Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Congratulations with the feast of the Resurrection of the Lord, the memory of St. Mary of Egypt and, of course, with the final Sunday of Great Lent!

The beginning of today’s Gospel reading clearly reminds us of the upcoming Holy Week and admonishes us to use the following week in a spiritually beneficial manner. There remains one week of fasting, lenten prayers and ascetic struggles before the feasts of the Raising of Lazarus and the Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem. Holy Week will remain before we reach Pascha, and although we will continue to fast and pray, it will be easier in light of the wonderful church services that bring to mind the last earthly days of our Saviour.

It’s clear to us what lies before us, but for the apostles it was far from clear. Although Christ repeatedly instructed them that suffering and death await Him, they did not wish to hear this and perhaps were even holding out hope that soon He would begin to reign over a new earthly Jewish kingdom. Perhaps it is with these types of thoughts that two of the best apostles, the brothers John and James, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with a request to sit at His right and left hand in His Kingdom. We could say that they were looking for good, perhaps even the best, positions in the future new government. We may be tempted to judge these actions because they seem selfish, unchristian and, in some sense, not very polite, but we shouldn’t do this. The holy evangelist Matthew adds to today’s Gospel story that the brothers did not come to Christ alone with their requests, but that they brought their mother to ask the question. They very much wanted to receive honours from the Lord, but they understood that their actions were not altogether good and were ashamed, and therefore brought their mother along. Let’s take note that she also felt awkward making such a request. She was so nervous and ashamed that she couldn’t even articulate her question clearly. Christ had to ask her to repeat her request. It’s possible that we are not so different from these apostles. We also sometimes want to be noticed and honoured. Sometimes we even put ourselves forward, using various methods, although we know very well that it’s not worth the effort.
This whole scene, naturally, brought up displeasure and a certain amount of grumbling from the other disciples. Christ called them to Himself and calms the situation by teaching the following: “Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Let’s notice that the apostles heard this call of Christ and truly became ministers and servants, sacrificing their lives for the preaching of the Gospel. They drank from the chalice from which Christ drank and were baptized with His baptism. In such a way, all of them, not only John and James, took their places to the right and left side of Christ in His Heavenly Kingdom.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, our Heavenly Father prepared places near Jesus not for two or three, but for all those who are ready to hear and fulfill His word. Therefore, let’s leave aside our earthly fantasies and try to become ministers and servants for our neighbours. In such a way, let us inherit those honourable places in the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for us.

priest Alexis