Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 10, 35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?”
They answered him, “Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”
Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
They said to him, “We can.”
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 or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
“You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Three negative traits
1. Selfishness. It starts strongly in childhood; we can easily see it in children. They cry and scream until they feel satisfied in their needs. They don’t care what happens around them. The same thing can happen in the course of your life. And that selfishness can show up in your partner, in your children or in your community. It can even manifest itself as an obsession, in which you feel others should serve you or must satisfy what you want. This stage, which is strongly present in childhood, can be recurrent in adulthood.
2. Vanity. This is clearly experienced in youth, when your image is a priority and you always seek to look good physically, to attract attention. But how difficult it is when this happens when you are older! Many people crave for attention at a psychological level, even wanting to give opinions on things that they don’t know about, in order to attract attention or to show off. It’s important to look at yourself and see if you always want the spotlight on you.
3. Power. This appears in adulthood. We all seek some form of power, wanting to control those around us. Many times, we end up considering our family members as employees! This also affects your personality, because you want to control the lives of others and you don’t respect their freedom, instead you want others to be what you want them to be. The weapon of power is called manipulation. And that manipulation can even lead you to act sick or weak when you begin to see that you’re losing that power to control others. This kind of power is complex because in the end, it weakens you. And the same holds true when others seek to control your life, you may even lose your freedom. And when you fall into the clutches of someone who only seeks to rule you, it’s difficult to get out because the person subdues you and when you seek to break free, you feel guilty.
Today, let’s ask God to be able to fight against these three negative traits that will appear at different stages of our lives. Show yourself before the Lord just as you are because He will lead you to true peace through service. For if your purpose in life isn’t to serve others, you serve no purpose.
Remember that something good is on the way!
God bless you and protect you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
