All of us have wishes for our lives.
Maybe those wishes are for the sake of people around us, like encouraging a troubled friend or praying for a family member to get better.
We also have wishes for ourselves. Some are simple, short-term wishes like traveling to a certain place this summer. Some are more serious, long-term wishes like having our dreams come true or being promoted as a result of our hard work. On the other hand, have you ever looked back and realized you were glad your wishes didn’t come true? Or that you didn’t fully understand the meaning of what we were desiring at the time?
In the Waypoints manga “A Mother’s Wish,” the mother of James and John in is portrayed as a doting mother of a pair of mama’s boys. She no doubt poured her efforts into her sons’ success from the time they were young. At the end of the manga, she presents gifts to Jesus, their teacher, and prostrates herself, asking him to promote her sons to be his right and left hand men when he rules as king. Her sons themselves wanted to become known as great men.
To the mother’s desperate plea, Jesus replied, “You do not know what you are asking.” He also asked her sons, James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?” They answered, “Yes,” but they did not understand what he was talking about. Drinking the cup meant suffering.
The mother’s request sparked anger among the other disciples, who also wanted to become great men. When a wish turns into greed, we think, “I have the right to have what I desire.” And if someone gets in the way of that wish, it can become a source of anger. Anxiety and fear can also arise. We humans experience this kind of discomfort even when we ourselves don’t fully understand the meaning of our desires.
Jesus invites such people: “Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” The manga depicts the mother receiving a kind of liberation through her response to this invitation.
Jesus is inviting you, taking an interest in the requests you have today. He wants to set you free.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
