Twenty-ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time: Ambition

To put today’s gospel into context, we should understand that Jesus and his disciples were walking toward Jerusalem. He knew that suffering and death awaited him there. Then, along the way, he pulled his twelve disciples aside and told them for the third time what was going to happen to him: “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.” (Mk 10:33-34).

It would seem that the two brothers, James and John, were simply not good listeners. They were two of his earliest and closest disciples, yet it's as though they didn't even hear what he had said. Their minds were not on Jesus, but instead on themselves: “Thank you, Jesus, that’s very interesting. Actually, we’ve got a question though…it’s something we want you to do for us”. And we learn that it was a request to be given positions marked by power and prestige.

I can imagine in that moment, that Jesus had to stop, close his eyes for a moment and take a deep breath or two before answering, to resist the impulse to shout. He must have thought, “Have they not heard anything I've said thus far? Have they not seen my example of how to live?”  At last, he explained it to them….again! “In the life I’m calling you to, you're not to be like the people who seek power. Instead, if your power will come from laying down your life.”

One word to describe what's at work in this is ambition. I don't think Jesus was opposed to ambition. He had ambitions: to lift up the lowly, to point hearts and minds toward the Father. Jesus isn’t anti-ambition, but he is opposed to selfish ambition.

What are your ambitions (or goals), whether those for the upcoming week, the year or for further on in life? Do they involve laying down your life for others? Are they for God’s glory or are they primarily for your benefit?