Dr. Augustine Sokolovski
The Fifth Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to the dispute among the Apostles over who was the greatest, as described in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus decided to go to Jerusalem. “Behold, 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 and hand Him over to the Gentiles, and they will kill Him; and on the third day He will rise again” (Mark 10:32–45). This truly came to pass, and it did not merely become a historical account of what happened to Jesus but was incorporated almost verbatim into the Creeds of the Orthodox Church—that is, it became dogma. A dogma is the verbal formulation of an eternal truth, which possesses a special power to do good. That is why the Church Fathers, in particular St. Ambrose of Milan, taught that if you are afraid and fear something, you should read the Creed aloud.
Jesus clearly foretells the terrible fate that awaits Him in Jerusalem. Just as Judas’s selection among the Twelve Apostles, this is a sign that the Lord’s Passion was entirely voluntary. He was betrayed, crucified, and killed not because of tragic circumstances, but because He gave His life for His friends. The friends of the Lord are the Church, they are us, they are the whole world. The culmination of Jesus’ expression of this freedom was the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist during that meal. Jesus’ Passion was entirely voluntary, “for us, mankind, and for our salvation,” as the Creed states. It is through Jesus’ free will that we are saved.
“Let us sit with You, one on Your right and the other on Your left, in Your glory,” James and John asked Jesus (Mark 10:27). Jesus did not give them a positive answer. For it was obvious to Him that to be on His right and left at the height of the Kingdom meant to be crucified on His right and left. The apostles did not know this and were not ready to accept it. Therefore, Jesus literally took pity on the apostles. None of them was arrested or executed alongside Him. By a remarkable act of divine predestination, God blessed the disciples by allowing them to leave Him. This Gospel reading is prophetic. It is prophetic not only because Jesus foretold His imminent suffering, but also because what happened immediately after He spoke these words, the dispute over primacy, will accompany the Body of the Lord, His Church, throughout history.
“It is not for Me to grant a seat at My right or left hand,” says the Lord (Mark 10:40). In this way, He indicates that matters of authority and primacy must be structured exactly according to God’s example. Just as there are no disputes over primacy within the Holy Trinity, and just as Jesus, being the Son of God, always refers to the will of the Heavenly Father and His decisions, so too among Orthodox Christians, in the Church, in the Churches, and, of course, in every community and every parish, there should be no disputes over primacy. For whoever seeks to be first is already condemned. Judas became such a person. He sought to be first and ultimately achieved it. For he was not only the first to leave the number of the Twelve Apostles, but also the first of the disciples to leave this world, meeting his terrible end. As we approach Holy Week and the Resurrection, may the Lord preserve us from the love of power.