Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
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In the name of God, the Creator, the Liberator and the Comforter.
In the gospel according to Mark, we find a three-part cycle repeated three times.
Three times, Jesus predicts his rejection and his resurrection (8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34). The third time is in the two verses just before today’s gospel passage.
Three times, the Twelve promptly misunderstand or reject Jesus’ self-understanding (8:32-33; 9:32-34; 10:41). In today’s passage, James and John, the sons of Zebedee whom Jesus affectionately nicknamed Boanerges, the sons of thunder, ignore Jesus’ prophecy and proceed to try to get a heavenly kingdom promotion. Talk about narcissism and insensitivity! And that comes from two of Jesus’ closest friends.
Three times, Jesus immediately corrects these mistakes with teaching about genuine discipleship (8:34-9:1; 9:35-40; 10:42-45). In today’s gospel, Jesus insists on the vocation of servant leadership amongst his followers.
The cycle of prophecy, misunderstanding and teaching is repeated three times through the gospel. Mark wants us to know what kind of Messiah Jesus is and to know what following Jesus requires. Humility and serving our neighbors are a good start.
James and John, together with Peter, were Jesus’ closest disciples. Lots of gospel scenes are between the four of them. Did James and John think it earned them special status in the kingdom of heaven?
The Boanerges are falling prey to very human biases here.
James and John have compared themselves to their fellow disciples and decided that they are above them. They want rank and honor when Jesus will come into his glory. Their focus on self-promotion enables them to conveniently bypass and deny Jesus’ prediction of his passion.
And Jesus alludes to the disciples future suffering by referring to their drinking his cup and undergoing his baptism. He is not directly referring to the future sacraments of the Christian church here. But still that resonance works on us too. He is referring to withstanding resistance, confrontation and aggression unto death from their current domination systems: the Roman empire and the Temple religion.
As a matter of fact, the other disciples instead of reacting to Jesus’ prediction of his suffering and resurrection, react forcefully to James and John’s upmanship. They too, want privilege, or at least to rank ahead of someone else.
Now, do we sometimes compare ourselves with others and decide that we are ahead of them in whatever ranking matters to us? Am I more beautiful, rich, intelligent, able or spiritually developed than those ones over there? Am I not more worthy than those I have made “other” so I may ignore or offend them?
It might be subtle and implicit in our words and actions, but it happens to most of us.
Come to think of it, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not to mention Moses, might have a claim to sitting on both sides of Jesus in his glory.
As it is, the gospel of Mark will mirror the Boanerges’ request in the account of the crucifixion. Verse 27 of the penultimate chapter of the gospel reads:
“And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.”
I have a suspicion that no one has precedence over anyone else in the Kingdom of heaven. And that comes to light in Jesus’ patient teaching to the disciples today.
He teaches them for the third time about the importance of humility and service in the life of his followers. He teaches them about servant leadership. And to do that, he contrasts who they need to be to who the Roman overlords are in their domination system.
He is basically disavowing any domination system. He never exercises power over anyone, and he urges the disciples to do as he does. If you must use power, make it power with others, not over others.
Even today, it is important for Christians to identify current domination systems. And once we know the power system we are dealing with, we are to be wary of aspiring to a prominent or convenient place in it.
How do we serve our brothers and sisters rather than participate in their oppression? Is there anything I want to withhold from others that I do not want withheld from me? Who do I consider OK to dominate and in what way?
Jesus wants us to be slave to all. We are not to be enslaved to any single master, whether it be money, fame or power. We are to seek for all others to rise to the glory of the kingdom of God together with us; no one ahead of the other. And we do it best by lovingly serving them.
Jesus knows this is not always easy and that it is sometimes painful but that need not stop us from perseveringly attempting it. But he nonetheless wants us to offer “agape,” the highest form of love, of charity. He wants us to embody sacrificial love that is unconditional, selfless and persists regardless of circumstances. Whether it be convenient or not.
We may close today’s eucharist with the following dismissal: “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” The Lord is present to you in every other being on your way. No one is to be beyond the reach of your love. The journey to loving as Christ is loving is ahead of us.
“Buen camino,” as they say on the way to St James’ shrine in Compostela.
Amen.
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