Wednesday, March 13, 2024 – Lent Five: Jesus asks! Tough questions for a Lenten Faith

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.” “What is your request?” he asked. They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?” “Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!” (Mark 10: 35 – 39, New Living Translation)

                Be careful what you wish for.

                Some people treat their faith like it is a wishing well. They are always wanting to be rewarded for their piety and good works. (Not you or me, of course.) Some folk entreat God or Jesus to bless them and prosper them because they have been such good Christians and are worthy of God’s recognition and special treatment. (Not you or me, of course.) Some people seek God’s recognition and praise for their religious devotion and religious practices. (Not you or me, of course.)

                Thus, "Teacher, we have something we want you to do for us…  Arrange it, so that we will be awarded the highest places of honor in your glory—one of us at your right, the other at your left.” (The Message Bible) It was not the first time that the disciples argued about their place and possible reward at Jesus’ side. Once, Jesus caught them arguing about who will be the greatest in the Kingdom when it happens. (Mark 9: 33 -37) It appears that there was a lot of jostling for Jesus’ approval and recognition, wanting special privileges and positions, leading to jealousy and friction.

                But again, I say, be careful what you wish for.

                “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

                The initial answer to Jesus’ question is that none of us has the capacity to suffer and die as Jesus did on the Cross. We are more apt, as did the disciples, to run away and hide in light of Jesus’ death. His sacrificial death is unique and one of a kind in terms of Jesus’ utter willingness to die to save us from our sins. This death is God’s work to redeem us and close the gap between God and ourselves. It is unrepeatable.

                Even so, there is more to it. We are called to sacrificial living or to sacrificial giving. We can’t duplicate what Jesus did on the Cross but we can replicate its service by putting ourselves on the front lines of compassion, service, love and good works, not for reward and glory but for sake of God’s Love in and through Jesus Christ. “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” (Mark 8: 34 -35, NLT)

                As Jesus said, both James and John would die as martyrs for their faith. James was beheaded by King Agrippa and John died in exile. Now, of course, I am not saying that we should be prepared to die a martyr’s death but that self-sacrifice is the mark of a loving follower of Jesus. When the disciples were arguing about their greatness, Jesus rebuked them, “So you want first place? Then take the last place. Be the servant of all.” (Mark 9: 35, TMB)

                There is a news story, today, about an 80-year-old man who died from his injuries after being hit by a car after pushing a woman out of the way of that same car. A terrible tragedy, yet a noble sacrifice. Look, we all can’t be heroes but we can be the kind of folk who get on our knees and wash the feet of others, thereby sacrificing our pride, our self-importance, our superiority complexes.

                So yes, be careful what you wish for. There are no red carpets laid out for us on our way to the Kingdom. We are not the toast of the town. We are not the privileged and the elite. We are not meant to be celebrities or superstars. We are the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, called to serve, called to help, called to give a helping hand, called to put others ahead of ourselves. “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matthew 25:40, NLT)

Dale