James and John call "Shotgun!"
But whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many ( Mark 10:43b-45 ). “Shotgun!” My kids still sometimes yell this out as we’re heading to the car, even though they’re almost grown up. Sound familiar? Today, James and John call shotgun in Jesus’ kingdom. Like children, they ask first, “Promise us you’ll say yes to what we’re going to ask.” The truth is, I’m afraid, we’re all really not that different from these two brothers. It’s part of the human condition, it seems, to want to be the best, to be the first, to have the most, to win the trophy…and, like the other disciples in the story, to be a little angry and jealous when we don’t. “What is it you want me to do for you?” Jesus asks James and John…”What is it you want me to do for you?” The verb want shows up many times in this part of Mark, and each time it is p