Our first reading is one of several prophecies from the
prophet Isaiah about God’s suffering servant.
The Jewish people were not quite certain about whom this prophecy was
about: was it about the king, about a prophet, about the messiah? What was
clear is that this Suffering Servant was a person whose whole existence would
be given to offering himself as sacrifice for others—through him, God would
right the world’s wrongs.
You might remember the story from the book of Acts, there
was an Ethiopian eunuch going through the desert, reading one of the Suffering
Servant Passages from the prophet Isaiah, and he was very confused by it. And the Holy Spirit told the deacon Philip to
go Eunuch to explain the passage. Philip explained that, this suffering servant
who gives his whole existence as an offering to God and a sacrifice for others,
is Jesus Christ. Tell me more, the Ethiopian asked, and after Philip taught
him, the Ethiopian was so moved, that he asked to be baptized, and the Deacon
Phillip baptized him, on the side of the road.
Jesus alludes to his identity as the Suffering Servant in
the Gospel today. Jesus was on his way
to Jerusalem, where he was going to have to suffer and die. And on the way he was giving lessons to his
followers of what it means to follow him.
Immediately, before this morning’s passage, he had told
them, for the third time in Mark’s Gospel, that he would have to undergo
suffering and death in Jerusalem. But in response to that terrible news, James
and John this morning, seem to sort of miss the point. Now, James and John were amongst the first
disciples called by Jesus, they were fishermen, the sons of a man named
Zebedee. And they were among Jesus’
closest friends, who went everywhere with him.
But as Jesus is talking about his suffering, they ask a question that
would immediately set off red flags for any parent.
“Mom, dad, promise to say yes to anything I ask for. You don’t
need to know what it is, just say, yes” No parent in their right mind would
ever concede to that, and neither did Jesus. “What do you want?” Jesus
asks. “We want the highest thrones in
your kingdom, not as high as yours, of course, but right next to yours.” Giving them the benefit of the doubt, they
probably asked this because they wanted to be significant in Jesus’ mission,
they wanted to remain close to him.
But Jesus perhaps detecting some ulterior motive,
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?" In the Old Testament, one’s cup, referred to,
one’s lot in life, one’s destiny. To
drink the cup meant to accept the destiny. So Jesus is asking, are you willing
to share my destiny? The one that he had just talked about, suffering and death
in Jerusalem? Are you willing to suffer and die with me? Can you be baptized,
immerged, into the will of the Father as I am, will you be plunged into death
like me?
Not likely understanding the magnitude of the Jesus’
question Jesus, they look at each other and nod and said, “We Can”. We sometimes respond to Jesus with the
similar naïve enthusiasm. “Jesus I’ll do
anything you want me to do.” Really? “Will you suffer for me?” ummmm “Will you
become a priest?” ummmmm…”Will you become a missionary and bring my Gospel to
Africa?” ummmm… “Will you stand up for the faith when you might get mocked for
it?” “Well…when I said I’ll do anything for you, what I meant, is I’ll do
anything if I don’t have to change.”
Jesus says to James and John, “The cup that I drink, you
will drink” They would suffer greatly in their lives, James would be martyred
for the faith, executed by the sword in Jerusalem. John would be tortured then
exiled to the island of Patmos.
The other 10 Apostles heard James and John’s question, and
they became indignant, so Jesus summoned all twelve together to give them a
lesson. You want to be Great in my kingdom? Greatness in the world means
lording your authority and power over others, but greatness in the kingdom
comes through service. You want to
become greatest in Jesus’ kingdom, become the greatest servant. Be willing to
serve in whatever capacity God is calling you, spend your life in service. Give
God the blank check.
Jesus is giving a radically counter-cultural teaching
here. Again, greatness in the world
usually means, having the position of power, having the wealth to do whatever
you want, having fame where everyone recognizes you and applauds you as you are
coming down the street. But that’s not
greatness in the eyes of God. No number
of Heisman Trophies will gain you entrance into heaven; heaven is not
contingent on the number of people you have working for you, the size of your
house, or your bank account. To become great in the eyes of God requires one to
pour out one’s life in service to God’s Holy Will.
And the greatest of these, is Jesus, the suffering servant,
the one whose whole existence was in service of pouring his life out that
sinful man could gain eternal life. “For
the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a
ransom for many." And he is the model for all Christians.
The fundamental attitude of the Christian is one of
service. When we see a neighbor, our
first question shouldn’t be “what have they done for me lately?” But, what can
I do for them? Mom, Dad, what can I do around the house? What can I do to help?
Dear husband, dear wife, what can I do for you?
The saints show us what suffering servitude looks like at
the heroic level. Something to aim for. Monday is the feast day of one of my
favorite saints, one of the north American martyrs, Saint Isaac Jogues. In 1636, the Jesuit Priest Isaac Jogues
traveled to Quebec to preach the Gospel to the Huron Indians. The Hurons were a very peaceful tribe, and
many Hurons converted to Christianity through the preaching of Fr. Isaac and
his companions. However, the Hurons were constantly attacked by the Iroquois,
and during one attack, Father Issac was captured by the Iroquois and imprisoned
for 13 months. He and his companions
were beaten, tortured, and forced to watch as the Huron converts were tortured
and killed by the Iroquois.
Isaac was able to escape imprisonment and he returned to his
native land of France. He had to receive special permission from the Pope to
continue to celebrate Mass because several of his fingers had been cut or
chewed off during his tortures. Father
Isaac could have stayed in Europe to die peacefully, but in 1646, the Iroquois
signed a peace treaty with the Hurons and Fr. Isaac thought it a good
opportunity to bring the Gospel to the Iroquois Nation. So he returned to North America, but on his
way to evangelize the Iroquois he was captured by a war party of Mohawk
Indians, and on October 18, 1646, Father Isaac was tomahawked and beheaded.
Yet because of his tremendous courage and willingness to
suffer for the faith many Iroquois converted to Christianity and welcomed
missionaries with open arms. And The
faith began to grow amongst the Mohawks as well. . Because of the suffering service of Father
Isaac, another figure of holiness was born to Christ—a young Mohawk princess
named Kateri Tekakwitha, who was canonized a few years ago.
In a letter composed before his death, Saint Isaac Jogues
wrote: “Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work of the
spread of the Gospel and faithfulness to God, and to not let our own desires
get in the way of doing God’s work.”
May that become our single endeavor, inspired by the saints,
instructed by the Word of God, may we follow in the way of the suffering
servant, Christ Our Lord, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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