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Gospel: Matthew 20: 20-28
The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
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.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
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.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Can you drink the cup that I will drink?” Jesus questions his Apostles in today’s Gospel.
“Of course!” they say without understanding.
The Apostles imagine themselves sharing a gilded chalice with Jesus at a royal banquet in Jerusalem as he’s being crowned their king – and they his trusted advisors.
That’s the “cup” they want to drink – one of power and glory.
What they will learn is that this divine “cup” is not one of consolation or celebration; rather, it’s a mysterious reference to participating in Christ’s suffering and death.
We hear a final reference to this “cup” in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prays, “Father, let this cup pass from me. But not as I will, but your will be done.”
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The first Apostle to drink from the “cup” of the Lord is the Apostle James, whose feast day we celebrate today.
James was beheaded by the Roman Emperor Agrippa in the year 44 AD, about 10 years after the resurrection of Jesus.
Soon enough, the other Apostles followed. Matthew preached the Gospel as far as Ethiopia, where he was martyred. Some believe Thomas made it as far as India. Peter and Paul died in Rome.
The only Apostle, aside from Judas, who did not die a physical martyrdom was the Apostle John, who spent his final years in exile on the Greek island of Patmos.
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So, what might the story of the Apostles say to us today?
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Often, we imagine our futures, much like they did. And quite often, we’re wrong – as they were.
Once we learn to surrender and drink the “cup” of the Lord, our life no longer becomes our own; it’s placed in the hands of Jesus.
God directs our path in ways – and to places – that we would never have imagined for ourselves. And our reward will be the same as theirs: a coveted seat in the kingdom of God, where, “neither moth nor decay can destroy.”
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Image credits: (1) Hope Lutheran Chapel (2) Watchman on the Wall Ministries (3) Heart Treasure, WordPress