TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN
ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE B
MARK 10:35-45
IN THE GOSPEL TODAY,
JAMES AND JOHN COME ACROSS AS FAIRLY JUVENILE, AND THE REST OF THE
APOSTLES DON'T SEEM MUCH BETTER WHEN THEY BECOME INDIGNANT AT JAMES
AND JOHN. BUT I THINK WE MIGHT BE MISSING THE POINT OF THIS STORY IF
WE LEAVE IT AT THAT, AND SEE THIS AS JUST A WAY FOR JESUS TO MAKE HIS
POINT THAT IF YOU WANT TO BE GREAT, YOU MUST BE A SERVANT. THE FIRST
THING TO NOTICE IS THAT RIGHT BEFORE THIS GOSPEL, JESUS TELLS THE
APOSTLES FOR THE THIRD TIME THAT HE IS GOING TO SUFFER, DIE, AND RISE
AGAIN. BY NOW EVEN THE DENSEST APOSTLE MUST HAVE BEGUN TO SUSPECT
THAT JESUS REALLY MEANT WHAT HE SAID. SECOND, THE PHRASES JESUS
USES, “DRINK THE CUP I MUST DRINK,” “BE BAPTIZED WITH THE
BAPTISM WITH WHICH I WILL BE BAPTIZED” ARE KIND OF ODD; AFTER ALL,
JESUS HAS ALREADY BEEN BAPTIZED BY JOHN. BUT IT TURNS OUT THAT THESE
PHRASES WERE USED BY SOLDIERS – TO DRINK THE CUP MEANT TO BE
WILLING TO DIE IN BATTLE; TO BE BAPTIZED MEANT TO COMMIT YOURSELF
COMPLETELY TO YOUR FELLOW SOLDIERS. IN FACT, SOMETIMES THIS WAS
ACCOMPANIED BY HAVING BULL'S BLOOD POURED ON YOU – SORT OF A
RELIGIOUS CEREMONY. AND MARK WAS WRITING TO AN AUDIENCE WHO KNEW
THESE THINGS, THE PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS OF ROME.
SO MAYBE JAMES AND JOHN,
WHEN THEY ASKED TO BE ON HIS RIGHT AND LEFT HAND, AND PROMISED THAT
THEY COULD DRINK THE CUP, WERE VOLUNTEERING TO GO ALL THE WAY WITH
HIM, EVEN IF IT MEANT THEIR DEATHS; I THINK THAT MAKES MORE SENSE IN
TERMS OF WHY THE REST OF THE APOSTLES BECAME INDIGNANT; THEY WISHED
THEY HAD THOUGHT OF IT FIRST.
AND IT GOES ALONG WITH
JESUS' REPLY TO THEM, WHICH WAS GENTLE, AND NOT AT ALL CRITICAL.
BUT JESUS WAS CORRECTING
THEM. IF YOU GREW UP IN CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN THE OLDEN DAYS, YOU
LEARNED A LOT ABOUT SAINTS. I THINK MOST OF US KIDS HAD A SORT OF
FASCINATION FOR MARTYRS. WHEN I HEARD THE STORY ABOUT ST. THERESA OF
AVILA AND HER BROTHER, AS LITTLE CHILDREN, RUNNING AWAY FROM HOME IN
THE HOPES OF BEING MARTYRED BY THE MOSLEMS, I IDENTIFIED WITH THAT.
THERE IS SOMETHING WONDERFUL ABOUT GOING OUT IN A BURST OF GLORY WITH
HEAVEN GUARANTEED. AND I THINK JAMES AND JOHN DECIDED THAT IF JESUS
COULD DIE AND RISE AGAIN, AS HE HAD SAID, THEY COULDN'T DO BETTER
THAN TO GO ALONG WITH HIM. IN ANOTHER GOSPEL STORY, WE HEAR A
SIMILAR SENTIMENT FROM THOMAS, WHO SAYS, WHEN JESUS INSISTS ON GOING
TO JERUSALEM, “LET US GO AND DIE WITH HIM.”
BUT JESUS MAKES TWO
POINTS. FIRST, HE CANNOT NAME WHO IS GOING TO BE ON HIS RIGHT AND
LEFT HAND. MORE ABOUT THAT LATER. THE SECOND IS THAT IF WE WANT TO
BE GREAT WE MUST BECOME SERVANTS.
NOW WHEN I HEAR THAT
CHALLENGE, I ALWAYS FEEL GUILTY. I THINK OF PEOPLE LIKE MOTHER
THERESA OR MY FRIEND IN BUFFALO WHO RUNS A MINISTRY FOR THE HOMELESS
AND DEPENDS ON CHARITY TO KEEP IT AND HIMSELF GOING. MOST OF US LOOK
AT OUR LIVES AND SAY, WELL, I AM DOING A LITTLE SERVING; I'M ON THE
PARISH COUNCIL, I WORK IN THE SOUP KITCHEN ONCE A MONTH – MOST OF
US DO SOMETHING, AND WISH WE COULD DO MORE. BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S
WHAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT.
HE IDENTIFIES THAT JAMES
AND JOHN'S HEARTS ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE, AND PROMISES THEM THAT THEY
WILL DRINK HIS CUP AND BE BAPTIZED WITH HIS BAPTISM. BUT HE EQUATES
GREATNESS WITH AN ATTITUDE OF SERVICE.
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP,
THE ONLY KIND OF DOCTORS WE HAD IN MY HOME TOWN WERE GENERAL
PRACTITIONERS. THEY WOULD DO EVERYTHING AND THEY WOULD TREAT ANYONE
WHO CAME THROUGH THE DOOR, EVEN BABIES. OUR GENERAL PRACTITIONER
DELIVERED MY YOUNGEST SISTER, TOOK OUT MY APPENDIX, AND REMOVED MY
TONSILS – NOWADAYS YOU WOULD NEED THREE DIFFERENT SPECIALISTS FOR
THOSE THINGS. HE HAD A VERY NICE HOME IN OUR TOWN, UP WHERE THE RICH
PEOPLE LIVED. HE DROVE A NICE CAR, I THINK IT WAS A LINCOLN. HE
SENT HIS KIDS TO GOOD PRIVATE COLLEGES. HE AND HIS WIFE TOOK GREAT
VACATIONS THAT WE ENVIED – I KNOW THESE THINGS BECAUSE MY MOTHER,
WHO WAS A NURSE, USED TO TALK ABOUT THEM AROUND THE SUPPER TABLE. HE
MUST HAVE DONE WELL FINANCIALLY.
HE WAS KIND TO EVERYBODY,
INCLUDING LITTLE KIDS; HE WAS AT MASS NEARLY EVERY DAY, AND HE GAVE
AWAY A LOT OF HIS MEDICAL CARE TO PEOPLE WHO COULDN'T AFFORD IT –
THIS WAS BEFORE MEDICARE. HE DIED OF A HEART ATTACK ONE SNOWY NIGHT
ON HIS WAY TO A HOUSE CALL. THE POINT IS THAT HIS WHOLE LIFE WAS A
SERVANT-LIFE, EVEN THOUGH HE MADE MONEY AND LIVED WELL.
I THINK JESUS IS NOT SO
MUCH ASKING ALL OF US TO GIVE EVERYTHING UP AND BECOME MOTHER
THERESA'S, ALTHOUGH SOME ARE CALLED TO THAT KIND OF LIFE. I THINK HE
IS TELLING US THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW OUR LIVES SERVE, AND
APPROACH THE LIFE WE LIVE WITH THAT ATTITUDE. A MAN WHO SELLS
GROCERIES CAN BE A SERVANT – A WOMAN WHO IS A LAWYER CAN BE A
SERVANT. WHEN YOU TAKE CARE OF YOUR KIDS OR HELP OUT AN ELDERLY
PARENT, YOU ARE BEING A SERVANT. IF WE SEE THAT, IF WE SEE HOW WHAT
WE DO TIES IN WITH JESUS' STATEMENT, THEN THE WAY WE LOOK AT OUR WORK
AND OUR DAILY DUTIES TRANSFORMS THEM FROM THE ORDINARY TO SOMETHING
THAT GOES WAY BEYOND THE ORDINARY – SOMETHING THAT MAKES US GREAT.
I KNOW MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE GRASPED THIS, AND IT REALLY SHOWS IN THE
WAY THEY LIVE, IN THE WAY THEY DO THEIR WORK.
SAINT JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA,
THE FOUNDER OF OPUS DEI, SAID THAT THE TASK OF THE LAY PERSON IS NOT
TO WORK BECAUSE WE HAVE TO, BUT TO WORK SO THAT WE MAKE THE WORK
HOLY, AND THROUGH THE WORK, MAKE THE WORLD HOLY AND MAKE OURSELVES
HOLY. WHEN WE GET AWAY FROM THE IDEA THAT SERVANT WORK MEANS THAT
YOU DO SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T GET PAID FOR, THE ORDINARY THINGS WE
DO DAY TO DAY ARE SEEN IN A NEW LIGHT, AND WE REALIZE THAT THERE IS A
WAY FOR A BANKER OR A CHEF OR AN INSURANCE SALESMAN TO BE A SERVANT
TO OTHERS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAILY GRIND.
BEING A MARTYR, DYING A
HEROIC DEATH AND WAKING UP IN HEAVEN, THAT'S STILL KIND OF
FASCINATING. BUT TO APPROACH EVERYTHING YOU ORDINARILY DO AS AN ACT
OF SERVICE IS THE WAY MOST OF US WILL SAVE OUR SOULS.
AS FOR THE TWO WHO WILL
SIT AT HIS RIGHT AND LEFT HANDS, I DON'T THINK ANY OF US WILL KNOW
UNTIL WE GET TO HEAVEN. BUT I THINK ONE OF THEM IS OUR BLESSED
MOTHER, WHO WAS THE FIRST PERSON IN WHOM JESUS LIVED – THE FIRST
CHRISTIAN. AND THE OTHER IS MARY MAGDALENE, WHO WAS CLEANSED OF
SEVEN DEMONS BY JESUS, WHO WASHED HIS FEET WITH HER HAIR, WEPT OVER
HER SINS – THE FIRST PERSON TO WHOM JESUS APPEARED AFTER HIS
RESURRECTION, THE FIRST ONE HE SENT TO ANNOUNCE THE GOOD NEWS. YOU
MAY HAVE OTHER IDEAS, BUT I LIKE THE IDEA OF THE TWO WOMEN WHO LOVED
HIM MOST IN HIS EARTHLY LIFE ARE SITTING AT HIS RIGHT AND LEFT HANDS
IN HEAVEN.
