There are two themes reflected in the Scripture Readings
for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B:
I: Christological theme: Jesus journeys to Jerusalem
to offer himself as אָשֵׁם (ashem) to
acquit us from condemnation for our offenses against God, as ransom for us, by
drinking from the cup of suffering – so that we can receive the cup of
salvation, the chalice willed with the precious blood of Christ – and by being
baptized into death on the Cross. And Jesus, being the High Priest, served as ashem for us out of compassion for us.
II. We are to follow Jesus as servant to each other,
as our practice of Jesus’ New Commandment (Mandatum
Novum), to love one another as he has done so (John 13:34-35), even it may
require us to drink from the cup of suffering and to be baptized into death,
Jesus has drunk from it and has been baptized so on the Cross.
*****
Jesus and his disciples were on their way to
Jerusalem. As Jesus was gearing up for
his passion, death, and resurrection, to consummate his earthly salvific
mission there.
Just as he began the last journey, a rich man,
seemingly proud of himself for faithfully observing the commandment, came to
Jesus and asked what he should do to inherit eternal life. Out of his love for
this man, Jesus prescribed him a way for eternal life: selling all of his
possessions for the poor and following him. But, this man just could not accept
what Jesus commanded him to do as his personal riches were too good for him to
let go. Forfeiting a possibility for eternal life, the man left Jesus with
sadness. Then, Jesus taught his disciples how difficult it would be to enter the
Kingdom of God if letting their own possessions become obstacles for their
entry by attaching themselves to the possessions. (Mark 10:17-31)
And, Jesus and the disciples went on.
Having just heard Jesus speaking about renouncing
material possession for eternal life and to follow him as his disciple and how
difficult it is for those who are attached to material wealth to enter the
Kingdom, but those who do all of these will be rewarded greatly, the disciples
must have been contemplating on these, while Jesus was leading the way toward
Jerusalem (Mark 10:32a). At the same time, they were amazed at Jesus
determination to go to Jerusalem in spite of extreme danger, remembering him
foretelling his death and resurrection twice before (Mark 8:31; 9:31), and fear
began to sink in, at least, to some of them (Mark 10:32b). And, once again,
Jesus foretold of his impending death, followed by his resurrection in these
words:
Behold,
we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the
chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him
over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him
to death, but after three days he will rise (Mark
10:33-34).
There was a contrast between Jesus’ steadfast
determination to go through the via
dolorosa, the via crusis, toward
the Calvary, and the disciples’ fears about what would unfold in Jerusalem in
regard to their master. Jesus was leading the way (mark 10:32a) as to indicate
that he was to die first in order to the firstfruit of the dead (e.g. 1
Corinthians 15:20) and that the disciples would follow his way, namely,
indicating their martyrdoms.
And this is the background for the Gospel Reading
for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B, Mark 10:35-45.
Perhaps, as their coping mechanism, in dealing with
their increase anxiety and fear, as they moved toward Jerusalem with Jesus,
James and his younger brother, John, acted in a way to trigger anger from the
rest of the disciples. When we really do not know what to do with persistent
fear and anxiety, we tend to do stupid things in order to cope.
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked Jesus to
do a favor for them (Mark 10: 35). So, Jesus replied to them to tell to tell
him what they would want him to do for them Mark 10:36). And these brothers,
the sons of Zebedee, boldly asked Jesus, “Grant
that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left”
(Mark 10:37).
It sounded like James and John wanted Jesus to
elevate their positions above the level of the rest of the disciples.
Do we tend to expose our egoistic disposition when
fear and anxiety dominate our minds?
So, Jesus said to these brothers:
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?
(Mark 10:38).
The cup that Jesus drinks and the baptism with which Jesus is baptized. What are these, really? Did James and John understand what Jesus meat by the cup and the baptism?
But, they replied to Jesus with “We can”, making
them appear as if they would drink from the cup that Jesus drinks or they would
be baptized with the baptism that Jesus would be baptized (Mark 10:39a). The above response of Jesus to their request
for a favor was something unexpected.
They hoped that Jesus would grant their wish for special places but
Jesus asked them if they would drink from the cup that he drinks or be baptized
with the baptism that I would be baptized. And Jesus knew that they did not
know what they said “We can” for. So, he said:
The
cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am
baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not
mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared
(Mark 10:39b-40).
In this statement, Jesus alluded to suffering that
James and John would go through and the possibility of their martyrdom, as
well. In fact, James (James the Greater) became the first martyred apostle,
killed by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-2) upon returning to Jerusalem from his
mission in Hispania. As for his brother, John, the Scriptures did not mention
if he was martyred. However, according to Papias of Hierapolis, John became a
martyr, though the validity of Papias’ account has been debated. Jesus also
made it clear that it is not him to decide who is to sit at his right or left
because it is the prerogative of the Father to decide and prepare for. Jesus
certainly respect the Father’s authority.
Then, having heard all this the rest of the
disciples became angry at James and John (John 10:41). Probably, they also
wanted Jesus to grant favored positions. It seemed that there were covert
rivalries among the disciples. Of course, Jesus would let his disciples’
under-the-surface egocentric dispositions break their fraternal unity.
So, Jesus gathered his disciples and said:
You
know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over
them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall
not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your
servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the
Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a
ransom for many (Mark 10:42-45).
In this statement, Jesus reminded the disciples that
pastoral leadership, to which he was preparing them, is not like how Gentile
rulers lord over their subjects. Rather, it is servant leadership – leading
people by serving them. And in Jerusalem, just before he would enter his
intense passion to die – before drinking from the cup of suffering and being
baptized into death on the Cross, at the Supper of the Lord, Jesus demonstrated
what it means to lead by serving through his foot-washing for his disciples (John
13:1-17). Indeed, Jesus, the Son of Man, came not to be served but to serve us
for our redemption – to redeem us from Satan’s sphere of influence.
Jesus does not want us to be affected by Satan. And
he understands we succumb to temptations that lead to sin because of Satan’s
cunningness. He also understands how
difficult it is for us not to be impacted by Satan, whose evil has been
enmeshed the humanity so deeply and pervasively. So, the Father sent him to redeem and free us
from Satan’s grip of sin. And it was him
to pay the ransom by drinking from the cup of suffering and by being baptized
into death on the Cross – through his passion and death.
In the above words of Jesus to his disciples (Mark
10:42-45), we can also extract his hope for the disciples – for us to follow
his way of servant leadership. For those who are called to serve as priests and
bishops, as “in persona Christi”, in
their pastoral leadership, it is even more so, rather than lording it over,
even to drink from the cup of suffering that he has drunk from and to be
baptized into death as he has been on the Cross. Therefore, there should not be
arrogant and bossy Christian pastoral leaders. And it is not about who among
pastoral leaders are to be recognized and reputed better than others. It is not
about which priests are to be “promoted” to become bishops.
True pastoral leaders serve their people even as a
slave serves his master, as Jesus put it hyperbolically (Mark 10:44). And this is what Jesus meant by
“many that are first will be last, and
the last will be first”(Mark 10:31).
So, to follow Jesus to be trained to lead by
serving, we need to denounce what our ego may grab and attach – whether it is
material wealth (Mark 10:17-31) or favored privilege for selfish ambition (Mark
10:35-45). And this is how we can see the flow from the Gospel Reading for the
28th Sunday (Mark 10:17-30) to the Gospel Reading for the 29th
Sunday (Mark 10:35-45).
Now you ask yourself: Can I drink from the cup that
Jesus has drunk – the cup of suffering? ; Can I be baptized into death as Jesus
was baptized into death on the Cross?; Am I willing to be a servant of those
who I wish to lead with the Word of God, even it may mean to be treated like a
slave, enduring suffering to death?
These are questions I ask catechumens when I teach
for their Sacrament of Confirmation and RCIA class. It is because we cannot say
“yes” to Christ when we do not know or not sure. And this is an important
lesson from James and John saying that they can drink from the cup of suffering
and be baptized into death, even though they had no idea (Mark 10:38-40).
In the First Reading (Isaiah 53:10-11), which is an
excerpt from the fourth servant song (Isaiah 52:13-53:12), we see how the cup
of suffering that Jesus had drunk from and his baptism into death on the Cross
has served as ransom for our redemption.
According to Father’s will (Mark 14:36), Jesus was
baptized into death on the Cross, drinking from the cup of suffering – being
crushed with pain (Isaiah 53:10a). And in his prophecy for Jesus’ cup of
suffering and baptism into death, Isaiah sees Jesus as reparation offering (asham)(cf. Leviticus 5:14-26) for us
(Isaiah 53:10b) – so that we would not be condemned for our sins (Isaiah
53:10c) but could be justified (Isaiah 53:11b), namely, redeemed because Jesus
giving his life as ransom (Mark 10:45). And our justification – redemption is
verified because of Jesus’ resurrection (Isaiah 53:11)! And this is a highlight
of our Christian faith (1 Corinthians 15:14)! All of this (Jesus’ death and resurrection)
was foretold by Jesus himself repeatedly (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34) ever since
Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah (Mark 8:29).
The Second Reading (Hebrews 4:14-16) indicates that
Jesus has served us as reparation offering (asham)(Isaiah
53:10b), as ransom (Mark 10:45), for our justification – “acquittal”(Isaiah
53:10c, 11b), by drinking from the cup of suffering and being baptized into
death on the Cross (Mark 10:38-39), because of his compassion for us,
sympathizing our weakness – the fact that we cannot free us from the sphere of
Satan’s influence. So, it is calling us to approach Jesus for his throne of
mercy humbly with our contrite heart and gratitude. Jesus exemplified priestly
sacrifice for his subjects – us, the sinners – to have offered himself as
reparation offering (ashem).
For this, we are forever grateful and see meaning to
follow Jesus and to do as commanded by him, even it may require to drink from
the cup of suffering that he has drunk from and to be baptized into death as he
has been on the Cross. And we do not let our ego affect us.
Can you drink from the cup that Jesus has drunken from in Jerusalem? Can you be baptized with the baptism that he was baptized on the Cross?
The way you answer these questions indicate how mature and strong your Christian faith is.
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