The

story in our reading today often makes me laugh—mostly because of

how uncomfortable it makes me feel. I wonder if James and John put

their mom up to this task, or if it was her idea. I’ve had parents

ask for some pretty interesting favors for their kids, but nothing

compares to this. And when Jesus asks James and John if they could

handle the challenges he would face, they are all for it. But they

really have no idea what they’re talking about. The other

disciples’ response is eye-opening too: they were “indignant with

the two brothers.”

Jesus

doesn’t let this moment go to waste. He uses it to teach about

being a servant. Though the world prizes money and possessions,

leadership and authority, Jesus’ way of doing things flips that

upside down. The first will be last, and the last first—so we are

called to serve rather than to lord it over others. Serving people is

key to what it means to be a disciple in Jesus’ kingdom.

Jesus

doesn’t hesitate to use himself as the prime example. If anyone

ever qualified as having authority, it is Jesus: Son of God, healer

of all sorts of illnesses, with power over life and death, authority

over demons, and much more. Jesus tells his disciples that he has not

come to be served, but to serve.

If

Jesus came to be a servant, then we, his followers, are called to be

servants too.