"Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"(gospel). 29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time October 21 st, 2012
First Reading: Isaiah 53:10-11 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. 11 Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Responsive Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20-22 Lector: 4 For the word of the Lord is upright, All: and all his work is done in faithfulness. Lector: 5 He loves righteousness and justice; All: the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. Lector: 18 Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, All: on those who hope in his steadfast love, Lector: 19 to deliver their soul from death, All: and to keep them alive in famine. Lector: 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; All: he is our help and shield. Lector: 21 Our heart is glad in him, All: because we trust in his holy name. Lector: 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, All: even as we hope in you. Second Reading: Hebrews 4:14-16 14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Gospel Reading: Mark 10:35-45 35 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him and said to him, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. 36 And he said to them, What is it you want me to do for you? 37 And they said to him, Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory. 38 But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? 39 They replied, We are able. Then Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared. 41 When the ten heard this, they began to be angry with James and John. 42 So Jesus called them and said to them, You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 43 But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. Homily Our first reading is known as the fourth servant song in the Book of Isaiah. Today, we note the word, many, and its significance for us today. The righteous servant in rabbinic tradition was not the Messiah but the nation of Israel which was accorded a destiny to bring healing and righteousness to all the nations. Their mission was universal, not just for some, but for all. If we apply this prophecy to Christ, again, the universality of his healing, forgiveness, and bringing righteousness was intended for all. Why is Mark focusing on the cost of following Jesus? The jockeying for position of highest honor by James and John who were relatives was quite normal in their culture. They look forward to Jesus being fully honored and then wish to bask in the glory of his prestige. In ancient Mediterranean culture, everything was about honor and prestige. Alas, it is not markedly different today in our own world, although today perhaps a modern day Apostle would be a bit more subtle in approach but then perhaps not. The other disciples were outraged at their blatant move. In Mediterranean culture, the head of a family is the one to fill everyone s cup at the table, and each person is expected to accept and to drink what the head of the family has offered him or her. There s an analogy here. Almost all theology is based on analogy, where we draw upon life within our culture to help us understand perhaps a fraction of who we are in relation to God. In this case, the cup was representative of what we receive, what was assigned to us in our lives, from our father, and by analogy from God. Jesus will be honored because he accepted his assigned lot in life, the cup offered by God the Father. Jesus tells them it is not his place to assign honor in their system of privilege and honor, Jesus would be called the broker of value but the patron would be God alone.
They and we also, like Jesus, have to accept our place at the Table and all its consequences. He is telling them there is a cost to be at the Table but honor is not his concern at this time. Each of us is expected to accept and drink the cup which the head of our extended family, Jesus, has offered the church. We come before you, put at ease by your promise, longing for your mercy and grace, yet always certain of your love. Jesus, you share our life. You have been tested as we are. You have come to live within our weakness. You know us better than we know our own selves. Give us your grace every minute of every day of our lives. and hold us dear in your heart. Can we drink of your cup? Can we do what you do? No. Not on our own; we think not. But through you, with you, in you: Yes. If you give us the grace.
Let us come along with you Is there any love anywhere that does not suffer the suffering of a loved one? Or would not offer everything one has, even give up life itself for the good of the one it loves? Jesus knew affliction. Since we know affliction, God could not sit back and leave us to bear the pain alone. Only great love can bring about great change. We see your infinite love for us, O God. Let it change our hearts. Prayers only. Copyright 2012, Anne M. Osdieck. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to reproduce for personal or parish use. Study Notes: Second Reading Hebrews: 1 This passage addresses the full humanity of Jesus and says he is able to be our High Priest because he can empathize with and identify with our humanity which he shares with us. The passage says that he has been tempted in every respect as we and yet without sinning. But what does this mean? What did it mean to the writer of Hebrews? Today, we tend to read into it that he suffered sexual temptations as all humans do. But whether that is a viable interpretation of this passage is unclear. No one had examined the inner life of Jesus as far as we can tell from the Gospel writings and this statement was not based on looking at everything he did and concluding he was sinless. We are free to believe that this was true. If we ask if he was tempted sexually, this is apparently a question that the NT is not concerned to ask. Oh, this may be disappointing to some of us, perhaps calling into judgment our modern obsessions on the subject. 1 Reginald Fuller (10/21/12) St. Louis University Liturgy site
But the real clue to the meaning of these statements about yet not sinning rests in the temptation stories found in the Gospels. These were all temptations to abandon his messianic vocation and to fail in his total commitment to his role in salvation history where he was called by his Father. Gospel Reading: In this reading, Mark is addressing symbols of dangers to which the early church was exposed. There were two extreme poles of thinking in their time of who Jesus was -- what was his true identity? Was he merely the Son of Man, meaning in that time simply a human being? Was he a divine-man who was not a man at all who actually never felt or knew any suffering? Some even said that he pretended or mimicked suffering but because he was totally divine, felt no physical pain at the crucifixion. Mark makes it clear that Christ s role was both divine and human, as he would suffer and be persecuted, and that we, in turn, will also suffer if we remain true to our calling: There will always be those who are threatened by those who live out the truth and who come as servants rather than self-serving. Some will take advantage and misuse charity. Some will disdain openness. Some will object to justice for all God s children. Some will prefer sectarianism rather than the universal availability of Christ s grace. Some will continue to draw their security from being one-up, rather than simply taking their place at the Table. May we accept the cup, share the cup, and share the love that Jesus offered them and he offers us all now.