TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
20 OCTOBER 2024
Along with
Simon Peter, James and John form the inner circle of the disciples of Jesus. They
had gone into the house with him when he raised a dead girl to life. They were at the Transfiguration, where they
caught a glimpse of the Lord’s true glory.
After the Last Supper, Jesus would take them into the Garden of
Gethsemane with him. These two members
of the inner circle dare to ask an outrageous question: “Teacher, we want you
to do for us whatever we ask of you.” They want him to sit at his right and his
left when he comes into his glory.
They have
delusions of power, honor, and prestige.
What makes their request even worse is that Jesus had just clarified his
mission. As Messiah, he would not win a
glorious victory over their enemies.
Instead, the Father had sent him to be the suffering servant of the
Prophet Isaiah. He would be crushed in
infirmity, crucified on a cross. The cup
he will drink will be the cup of betrayal, false accusations, and a humiliating
death. In his baptism, he will drown in
the floodwaters of pain, torture, and death.
Only after drinking this cup and undergoing this baptism will he be
raised from the dead. He asks them if
they can drink this cup and undergo this baptism. Without knowing what they are saying, they
agree.
Jesus makes
it clear to his inner circle that leadership is not about power, honor, or
prestige. Leadership is about humble
service, which includes dying to self and carrying the cross of being a humble
servant, a slave. Jesus speaks these
words today to all who form the inner circle of leadership, especially in the
Church. Pope Francis has the Cardinals
in his inner circle to serve the universal Church. Father Andrew has his inner circle of
advisors to serve this parish. Those in
the inner circle of leadership cannot lord their positions over those they
serve. They must drink the cup of dying
to self and be immersed in the baptism of carrying heavy crosses for the sake
of those whom they serve.
When the
other ten hear this request, they become indignant. They are not upset with the sons of thunder because
they made this outrageous request. They
are upset because James and John had beaten them to ask what they wanted. So, Jesus addresses all of them. He addresses all of us. Whether we are in an inner circle or not, disciples
must drink the cup of self-denial and be immersed in the baptism of putting
ourselves last. As James and John will
eventually learn, authentic disciples cannot share in the rising of Jesus
Christ unless we share in his dying.
As we hear
this Gospel, we have an advantage which the original apostles did not
have. We know the end of the story. We know that drinking the painful cup and
being drowned in the baptism of death was not the end for Jesus. But, we must listen carefully to his
words. We may want to have really good
seats in the Kingdom of Heaven. But, we
too have to drink of the cup of suffering and be drowned in the waters of death
on a daily basis. Each of us must share
in the cross of Christ in our own way. At
this time of heightened division in both our country and in our Church, perhaps
there is a common call for all of us.
The Lord challenges us to drink the cup of humility and recognize his
presence in everyone, especially in those with whom we disagree the most or
those who rub us the wrong way. We don’t
have to agree or give up our convictions.
But we can treat them with respect and courtesy. We can die to our dependence on social media,
which tends to further divide and encourage hate and anger. As much as we may disagree with one another,
we must remember our original baptism.
We were drowned in the waters of baptism and raised to new life in
Christ and in communion with his Church.
At this Eucharist, we share much more than what may divide us. We share the cross, and the hope of
resurrection.
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