20180228 CAN YOU DRINK THE CUP?
28 FEBRUARY, 2018, Wednesday, 2nd Week of Lent
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Violet.
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First reading
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My enemies are digging a pit for me
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‘Come on,’ they said, ‘let us concoct a plot against Jeremiah; the
priest will not run short of instruction without him, nor the sage of advice,
nor the prophet of the word. Come on, let us hit at him with his own tongue;
let us listen carefully to every word he says.’
Listen to me, O Lord,
hear what my adversaries are saying.
Should evil be returned for good?
For they are digging a pit for me.
Remember how I stood in your presence
to plead on their behalf,
to turn your wrath away from them.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Save me in your love, O Lord.
Release me from the snares they have hidden
for you are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.
Save me in your love, O Lord.
I have heard the slander of the crowd,
fear is all around me,
as they plot together against me,
as they plan to take my life.
Save me in your love, O Lord.
But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;
I say: ‘You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.’
Save me in your love, O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Or
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Jn8:12
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Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
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Gospel
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They will condemn the Son of Man to death
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Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve
to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of
Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will
condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged
and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.’
Then the
mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed
low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that
these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your
left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered.
‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very
well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and
my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have
been allotted by my Father.’
When the
other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus
called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it
over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen
among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and
anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.’
CAN YOU DRINK THE CUP?
It is natural
for most believers to treat religion as a safeguard from evil and harm. They believe that
their faith will provide them with all that they need and that they will be
shielded from all harm. Indeed, many Christians view the Christian Faith
as one that will bring bountiful blessings for them and their loved ones; not
just spiritual blessings but also earthly blessings as well. In the minds
of some Christians, if they serve God in the Church, they expect that God would
bless them and protect them. They think that with faith in Jesus, there
will be no suffering and pain. This explains why even good Christians
give up their faith in Christ when tragedy strikes, because they feel that God
is not fair to them. They expect God to be grateful to them for the
services they render to the Church and the poor. This level of faith is
not one of a matured Christian.
Indeed, this
was the case of the mother of Zebedee’s sons. She made a request from Jesus, “Promise
that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at
your left in your kingdom.” She assumed that just because she gave her
two sons to Jesus, they should be rewarded with some glory and honour.
The mother’s desire was also the desire of James and John. Not only
their’s, but that of the rest of the apostles as well. For “when the
other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers.” They too
sought some form of earthly rewards. This is our attitude in serving God as
well, or in worshipping Him. In truth, it is not so much about God but
about ourselves. We do not love God for who God is but for our sake.
Hence, Jesus
told the disciples, “You do not know what you are asking.” Indeed, they
were not aware of what they were asking on two counts. Firstly, they were insensitive
to Jesus’ feelings. Jesus had just prophesied about His passion and they
were thinking about their rewards. They were blinded by their selfish
needs. Instead of feeling with Jesus in His imminent passion and death,
they were more worried about what they would get when the Kingdom of God
came. Secondly, they did not know what it took to be seated on the
left and right hand of our Lord in the kingdom. They were thinking in
worldly terms and they were also not cognizant of the price of the kingdom that
Jesus was offering them.
Hence, the
Lord asked them pointedly, “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” Following Jesus
means that we are to drink the cup of suffering that He drank. There is a
price to pay for following Jesus. It means sacrifice and suffering.
Jesus told us, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take
up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life
will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Lk 9:23f) It is a call to service unto death. To share
in the life of Jesus includes our willingness to carry our cross and follow
after Him.
They did not
know what true leadership and glory is all about until after the death of
Jesus. “No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant,
and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son
of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.” Jesus made it clear that sharing in His ministry is to serve
others as He did, even to the extent of giving one’s life for others. Serving
Jesus is not about having a good time and being blessed with all the things of
this earth. It is about others, not about ourselves. The
glory that Jesus comes to give us is not our glory but the glory of God.
It is to live our lives in such a way that would bring glory to God. By
so doing, we share in God’s glory because we share in His life of love and
giving. This is what greatness is all about; the capacity to give and to
share what we have with others in humility.
The greatest
glory is expressed in our service to the truth. Like Jeremiah, we will be
condemned and hated. We will be persecuted because no one wants to know
the truth. It means having to change. His enemies said, “Come
on, let us concoct a plan against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of
instruction without him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word. Come
on, let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to every
word he says.” This is true of Jesus too. He knew that His service
to the truth would cost Him His life. Hence He prophesied, “Now we are
going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the
chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him
over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third
day he will rise again.” Jesus and Jeremiah were well aware of the
fate before them because of their service to love and to the truth.
How should we
carry the cross? It is natural for us to complain to God when we carry
the cross of rejection. Doing good is not so difficult. It is when people
repay you with evil in return. This was how Jeremiah felt.
“Listen to me Lord, hear what my adversaries are saying. Should evil be
returned for good? For they are digging a pit for me.” Indeed, many of
us, when we begin to choose to serve the Lord, think that to drink the cup is
simply to give ourselves in sacrifice for others in service. When
we are appreciated in our service, the sacrifice is worth it. That is why
those who serve the poor are often rewarded with the joy of seeing the
gratitude and appreciation of those whom we help. This is a joy that no
money can buy. But when we are rejected or taken for granted in our
service to people, we feel offended. Indeed, most of us expect people to
thank us and be appreciative of what we do. Otherwise, we stop giving and
helping. We all are desperate to hear words of thanksgiving and
gratitude.
Thus, the
crux of our service is whether we are motivated out of love for others or for
self.
If we are motivated by self-love, then we seek glory and recognition for our
services to the poor and whoever needs help. And if we are not given that
recognition, we stop our assistance. But if we love people for the reason
that God loves them, we will serve them even when they are unappreciative and
ungrateful. Perhaps they are so deeply wounded and self-centered that
they cannot see the sacrifice of love we are making for them. We hope
that through our patient love and generous giving, they would be awakened to
the reality of unconditional love that we give to them. Perhaps then they
would learn how to be appreciative of the love and gifts that they receive.
A prophet
like Christ is willing to die for the people even when they are rejected
because they are motivated purely by love for them. Jeremiah said, “Remember
how I stood in your presence to plead on their behalf, to turn your wrath away
from them.” They are not serving to exercise authority over them. As
Jesus said, “You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and
their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among
you.” They are there as servants. If we behave like servants of
God, then Jesus said, “So you also, when you have done all that is commanded
you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” (LK 17:10)
But we can do
it only with the Father’s love in us. We cannot love with our strength
alone because we will be disillusioned. We must love with the love of the
Father. We cannot love people with all our heart but we can love them
with all the heart of God. So let us turn to Him, just as Jeremiah turned
to the Lord for strength to endure the oppositions and hostilities of his
fellowmen. With the psalmist, we pray, “I have heard the slander of the crowd,
fear is all around me, as they plot together against me, as they plan to take
my life. But as for me, I trust in you, Lord; I say: ‘You are my God. My life
is in your hands, deliver me from the hands of those who hate me.” Like
Jesus, we must commend our lives into the hands of the Lord. (cf Lk 23:46) This is what the Lord Himself advised the disciples, “Very
well, you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left,
these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been
allotted by my Father.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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