XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
I CAME TO SERVE AND TO GIVE MY LIFE AS A RANSOM
By our Pastor, Fr. Carmelo Jiménez
This Sunday’s readings emphasize to us: service, dedication and life. They are words that come from the readings which gain an unusual strength from apparent weakness. For many this supposes a personal donation. Jesus makes it clear to his disciples that his life is in the service of others to the point of dying for them. His word was clear: to give his life as a ransom for all.
The first reading, taken from the prophet Isaiah, chapter 53, is part of the fourth song of the Servant that focuses on his suffering for all mankind. The book of Isaiah has four songs of great beauty and profound theological meaning. This fourth song is about a Servant who carries the load on his shoulders the sin of all to free us all. The work of the Servant is unlimited in its effects. “If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him” (Is 53: 10). The most sublime highlight in this song is the universal character of the mission of the Servant. Israel’s borders are broken to reach everyone.
The second reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, encourages us to put our faith and trust totally in Christ, the eternal high priest. “So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help” (Heb 4: 16). The Hebrew community was persecuted so the issues of trust and faith are as a means of strengthening their hope. The image of the Servant, from the first reading, is now used to present Jesus as directing the great pilgrimage of the Church towards life, towards the Kingdom of God. Understanding life as a great itinerary toward higher realities that give full meaning to man is an attractive offer, but as men we are in the midst of this world where we are increasingly tempted to close in on ourselves.
“Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” (Mk 10:37). In the ancient costumes kings would surround themselves always with: their friends, their confidants or their advisors. To be close to the king was a very special privilege. The two brothers, or rather the mother, wants to obtain for them these two privileged posts of power. Jesus corrects the root of the error: the true messiah is on a journey toward Jerusalem, toward the liberating cross as an expression of his humble service, even to the point of giving his life for all: “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.” (Mk 10:43b-45). Jesus is the Servant, not the Powerful one according to human categories. It is a totally new world if we understand the plans of God.
Jesus is convincing: to give his life as a ransom for all. Is this phrase capable of discovering the intentions of our heart and what moves us to follow him? And from that emerges another question: do we aspire to serve from a place of power which suppresses or from the giving of ourselves which saves? This is the paradox, which is found often in the gospel: it is in giving of ourselves that we receive and losing our life is how we gain the eternal life. May God help us to grow in loving service.