29th
Sunday Ordinary Time Year B
Readings:
Isaiah 53:10-11; Hebrew 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45
Crushed, afflicted and suffered for our
justification. This Sunday the readings focus our attention on Christ the
suffering servant, as the model of Christian leadership. In the first reading
from Isaiah, the prophet sings about the suffering Servant who through his
suffering, shall justify many, and bear their guilt. This weekend, as the
Universal Church celebrates the canonization of seven saints among whom is St.
Marianne of Molokai, we are given models of faith, trust and humble service to
follow. Mother Marianne Cope left Syracuse where she would have lived
comfortably and went to serve those others were afraid to serve. She risked her
very life for those with Hansen’s disease at Molokai. Contrary to the ambition
we find in the Gospel today, Mother Marianne was simply “hungry for the work.
The Gospel of today leads us to discover
Christ’s example as a model self-giving leadership in the Church. By taking on
himself the role of a servant and redeeming us by his own suffering and death,
Christ has turned all human ambitions upside down. "Whoever wishes to be
great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will
be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.” One must be struck by the irony of
James and John’s request because when the time came for them to take their
place one of the right and the other on the left, they were no where to be seen
at Calvary! Nevertheless, they too eventually would drink the cup of a martyr’s
death. The true disciple therefore is the one who aspires to one thing only:
sharing in the sufferings of the master. Though Mother Marianne did not die a
martyr’s death, she had her own spiritual martyrdom of continuously serving
those with Hansen’s disease and cleaning their wounds with joy. So what message
do we take home? 1) We are challenged to model our leadership on the example of
Christ, who “did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many.” 2) As we celebrate the canonization of St. Marianne of
Molokai and six others, we are invited to imitate the examples of these holy
men and women especially their selfless service to others; 3) Leaders at all
levels of church life are challenged to assume a style of humble service to
others, and of being always ready to drink the cup of suffering as Jesus did
for us.
©2012 John S. Mbinda
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