Gospel (Mk 10,35-45) - At that time, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus and said to him: "Master, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you". He said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" They answered him: «Grant us to sit, in your glory, one at your right and one at your left». Jesus said to them: «You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”. They replied: "We can." And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink, you too will drink, and in the baptism with which I am baptized you will also be baptized. But sitting on my right or my left is not up to me to grant; it is for those for whom it was prepared." The other ten, having heard, began to be indignant with James and John. Then Jesus called them to him and said to them: «You know that those who are considered the rulers of the nations rule over them and their leaders oppress them. However, this is not the case among you; but whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

Mark reports a dialogue between Jesus and Zebedee's two sons, James and John. We are still on the road to Jerusalem and, for the third time, Jesus had confided to his disciples the destiny of death that awaited him at the end of his journey to the holy city. The two disciples, not at all affected by the tragic words of the master, come forward and ask Jesus for the first places next to him when he establishes his kingdom. Faced with the claim of the two disciples, Jesus responds: «You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”. Jesus wants to explain to them the needs of the Gospel through two biblical symbols: the chalice and baptism. Both images are interpreted by Jesus in relation to his death. The cup is the sign of God's wrath, as Isaiah writes: "Rise, Jerusalem, who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, the cup, the cup of dizziness" (Is 51,17). Jesus, with this metaphor, indicates that he takes upon himself God's judgment for the evil done in the world, even at the cost of death. The same thing applies to the symbol of baptism: "All your billows and waves have passed over me" (Ps 42:8). In short, with the two symbols, Jesus shows that his path is not a career towards power. This is why Jesus gathers the Twelve around him again: «You know that those who are considered the rulers of the nations dominate them and their leaders oppress them. But this is not the case among you." The instinct for power is well rooted in the hearts of men. No one, not even within the Christian community, is immune from this temptation. Jesus continues to say to his disciples: "But it is not so among you." This is not a criticism of power. The power and authority the Gospel speaks of is that of love. And Jesus explains it not only with his words when he states that "whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant", but with his very life. He says of himself: "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." This must be the case for every one of his disciples.