Daily Gospel Reflection

Turn Your Kingdom Upside Down

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant, where we're exploring the genius of the Gospel. And today's reading comes from Mark chapter 10, verses 32 through 45. "And they were on the road going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them, and they were amazed. And those who followed were afraid. And taking the Twelve again, Jesus began to tell them what was to happen to Him, saying, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man man will be delivered to the chief priests in the Scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles. And they will mock Him and spit upon Him and scourge Him and kill Him. And after three days, He will rise.'

And 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.' And He said to them, 'What do you want Me to do for you?' And they said to Him, 'Grant us to sit one on Your right hand and one on Your left in Your glory.' But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?' And they said to Him, 'We are able.' And Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I drink you will drink. And with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized. But to sit at my right hand and my left is not Mine to give. But it is for those to whom it has been prepared.'

And when the Ten heard it, they became indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them and said to them, 'You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lorded over them, and their great men exercise authority over them, but it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.'" There's really two things going on here. They're making their way up to Jerusalem. They see the city of Jerusalem. It's stunning. They're overwhelmed by it. And Jesus talks about His death again. And I often wonder, Jesus spoke about it, but they seem to miss that.

And one thing I've been thinking lately was, maybe because Jesus had been so good at escaping these situations in the past, that they just assumed that Jesus would continue to escape these situations where people were trying to trap Him or stone Him or throw Him out of town or throw Him off a cliff or whatever it was. So that's the first part. The second part is fascinating. James and John come to Jesus and ask, "Hey, we want You to do for us whatever we ask You to do," which is a staggering approach to Jesus, right? But we do the same, I'm sure, in our prayers at different times in our lives. We come to God and say, "God, we want You to do whatever we ask You to do." And Jesus says, "Well, okay, what is it that you want?" And what they're asking for again is staggering.

And then the Disciples catch wind of this, okay? And they become indignant. And Jesus calls them and sets them all straight. He says, "Hey guys, this thing, my Kingdom, isn't set up like any other kingdom you've ever known." In fact, turn those other kingdoms upside down, and that's what you get. The first will be last, the last will be first. The master will be the servant and the servant of all. We do, I think, build our own little kingdoms, and maybe it's time to have our own little kingdoms turned upside down a little bit today. Have an amazing day. Remember. Be bold. Be Catholic.