By Father Anthony F. Raso
WE OUGHT NOT to be too hard on the Apostles, or for that matter, any of the Jewish people of Jesus’ day. A lot of what they thought about the relationship between themselves and God was based upon common sense – or so it seemed to them.
For instance, they thought that if they led good lives, God would shower blessings upon them. But if they led lives of sin, then it was only natural – even fair – that God would punish them, right here and right away.
Toward the end of Jesus’ ministry, when He encountered the man born blind, the Apostles asked Jesus who it was that had sinned and brought about his blindness – the man or his parents. The Lord had to correct them on this, as He does also in today’s Gospel, when James and John ask Him to give them places of glory in the New Kingdom.
After all, they were Apostles and they deserved it, right?
However, He tells them that was not how it was going to work in the plan of God. Furthermore, that never was how it was going to work in God’s plan. The first reading today from the prophet Isaiah illustrates this clearly.
The whole idea of a “suffering servant” was not very pleasant, and humanly speaking, it didn’t make sense. If one was a faithful servant of God, why should he or she suffer? God should make all of the flowers bloom in such a person’s garden and the sun should always shine whenever that person left the house. What sense did it make to be good if this wasn’t going to be so? Furthermore, James and John should certainly expect to be rewarded and congratulated, early and often, for their faith in Jesus.
An Offering for Sin
As the first reading tells us today, the fact is that “the Lord was pleased to crush (His prophet) in infirmity” and “the will of the Lord shall be accomplished through him” only if “he gives his life as an offering for sin.” This was the case for the prophet of God and it would most assuredly be the case for the Son of God. “Through his suffering he shall see the light in fullness of days (and He) shall justify many and their guilt he shall bear.”
Even though the Old Testament said this, the people of God just didn’t absorb it. It didn’t seem fair to the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the people of God, in general, and even to the Apostles, in particular. However, that was, in fact, God’s plan for salvation. When we think about it, how could it have been otherwise?
As the author of the Letter to the Hebrews in the second reading tells us, the only way God could get across to His people was to send them someone who – while not sharing their sinfulness – did share their weakness and vulnerability: “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness but One who has similarly been tested in every way.”
If Jesus had come into this world and sat down on a golden throne, with John on one side, and James on the other, and simply pronounced us “saved,” it wouldn’t have made much of an impression at all.
Actions with Impact
However, if He picked up His cross and carried it to Calvary, forgave His enemies and the man on the next cross, said “it is accomplished” when He realized He was dying and finally gave Himself into the hands of His Father – well, that would be a memory imprinted upon the hearts of the faithful for 2,000 years and more.
The symbol of our faith is not the stable in Bethlehem, nor the Bread and Wine, nor even the empty tomb. As worthy as any of these symbols might have been, the one that really has been imprinted upon our hearts is that of the crucifix – Jesus, at the moment of His death and therefore, the moment of our salvation, the moment when He gave His life for love of us.
And as we know, when that moment came, that was not the end. That was only Friday; that glorious Sunday was coming soon.
Once again, this may go against the grain of what seems to be fair to us, but God, our Father, had His own way of seeing what would unlock our hearts. God let us see clearly just how much He loved us, and loves us still.
To Be Fair or Christ-like
James and John thought it would be fair to have the thrones they had earned; Our Father had to impress upon us that when the disciples of His Son find a golden throne, what we must do is find someone else who is tired or heartbroken, and sit them down on that throne and care for their needs with the same love that led Jesus to the wooden throne on Calvary.
Isaiah knew that already. James and John would come to know it too and follow through on that inspiration with all of their hearts. The author of Hebrews taught that lesson as well. Now it is our turn to be the “suffering servants” for others, realizing that when we reach out to our sisters and brothers in need, we are Veronica all over again, wiping the face of Christ, doing for others what our Suffering Servant did for us.
Readings for 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 53: 10-11
Psalm 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
Hebrews 4: 14-16
Mark 10: 35-45 or Mark 10: 42-45
Father Raso is a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Dyker Heights.