends them to bed early and tells Judas not to give them any pocket-money for the next month!

Jesus, the wise and patient parent, listens to the squabbling and name-calling for a while, hoping they might resolve the issue themselves and become friends again, but when this did not happen, he called a family meeting and with amazing patience gently scolded them, explaining all over again that being part of God’s Kingdom was not what they thought it is.

It is interesting in a humorous kind of way, that Mathew, in his Gospel, recounts the same story, but with one little difference: Instead of James and John going to Jesus to ask for the top places in the Kingdom, it is their poor mother who asks for them! Matthew seems to realise how childish James and John are being, and points the finger of blame at their long-suffering Mum rather than insisting that they take responsibility for their own actions. How typical; “It wasn’t us. It was Mum said it….”.

While I tend to believe the version of the story we read today, I suppose it is possible that Matthew has the story correct. Parents can be very ambitious for their children and worry sometimes that they are not confident enough to push for what they deserve. If it was their mother who asked, James and John must have been acutely embarrassed when they heard what she had done, especially if the others blamed them for it. I can imagine the boys saying to their mother, “Mum! Why did you do that? We’re not kids you know. How embarrassing, we’ll never live this down. Please, just stay out of our lives from now on!”

Sometimes people write and tell me that this type of questioning and conjecture is a waste of time and possibly even disrespectful to the serious message of the Gospel. While I understand this position, I have to disagree. To properly ‘meet’ Jesus in the Gospels; to walk those trails of Israel with him, we must allow ourselves to see the humanity of Jesus and his followers. Pope Francis calls “…all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ.” (EG 3). The best way to ‘encounter’ Jesus is to walk prayerfully and respectfully with him. We must allow ourselves to see Jesus through our own eyes and our own experiences. We must ask questions, imagine scenarios and smile (and cry) with Jesus and the other characters in the Gospels.

I like the advice of St. Teresa of Avilla, “…I say you should not pass the whole time thinking… you should put yourself in the presence of Christ without tiring the intellect, speak with and delight in Him and not wear yourself out in composing syllogisms.”  In another place she wrote, “It is important that while we are living and are human, we have human support.  Christ is a very good friend because we behold him as man and see him with weaknesses and trials, and he is company for us.” 

“…Delight in him…”, “…speak with him…”, “…Christ is a very good friend…”, “…we see him with weaknesses and trials…”, “…He is company for us.” Wonderful advice from one of the greatest mystics of the Church. Teresa’s own ‘encounter’ with Jesus and God was of the deepest and most profound kind. Never was she trivial or disrespectful, seeking always and only “The Way of Perfection.”

I referred to James and John acting in a childish way at the start of this reflection and, of course, that was partly in jest. What they did in this Gospel is, in fact, the same as Peter, Thomas, and Simon did at other times in the Gospels; namely totally fail to understand the nature of the Kingdom Jesus was revealing.

It is easy for us today to read what Jesus said and think, ‘…but he said it so clearly. How could they miss it?’

That response is too simplistic by far. Firstly, the written Gospels give us a synopsised and reflected-upon account of Jesus’ mission. Those who walked those roads and trails with Jesus heard what he wanted to tell them in bits and pieces. He talked to different groups of people in different places. He was responding to so many different needs and situations – illness, poverty, disease, people testing him, etc. His core message was always diluted by the immediate needs of his audience.

So, when we read in the Gospels that Jesus said, for example, “… the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” it is so clear that a child could understand it. But what we are getting here is a gathering of different memories of things Jesus said, put together after discussion and prayer into one coherent statement. Did Jesus say it all? Yes, but maybe not all at the same time or in the same place.

Secondly, and I think more importantly, all of the apostles and disciples of Jesus had grown up with clear expectations as to what the Kingdom of God would look like when it came about. Parents, when teaching their children their first prayers, would have taught them about the Kingdom of God which was to come. Later, in the synagogue schools they would have learned that the Kingdom would come in power and glory, with the great armies of God going before him. Israel would be vindicated, judgement would be made, the enemies of Israel punished, the Law of Moses established forever, and God would reign as King.

From the cradle they learned all of this. It became for them a fixed and immovable belief – the Kingdom of God would come in this way and only in this way!

Then came Jesus. Born into poverty, with no power, authority or social standing. For the first thirty years of his life he was unknown and insignificant. He had no armies to call on and what is more, even though he was popular and recognised as a miracle-worker, he showed no inclination to gather around him a group who might challenge Rome.

He spoke sometimes as if he might be the Messiah but then he said things that totally contradicted the way the Messiah would talk.  ‘Love you enemies; do good to those who persecute you.’ That is not going to get rid of Rome or vindicate Israel! He washed his disciples feet and said that this was how leadership should work! How would this bring about the Kingdom of God? Wash someone’s feet and you will never be respected as a leader again!  He said the Kingdom of God was for everyone, no favourites. But what about us, the people of Israel? We have stayed loyal to the One God always – and suffered because of it.  Are we not to see justice done for all we suffered?

The message of Jesus – the Kingdom he said was coming was so utterly different to the Kingdom they so longed for, that they simply could not believe it. Yes, they liked what Jesus said and yes, his message of peace, love, equality, forgiveness, tolerance and gentleness was attractive and worth committing to, but it just could not be the Kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God they had grown up to believe in had been learned so well, that try as they might, they could not unlearn it. This was the problem James and John (or their mother) had in this week’s Gospel. They knew the message of Jesus and they liked it but when it came to the crunch they did not want to be overlooked when the Kingdom came.

Only after the Resurrection of Jesus, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were they able to accept Jesus as the Messiah. Only then were they able to unlearn the Kingdom of power, wealth, status, ambition, punishment and control, and learn for the first time the Kingdom of love, hope, joy, peace, acceptance and gentleness.

The truth about the Kingdom of God, the power of the Kingdom of God, the certainty of Jesus’ message was revealed in the Resurrection. The Kingdom of God revealed in the person of Jesus overcame death itself. Such a Kingdom, guaranteed by the God who created everything, could never be overcome.

The Kingdom of God had arrived in Jesus. It was not a Kingdom imposed by armies, or power or binding laws, but a Kingdom born and found in people’s hearts. The full revelation of the Kingdom of God will happen. The Resurrection of Jesus proves that, and God guarantees it. Our task is to watch for that Kingdom in faith and hope and absolute confidence. While we wait, we prepare for the Kingdom by gathering in communities of faith and hope, proclaiming Jesus as the living Lord, and living as he invited us to live – as living islands of God’s Kingdom amid the storms and turbulence of our world.

However, we must beware. The mistake of James and John in this week’s Gospel must be a lesson for us. Just as they had grown up learning about a Kingdom of God which was based on worldly values, and were unable to let that Kingdom go when Jesus came among them, so we have grown up learning about a Kingdom of God which may or may not be true.

We must constantly challenge what we have been taught. It is not enough to say, “…this is the way it was always done, so it must be right.” As adult Christians we must be always open to the ‘newness’ of the Kingdom of God. We must be able to say, “…the Spirit of God moves where he/she wills…” and then be open to the surprises of that movement.

We now know the signs of the Kingdom of God, authenticated by the Resurrection and guaranteed by God: Joy, peace, patience, hope, forgiveness, love, gentleness, tolerance, compassion. These are the seeds of the Kingdom of God. We are called to nurture them where we find them; value and protect them where they are threatened; plant them through our own lives; call attention to them and rejoice in them when we recognise them.

No matter who or where we are – active, housebound, healthy, ill, with energy, in pain, we can do this simply by looking at, or reading, the news with new eyes, or bringing a new perspective to our social media feeds or being a little more gentle or patient in our own lives.

Being a disciple of Jesus in today’s world is always new and exciting. The seeds of the Kingdom of God are everywhere. We are called to recognise them, call attention to them, and rejoice in them.

Many thanks,

Brian.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie

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