Imagine the shock those first disciples felt when Jesus turned their vision of power and glory upside down. As they jockeyed for status, arrogantly demanding positions of honor, Jesus confronted their pride with an unexpected invitation: to lead is to serve. Today we will journey with those humble fishermen as, step by painful step, they learned that true greatness lies not in lording over others but in lifting them up. Jesus’ radical call to servant leadership still reverberates across the centuries, beckoning each of us to sacrificial love and raising a simple question: will we accept the invitation to change lives from the back of the line?
- James and John have an embarrassing moment where they ask Jesus to let them sit on his right and left side in glory, revealing they don’t understand Jesus’ mission.
- Jesus teaches his disciples that greatness in God’s kingdom is found through humility and service, not power and status.
- His iconic statement is “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- If Christians truly lived according to this teaching, it would transform their communities, families, and the world.
- The cross represents Jesus’ ultimate act of service and sacrifice, and calls Christians to follow his example.
Jesus’ way stood the test of time because it alone had the power to transform societies from within. As his first followers discovered, when we embrace the cross, shedding self for the sake of others, the love of Christ takes root and bears fruit in miraculous ways. All around us, in our families, churches, and communities, lives cry out to be lifted up. Will we rise to the occasion, accepting our place among those who serve? The choice remains before us each day. May we go from this place empowered to meet eyes full of pain, loneliness or fear, and reflect into them the self-sacrificing love of God. In humble service may our lives spread his kingdom here on earth, and lead many to proclaim with us: blessed is the one who comes sharing the invitation of the cross.