St. Joseph

October 20, 2018
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

"What do you wish me to do for you?" Jesus asks a similar question in different Gospel passages, but the request of James and John is not repeated on any other occasion. "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." They ask not for knowledge of God, not for crooked limbs to be straightened nor for the blind to see. They ask for power and authority. Jesus' response should trouble them. "You do not know what you are asking." 

"Can you drink the cup that I drink?" Jesus asks. "They said to him, 'We can.'" But what is Christ's cup? Could James and John have possibly known it or understood it here at the height of Jesus' ministry? Jesus' cup is the cup of trial, of difficulty, of public ridicule. His final, thirsting sip occurs as he hangs on the cross. In Christ's kingdom, drinking his cup and participating in his life are not the sharing of power the way we are accustomed. Jesus flips their paradigm. "Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all." 

The cup of Jesus is the cup of giving oneself. "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." As Christians, how easy it can be to want the acclaim of good deeds, the gratitude for volunteering, the attention for donating to the church. "It shall not be so among you." If you are overlooked, offer thanks to God for imitating Jesus, rather than bitter complaint at someone else's oversight. Look for opportunities to do good needs unnoticed. This week, consider one way you can drink the cup of Jesus!
 

 


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