PARTICIPATION – COMMUNION – MISSION
Privilege, Favouritism, Special places… these are traps we often love to be in! In today’s gospel, James and John – the sons of thunder – eye supremacy over the others. Jesus had foretold his passion, death and resurrection. The path to glory is through suffering. The Cross comes before the Crown. But they never really understood it. For them suffering was temporary while glory would be eternal. They only knew of a potential ‘power vacuum’ in Jesus’ Kingdom and it had to be captured at all costs. They considered themselves superior over the others.
Jesus reverses their desire to rise above the rest. Jesus takes them a step back to focus on his ‘suffering’ before his glory. There is no short cut to glory. The disciples will have to follow the same path. There is no power for one who relinquishes the cross! Jesus invited them to align themselves with ‘drinking from the cup’ rather than choosing to ‘sit in places of honour’. For Jesus, the apostles had to be servants of all. There was no place for self-enthronement.
The gospel of today comes as an answer to anyone seeking to be above others! Jesus began to promote SYNODALITY right through his public ministry. The Church today has taken that call to Synodality: Participation – Communion – Mission.
Pope Francis speaking to the participants of the Synod gathered in Rome recently said, “We Christians are all responsible for the Church’s mission. Every priest, everyone. We priests are not bosses of the laity but their pastors! Jesus called us, one and others too, not one above the others but complimenting each other. We are community! That is why we need to walk together taking the path of Synodality. All of us are called to witness with our lives and be co-responsible for the Church’s mission. We participate and we live in the Communion of the Church and called to sustain a ‘Synodal Lifestyle’ in every way through our ‘Participation – Communion – Mission’ shared by all priests, religious and laity.
Any attempt by anyone to fall into the trap of ‘privileged positions’ will only make this Synod on Synodality a futile exercise. Our only privilege is to be like Jesus, to bear the cross and be servants of all.
Fr Glenford Lowe
