“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [Matthew 20: 25-28]
Before speaking these words, Jesus had just predicted (for the third time) his suffering, death, and resurrection. But immediately he is confronted with the mother of two of his disciples asking him to give them a preferential place in his "kingdom." The two brothers, James, and John, say they are willing to pay the price, but Jesus warns them it is not the price they are thinking of. The other disciples are no better in their thinking. Their indignation is probably at the "end run" attempted by their two colleagues. Jesus contrasts earthly power OVER others with power FOR others. The disciples are to become "servant leaders."
Recent historical events in our own country have shown just how tempting earthly, especially earthly political power can be. There has been little of Jesus' example or teaching presented. Perhaps we could look into our own lives and look at those moments of "power" that we have, whether as parents, teachers, doctors, lawyers, employers, pastors, etc. How closely do we hug that power to ourselves and how do we use it for others? Is it OVER them or "FOR" (and with) them? Lord Acton's dictum is an important one to remember: "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely." How powerful are we? AMEN