Homily for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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The story about the Apostles James and John which we hear today has a familiar ring to it: it has some of the same elements as the story of the rich young man which we heard last week:
+ a personal approach to Jesus
+ a question about eternal life
+ a response from Jesus that re-directs the question to something more immediate
+ a somewhat emotional reaction from others who overhear:
- bewilderment last week
- indignation this week
+ a further response from Jesus that leaves the questioners disappointed:
- “Go, sell what you have and give to the poor.”
- “To sit at my right or on my left is not mine to give.”
+ finally, a lesson about discipleship:
- “those who give up… will receive 100 times…”
- “those who wish to be great must become servants to others.”
In re-directing the misplaced ambition of either the rich young man or James and John, the Lord did not chide them or scold them because He could see beyond their request to something noble, if under-developed, deep within them.
But here the stories diverge:
+ the rich young man is urged toward discipleship as Jesus says, “Come, follow me.”
+ James and John … toward apostleship to a life of self-sacrificing service.
So, today, we look at the Lord’s conversation with James and John — and then with the others, looking first at His metaphorical description of life in Christ (reference to the cup… and to the baptism), and then at His more down-to-earth description of life in the Church (His challenge toward humble service).
Asking that they might sit at the Lord’s right and at His left when He comes into His glory speaks well of their ambition: their desire to be close to Him for all eternity. However, it also reveals the dark side of their ambition: a desire for recognition and affirmation that is not the Lord’s intention for those who wish to live close to Him.
To share in His glory means, essentially, to share in His Cross, so He responds first by correcting their misplaced ambition, saying “You don’t know what you’re asking for…” then, describing the challenges of apostleship, asks them if they’re really up to it — that is — to accepting the destiny which lies ahead. (Remember: At the time Saint Mark wrote His Gospel several of the Apostles, including Saint James himself, had already been martyred.)
Then we come to the metaphorical description of drinking the cup and of being baptized. The Lord’s instruction: to the young man last week to become dis-encumbered with worldly things… and now to James and John to be dis-associated with worldly ambition… and then to align themselves with His Passion, formed the basis of Apostleship then, and of Priesthood today.
The young man and our two Apostles were onto something:
+ they were aware of the concept of eternal life to a limited degree…
+ they really wanted it…
+ they knew that Jesus could clarify it for them, & show them the way.
Knowing that His followers would have a blurred idea of eternal life as something limitless and unimaginably great, the Lord founded His Church so that His Teaching would have validity, content, and authority beyond the limitations of each person’s imagination.
In order to safeguard God’s Divine Revelation from being distorted over the course of time, while founding the Church, He simultaneously initiated the Office of Priesthood, whose task it is to administer that Revelation with authenticity and validity.
The “Cup” which the Priest is meant to drink means that, while he lives a human life, by his priesthood, he represents a penetration of eternity into time, resembling: the Presence, the Ministry, and the Teaching of Christ while He walked the Earth. The priest stands at the point where the Church meets God through his mandate to teach, to sanctify, and to govern the Church.
The “Cup” becomes for him an awareness of his human limitations while fulfilling his obligations, always to let the meaning of eternal life radiate from the events of daily life. The Priest then shares in the Lord’s “Second Baptism” in a two-fold movement: to the Cross, and then from the Cross.
He approaches the Cross through his readiness to accept whatever the Lord sends him, in love for God and in self-sacrifice for the Church. He then moves from the Cross to the Church, loving the Church as he loves Christ, teaching each member to seek God in the Crosses we all must bear, so that the Cross becomes not only the gate to eternal life for all, but an in-breking of eternal life: that is a measure of Grace being imparted to earthly life, into human suffering, anxiety, or loss.
This is why we place the Cross — the Crucifix — at the center apex of our Church and wear it around our neck.
James and John’s request was lacking in humility, but it was granted nonetheless, in a manner they could not have expected:
+ martyrdom for Saint James
+ authoring the Fourth Gospel for Saint John
A priest must not only testify to the saving power of the Cross; his life must be a living testimony in service, humility, and courage in the face of martyrdom.
The Trappist monk Jean-Baptiste Chautard once wrote:
+ If the priest is a saint, the people will be fervent…
+ If the priest is fervent, the people will be pious…
+ If the priest is pious, the people will be decent…
— but —
+ If the priest is only decent, the people will be godless.
The “cup” and the “Baptism” are at the same time invitation and warning, but we learn from Sacred Scripture, especially from today’s passages, that God will never abandon us, nor deny the Grace we need.
To re-visit the Prophet Isaiah in his words to us today: “… through his suffering my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.” — and then — “If he gives his life as an offering for sin, the Will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him.”
We close now with some encouraging words from the Letter to the Hebrews “Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.”