Our gospel today (Mk 10:35-45) comes immediately after Jesus’ third prediction of his passion and death: “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again.” (Mk 10:33-34 – NRSV) So, that James and John, these young brothers approach Jesus and put this question to sit at his side in his glory is even more stark. We are almost at the end of the journey of Jesus and the disciples to Jerusalem – next week we have the final passage before the arrival in Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday (Mk 11:1). So what is going on? And what are the cup and the baptism all about? Are there any other stories that can help us address this question of ambition expressed by the brothers? Listen in to find out more…
Recorded at St Michael’s 9.30am (12’06”)