[ Today's Readings ]
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
Obviously there is something wrong with the request. There is a lot of pride and ego involved in asking for something like this. Yet we should not ignore the fact that there is something quite correct about it.
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
In order to have that for which they ask they must drink the chalice. And drinking the chalice is something to which they are in fact called. James and John desire the treasure of the Kingdom. What the chalice forces them to realize is that they can only hold this treasure in earthen vessels.
We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
To be as close as possible to Jesus in his Kingdom is a goal we should all share. But it cannot manifest as merely where we are seen to be when others look at us. This is what the chalice of suffering helps us to understand. It is not about us. It cannot be about us. We are too constrained, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down for it to be about us. We carry about in the body the dying of Jesus. Yet the resurrection is not ours to give ourselves. We cannot simply take it, nor even receive it without being changed. We must receive it from the Father who prepares it for us. Jesus cannot arbitrarily confer the benefits of the Kingdom on us just because we want them. Instead, he gives them to those who surrender themselves to the Father's plan. We don't come to Jesus and, in our pride, receive gifts that only serve to make our pride grow. Instead we surrender our pride, follow Jesus to the cross, and receive the resurrection from the Father. The Father has this prepared for each and every person who is willing to drink the chalice of Christ.
This is why pride can have no place in the kingdom. It is a matter, rather, of service and of love.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
This transformation is often marked by tears. But we know they are holy tears because the lead to transformation. Tears that serve to isolate us from God come from the enemy. The tears of the chalice of Christ are different. They lead to rejoicing that knows no end.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
Try to not rejoice while listening to this..
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