Two of Jesus’ followers, James and John, engage him in a quite calculated conversation: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Jesus replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” The glory sought is more than that of our own daydreams in which our goodness is made known because we play the hero and save a life. It is the glory that comes with being ultimately triumphant, a master. It is the desire for greatness. James and John seek to bask in the glory offered in worship to conquering gods.
The glory sought matches this week’s conquering hero. It is the glory offered to Columbus by a U.S. nation that has celebrated him for over 150 years. Columbus’ glory began with funding derived from Spanish Jews whose assets and property were stolen. His glory persisted upon his landing on resource-rich islands with generous people. Columbus noted this and in a calculated entry in his journal dreamed of his mastery over them: “They do not bear arms, and do not know them … They would make fine servants…. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” The glory of Columbus and subsequent warriors continued through centuries of raping and pillaging that is gut wrenchingly shocking though often blithely recorded in the journals of sailors, soldiers, and statesmen. The price of such glory is high. If a price is paid by conquering heroes it is perhaps as moral injury. A price is more fully paid by those who are conquered; by those people from whom the price of glory is always forcibly extracted. It is extracted no matter the place – for it is always but one place; Calvary. It is on Calvary we discover a meaning for Jesus’ words: “to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared.” From Jesus and the two nameless men hanging from crosses prepared for them, to equally unnamed persons throughout history whose torture was prepared for them, including the indigenous people of Columbus’s time, to those still today – we learn the price of glory.
It is long past time for the shift away from glorifying great gods of conquest, whether they be Caesar or Columbus. It is time to shift toward celebrating Indigenous People who live and love beyond the old conquering heroes. This year, Albuquerque, Portland, St. Paul, and Olympia join cities like Minneapolis, Seattle, Red Wing and Grand Rapids and states like Alaska, Hawaii, and South Dakota in replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. They give witness to a different experience of greatness: “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant.”
Prayer: Spirit of Humility, we are willing to serve.
Question: What shift on greatness do I need to make?
October 18, 2015 Mark 10:35-45 Twenty-Ninth Sunday In Ordinary Time