Sunday, October 20, 2024
Years ago, after more than three decades in the technology field, I lost my dream job of four years. While this was an undesired and unwelcome event, my outlook was primarily positive, as I thought it could lead to new and potentially more rewarding opportunities. It was a time when I thought I could be selective about what I would choose to do next. As months passed without me landing my ideal next job and staying home turned dreary, I became less discerning in my job search. My prayers intensified, too! I wondered why God was ignoring my prayers. Am I being punished for something?
It was a time when my and my wife’s parents started exhibiting symptoms of a decline in cognitive functions and needed intervention. Over the following months and a few years, our families coordinated the parents’ doctor visits, took over their personal and financial obligations, provided in-house care, moved them from their homes into assisted-living facilities, and eventually hospice care before their passing. Providing this care simultaneously to two sets of parents was time-consuming and made me postpone my job search. I realized that while I was planning and praying for something, God had a different plan for my life during that period. God sympathized with our parents’ weaknesses and deterioration and, like a high wave cresting and propelling a surfer, He used their children to deliver His compassion and care.
In today’s Gospel, brothers James and John, Jesus’ disciples, said to Him, perhaps what everyone would love to say to God, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” (Mark 10:35b). Perhaps what we desire is not always what is best, or even good. We do not have the knowledge or wisdom to trust what is desirable. We see things as if looking through a door peephole, limiting our vision and unseeing fully what is directly outside. “You do not know what you are asking,” was Jesus’ response. It’s true; God always hears our prayers but doesn’t always give us what we ask for.
In our Gospel Readings over the past few weeks, we saw a sharp contrast between human wisdom and God’s wisdom as Jesus taught His disciples. James and John understood that Our Lord chose them and the other ten disciples to be leaders in His kingdom and to be in a position of authority. However, they failed to fully comprehend the nature of the calling to discipleship they were meant to embody. They were unaware that their role would not be one of earthly power or supremacy but of humble, servant leadership, following the example set by Christ Himself.
Jesus established His Kingdom, but seeking recognition, power, and honor is human nature. If we aspire to please God and live out our calling as disciples, we must put aside our desires and heed His call for true greatness through humility and service.
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.