Why did the two disciples of Christ seek pride of place?

The Gospel extract which is read in churches on the fifth Sunday in Great Lent is Mark 10, verses 32-45.  Christ  and his disciples were making their way towards Jerusalem and the Lord again foretold the details of his suffering, death and resurrection. The disciples weren’t really able to understand, being influenced by Jewish notions of the Messiah. They thought that the Lord would be proclaimed king and would liberate the nation from the Romans.

So, the two apostles, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked Christ to give them the authority and honor of sitting to the right and left of his throne. The Lord answered that they didn’t know what they were asking and took the opportunity to teach them that, contrary to what was the case with secular leaders, Christian office-holders should have the spirit of service. He himself, as God and human person, provided the example of this. He hadn’t come into the world for others to serve him, but to serve others and, indeed, to sacrifice his life as a ransom for many.

What we see here is the intense desire of the two disciples for authority and pride of place. And their total lack of understanding is impressive. It’s due to the fact that they hadn’t yet received  the Holy Spirit, which would fill and illumine them on the day of Pentecost.

Also impressive, however, is Christ’s teaching as regards leaders. Christ is the only leader who promises his followers persecutions and afflictions; he also defines the role of leaders as servants of those whom they lead.

In the end, despite these strange inversions in the life of both Christ and his disciples, history has shown that they’re more effective than weaponry and secular power. What happened was that a few insignificant and unarmed apostles changed the world as it then was, without exerting any violence, without preaching revolution, as would normally have been the case. The same is true today: peacefully and with absolute respect for the freedom of each person, the truth of the Gospel changes those who accept it and allows those who apply it to know, even in this life, the peace, joy and beauty of paradise.