Be Careful What You Ask For

I have always found it easy to criticize James and John for their raw, unfiltered request for prominence, which we read about in Sunday's gospel lesson (Mark 10:35-45). They were on the road with Jesus and the other disciples. Jesus had just predicted his death and resurrection for the third time, and, as soon as the words got out of the rabbi's mouth, "James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward and said to him, 'Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.'" It's the combination of Jesus having just predicted his death, the disciples ignorance of their master's repeated instruction to receive the kingdom like a child, and the sneaky way that they introduce their request that make me especially dismissive of their brash grasp for power: "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." But I suspect this passage isn't given to us merely to teach me not to be like James or John. There's more to learn here than that.

After Jesus engaged the brothers about their willingness to walk the path that Jesus would lead them on, we read about the other disciples' reaction: "When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John." Their reaction is understandable. Like a child stepping away from his siblings to secretly ask a parent for the last cupcake, the action of James and John was galling. It felt like they were trying to secure for themselves the most important, prominent seats in Jesus' glorious reign. But Jesus' reaction to the disciples' anger isn't to chastise the brothers Zebedee in front of their ten companions, thus siding with the complainers, but to use this as a teaching opportunity for them. The text shows us that Jesus called the ten to himself and said to them, "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you..."

Aren't those who are quick to criticize James and John just as guilty of misunderstanding the way Jesus' reign works? This is where the cupcake-sibling analogy falls apart. Jesus' reign isn't a limited resource, a prize at the end of the journey. Sitting at Jesus' right and left is not a reward reserved for the best disciples. It is a concept that doesn't fit Jesus' reign. If Jesus, the Son of God, will journey to suffering and death, those who follow him do not journey toward a victory seat. They join him in accepting the cup of suffering and baptism into death. If someone wants to sit and Jesus' left and right in God's kingdom, let them want it. Jesus says, "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all."

So what does Jesus mean when he says, "To sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared?" Perhaps this is a foreshadowing of his crucifixion, when, as Mark recalls, "with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left." The word translated for us as "sit" is the Greek word "καθίσαι," which does mean sit but also, in the figurative sense, means to appoint or to fix one's abode or to settle. That means Jesus could have been saying to James and John, "To be situated at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." In one sense, this is an appropriate continuation of his question to the brothers: "Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?"

I like that reading, but it's probably not correct. Usually the simpler understanding is the right one, and it's a lot easier to read "sit" as "sit." Regardless, I'm drawn into this text in a fuller way by letting go of my quick criticism of James and John and the resentment and ego that instinctive reaction represents. Why should I care who sits/dwells/is fixed at Jesus' right or left? My place is behind him, following, serving. That's Jesus' invitation.