Hebrews 5. 1 – 10
Mark 10. 35 – 45
Fr Alex
This is the third in a series of passages in which Jesus teaches some rather radical things about status and power. You may remember a couple of weeks ago he said that to enter the kingdom of God, we must become like little children; people with no status at all in that culture.
Today, Jesus says that earthly power is tyrannical and oppressive. True power, and true glory, are to be found in the service of others. And as for status – “whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.”
And so the request of James and John looks like nothing more than a misguided power-grab. But it’s a bit more complicated than that.
Immediately before this passage, we read that Jesus “took the twelve aside … and began to tell them what was to happen to him;” that soon he would be condemned to death, mocked, spat on, flogged, and killed. This is the third time that Jesus foretells his death in this way.
But straight away James and John step forward and ask to be with Jesus in his glory. Not so much a power-grab, then, but a brave and defiant statement of faith.
James and John were passionate and devoted disciples, something Jesus noticed right away. When he first called them to follow him, he nicknamed them the ‘Sons of Thunder.’
We see their stormy passion in Luke’s account. The disciples go ahead of Jesus to make a Samaritan village ready to receive him. The villagers refuse. So James and John say, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” There are no half-measures with these two.
So what’s going on in this bit of the Gospel today? I think at the heart of it is the simple desire of the Christian to respond to Jesus’ call, and to know how to follow him. James and John felt this desire incredibly strongly, and it sometimes took them in a slightly wayward direction. But it’s something every Christian asks themselves at one point or another: how do we best follow Jesus?
Most of us are not called to risk everything or give up everything for the faith, like the saints of old or many of our brothers and sisters around the world today. In our increasingly secular and apathetic society, with all its distractions and temptations, it can feel like a pretty unheroic age to be a Christian.
Perhaps like me you’ve felt something of James and John’s fire at some point in your life, and made all sorts of promises about following Jesus faithfully. But perhaps you’ve been disheartened when that fire has seemed like it’s fading; perhaps you feel like you’re on a devotional treadmill, plodding along faithfully but never really getting anywhere. Perhaps you look at the faith of others and think ‘I’ll never be like that.’ Perhaps something has happened that has damaged your faith.
If we’re honest, Christianity can be pretty tough. We share our faith in its essentials with billions around the globe, and yet there’s no objective measure for working out how we’re doing; each journey is individual, and personal. What are we called to be and do, and how can we get there? It can feel overwhelming.
It was St Teresa of Avila’s feast day on Tuesday, and at the Mass that evening we read one of her deeply perceptive reflections on the journey of faith. I’ll read it to you now.
“More courage is required of those who set out on the road to perfection than of those who suddenly become a martyr, for perfection is not attained overnight. You have to conquer your passions.
Yet by the very fact that you seek to love God you expect to be extremely brave, as brave as a great saint. You find yourself praising the Lord, but at the same time knowing deep sadness of soul. Many turn back at this point because they have no idea of how to help themselves.
Many souls desire to fly before God gives them wings. They begin with good desires, with great fervour and determination to advance in virtue. Some actually give up all things for the sake of God. Then they see in others who are farther along the way great virtues to which they can only aspire. They read books about prayer and contemplation, about all they must do to achieve their spiritual goals, and they lose heart.
Do not be troubled but hope in the Lord. For if you desire to do the will of the Lord, if you pray and hope in the Lord and do what you can for yourself, God will bring about in your soul all that you desire. It is very, very important that our weak nature should have great confidence, and not be dismayed. We should think that if we do our best, we will be victorious.”
Words written five centuries ago, but they still speak right into the experience of Christians even today. And what a truth and an encouragement it is: “God will bring about in your soul all that you desire.” In other words, ‘do your best, and God will do the rest.’
When we imagine our journey of faith in these terms, suddenly all those distractions and complications and comparisons fall away, and we see how startingly simple our faith really is. Jesus calls us, and if we choose to follow him, he will do the rest. We just need to get out of his way, and be open and honest about where we are, and not where we want to be.
As we heard in our first reading, Jesus was heard by God because of his “reverent submission;” his “obedience;” his “prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears.” There was no pretending or concealing in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The authentic, humble prayer that says, “You know, Lord, I have no idea what to do, I need your help;” I think that is much more powerful than any number of beautiful and flowery words, or great pious gestures. And if we can be our true and authentic selves before God in prayer, I’m sure he will reveal to us that we actually aren’t really as far behind as we think we are, after all.
“Do not be troubled but hope in the Lord.” I pray that you may learn, with him, the best way to serve him in this time: and may you discover the joy and peace in your faith that he desires for each of us. Amen.