“The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, ‘What do you wish?’ She answered him, ‘Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom’” (Mt 20:21-22).
The context of this request from the mother of the sons of Zebedee, James and John, comes from reading a few verses before the quote above. Start reading at Matthew 20:17 and you will see that Jesus and his twelve apostles are heading toward Jerusalem. Jesus stops to share with them, for the third time, that he will be condemned and crucified.
Jesus’ statement of his imminent suffering and death appears to be ignored by the mother of James and John. The other ten are indignant, not regarding the lack of acknowledging Jesus’ statement, but about who is the greatest among them! It is easy to imagine how the chaotic scene ensues! “See how imperfect they all are: the two who tried to get ahead of the other ten, and the ten who were jealous of the two” (Chrysostom, 1551)!
This event is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Mark has James and John speaking for themselves, not their mother, as in Matthew. Luke does not even record the initial request of James and John at all, but comes in at the point of the apostle’s dispute. What all record, including the Gospel of John, is that Jesus made it clear to his apostles that he came to serve not to be served. To follow Jesus meant, not that they would be in positions of power, the sitting to his right or his left, but that they were to serve as he served, to love as he loved.
One of the most powerful ways we can serve, can love, is to be truly present with others and this is done most effectively when we actively listen. We need to resist the temptation that the apostles fell for, thinking about their own needs instead of listening to what Jesus was sharing with them; the coming of his own death! We need to put the book down, set the work aside, turn off the tv, put away the cell phone, disengage our thoughts, and instead look at and listen to what the person in our midst has to say.
Today, may we make time to stop and listen to Jesus, to our family, our children, and friends, and those, who we may have in the past not given the time of day. Jesus came to serve, to love, by willing the good of the other as St Thomas Aquinas said. Let us too serve and love one another by giving of ourselves with our time and attention.
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Mass readings for today, Tuesday, July 25, 2017:
Parallel Gospel passages to review:
Mark 10:35-45; Matthew 20:20-28; Luke 22:24-27 and John 13:12-17
Chrysostom, St John. Homily. Catholic Church. The Liturgy of the Hours: According to the Roman Rite. 1975.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 
Thank you for the reminder…”One of the most powerful ways we can serve, can love, is to be truly present with others and this is done most effectively when we actively listen” This is so important and so hard to do!
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You have taken the first step, which is to recognize the value of listening to another. When we listen attentively, we acknowledge the dignity of the person by giving of our time to be present to them. The second step is to reflect on those times where we have not been present, and to ask God to forgive us and to reach out, if possible, to those who we realize we have not been present to. The next step is to ask Jesus to help us to give us the patience, understanding, and empathy going forward so we will be more present, and to help us to steady ourselves when we notice we are losing our balance. Step by step with Jesus we become the person God invites us to be. Thank you for your comment and joining me on the journey, as we go step by step upon the spiritual stepping stones!
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