[ Today's Readings ]
Jesus, you remind us of your cross.
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,
and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests
and the scribes,
and they will condemn him to death,
and hand him over to the Gentiles
to be mocked and scourged and crucified,
and he will be raised on the third day.
But the first thing we can think of is what we can get out of it.
He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
LORD, we often attempt to use our faith for the wrong things. W ask for a variety of things which range from indifferent to harmful.
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
We often don't know what we are asking. Even when we ask for good things the proportion is usually wrong. We usually ask for them from selfish motives.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?
Everything that the LORD has to give us begins with drinking the chalice. We're quick to say that we can drink it without really thinking about it.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
And that keeps us headed in the right direction. The chalice purifies the things we ask of you, LORD. It helps us to really appreciate the meaning of your cross in our own lives.
Moving toward our desires we drink the chalice. And drinking from the chalice our desires our purified. We learn what they truly mean. For example, we learn the true meaning of leadership, honor, and position.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
We drink the chalice and sacrifice our need to be first and our need to be served. But the chalice of which we drink is precisely the chalice which you drink first, Jesus.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?
It isn't something different which you demand of us. It is only the trail which you first blaze.
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.
Only if we drink this chalice can we love the way we are called to love, the way you yourself first love us LORD Jesus. This is the love that enables Jeremiah to stand on behalf of a people who want him dead to plead for them to God.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.
In this chalice we find safety. It is not safety for our pride or our sinfulness or even our life in the flesh. But it is safety for our souls. It is the only sort of safety that gives us true peace.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
So draw us to drink your chalice, Jesus. May the precious blood you shed for us transform us. May it makes into servants. May it help us to love without counting the cost. May your blood in us make us more like you.
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