Homily: 8th Week of Ordinary Time - Wednesday - Glory and Cross, a paradox

The Gospel passage today really taps into the heart of Mark’s Gospel—the paschal mystery—the paradox of the Messiah who enters into his glorious reign only through the self-abasement of the cross.

It seems like a contradiction—that Jesus must suffer, that he must die, in order to bring the victory.  And Jesus was constantly teaching his disciples about this truth.  The Messiah—the victorious one—also had to suffer, he had to die.  Today’s Gospel is the third time he predicted his death.

The first time he did so, Peter was incredulous and rebuked Jesus for that sort of talk.  In response, Jesus reprimanded Peter and said: “Get behind me Satan.  You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

After his Transfiguration, once again, he began to teach that the son of man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise.  But they didn’t get it.

For the third time, in the Gospel today, Jesus said that WE will be handed over, condemned, mocked, spit at, flogged, and killed.  And once again it seems they miss the point.

It must have been hard for them.  After all, they had seen the miracles, the exorcisms, the healings in which Jesus showed his power, showed that God is stronger than the powers of darkness.  And the shadow of the cross seemed to contradict that.  The cross seemed like a defeat rather than a victory.

Just as the cross casts its shadow over the entire Gospel of Mark, so to, the cross casts its shadow over the life of every Christian, and throughout the entire liturgical year, not just Lent.  That there would never be sickness, never be illness, never be death, never be hardship, because we followed him are promises Jesus never made.  Yet how often do we ask, "God, how could you let this happen?"  In fact, quite the opposite, he promised the cross,  he promised that we must learn to suffer with Him.  He also promised, that the cross  leads to everlasting life.

When he says, you too will be called to drink the chalice that he drinks, the chalice of God's will, the chalice that he fills with his blood poured out for us, the chalice of eternal life, he means that we too are to be poured out with him.

Let us drink deeply of the cup that Jesus offers, putting to death all those parts of us that seek to be served instead of seeking to serve, those parts of us that run away from the cross instead of embracing it for the glory of God and salvation of souls.