Wednesday in the Eighth Week of Ordinary Time, May 26, 2021

Mark 10:32-45

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them what was going to happen to him. “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.” Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, ‘What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” They said to him, ‘We can.” Jesus said to them, “The chalice 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.” When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, “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.”

“Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”  The question the Lord asks James and John and the answer they give amounts to a vow.  The two young Apostles have asked the Lord for a share in the rule of the kingdom of Israel, which they believe he, as Messiah, will reinstitute.  They do not seem to present any arguments to further their request.  Perhaps they make it on the basis that the Lord has included them with Peter as witnesses to some of his more powerful miracles.  The Lord, for his part, tells them that they do not know what they are asking, for they do not yet understand that his kingdom is not of this world.  The Lord’s words do not dismay them and they persist.  The Lord then asks them this question, whether they can drink of his chalice or be baptized with his own baptism.  The two brothers say right away that they can, without asking first what this means.  Now, the Greek text has the Lord asking, “Are you capable of drinking, etc.”  This is a little different from simply “can you”.  The Lord is asking them if they have the ability, the strength, with which to carry out this action, implying that the action itself will be a demanding one.  And, indeed, it is, for the Greek tells us that the “drinking” and “being baptized” is not a one-time action that is quickly done, but a continuous one that extends into the future.  This “drinking” of the Lord’s chalice and this receiving of his own “baptism” will go on for the rest of their lives.  Performing or undergoing these actions will, in fact, become their lives.

The Apostles may have understood that “to drink” the Lord’s “chalice” meant to fight at his side against the Romans.  Their fight, though, would be against the world, the flesh and the devil, as they endeavored to do the Father’s will in spreading the Gospel, even if it cost them their lives.  We know how the Lord himself suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane, praying to his Father, “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as you will” (Matthew 26, 39).  It may be that the Lord prayed with these words, and allowed James and John, as well as Peter, to witness him praying in this way so that they might understand what this “chalice” would cost them.  

“The chalice that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.”  The Lord accepts their vow.  He will permit them to live his life.  This in itself is a great privilege, and in doing so, they shall reign with him in his kingdom.  Their particular role in this rule, however, is a matter of Divine Providence: it is “for those for whom it has been prepared.”  That is, each human person is free to choose to live the life of Christ, and the Lord will provide the graces needed for the person to do this.  At the same time, each person’s part in the work of salvation is foreseen from all eternity by Almighty God, who dispenses talents and abilities to each one accordingly, and places for them are prepared in heaven by God, who foresees how each one will fulfill his will.  The Lord Jesus is telling James and John that if they strive for sanctity they shall indeed become saints, but their places in heaven are not up to them.  He says that this is not his to give by way of emphasizing that their reward is given them by the Father.

“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  The life of unconditional service to God is the chalice which the Son drinks and which he promises to those who desire to belong to him.  

Please pray for the soul of Father John Kelly’s mother.  She died this evening.  He was there with her.