Sunday Gospel Reflection, October 17, 2021: Can you drink of the cup that I drink?

Can you drink the cup that I drink?

How do we participate in repairing our world?

    The people of Israel believed that when they sinned, they had to make a sacrificial offering of atonement for their sins. In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the Suffering Servant makes his life as a reparation offering (NABRE) to atone for the people’s sin, on their behalf, suffering for their sake as Jesus would one day do on behalf of the entire world. The Suffering Servant is willing to be crushed for the sake of his own people because he loves them; his suffering will repair what they have broken through their sin. As Christians, we believe that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ brings reparation to our world, in all its sinfulness and brokenness. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus reminds his disciples that the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, while the Letter to the Hebrews notes that Jesus, the Son of God has been tested in every way, dying for our sins, making a reparation offering so that all humankind might be forgiven. We may thus approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace for timely help, placing our trust in the Lord, as Psalm 33 states, knowing we will be delivered from death through the kindness of God, as manifested in the reparation offering of his Son.

    Thus, when James and John ask Jesus for places of honor with him in heaven, Jesus’ response calls them to refocus their energies. Can you drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized? he asks them. Baptism is an entry into his death which must become a way of life; the disciples are called to die for the sake of Christ, and be willing to suffer for the sake of his love. We participate in this same baptism; we too are baptized into his death; it is our invitation to inclusion in the Body of Christ as servants, ready to suffer for our world.

    Sin endures; people are still damaged and broken and in need of forgiveness. Jesus let his humanity die that he might raise all of humanity up, giving us access to God’s love. As Christians, we must participate with Jesus in this forgiveness, dying to sin and egocentricity and rising to love, a love that forgives. We make our reparation offering, not for ourselves but for each other; it is love that must drive us, rather than ego, mercy, rather than judgment, selflessness rather than selfishness, that we might give our lives as a ransom for many, following in the footsteps of Christ.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com