May today’s Eucharistic celebration bestow on you the insight how to deepen and strengthen your relationship with God that will enable you approach the throne of God boldly, and there receive the grace to be faithful to the end.
Happy Sunday. +John I. Okoye
DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Isaiah 53,2.3.10-11; Hebrew 4, 14-16; Mark 10, 35-45; 29th Sunday: Year B)
This short passage of the first reading provides a partial sketch of the portrait of the suffering servant of God. It opens on a discomforting note: the suffering of this forlorn individual was brought on by the Lord; the Lord has been pleased to crush his servant with suffering. The vicarious nature of this suffering is clear from the reading. The servant gives himself as a sin offering; he endures his agony so that others can be justified. His death will win life for others, and in this way he will accomplish God’s will. It seems that the Lord delights in crushing this pitiable victim because his agony will bring about salutary benefits in the lives of others. The prophet claims that the servant too will eventually be relieved and will experience fullness of days. However, the principal consequence of his sufferings will be felt in the lives of others. So often violence begets violence. Here the suffering servant offers no defensive response, no retaliation. The violence inflicted upon him is accepted, embraced, and put to rest. With the vicarious offerings of this innocent scapegoat, reconciliation with God is accomplished. Who is this suffering servant? He is the prefiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ whose vicarious suffering brought salivation to the whole world.
This first reading gives us some glimpses of the person of Christ. The second reading takes up cue from the first reading and develops further the personality of Christ from the point of view of his role as the High Priest. He is the High Priest who intercedes for all those who turn to him. He is a high priest who was tempted in all things and, therefore, can sympathize with human struggle. He is as well the Son of God. In order to demonstrate Jesus’ preeminence, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, from where our second reading is got, applies to him several features of the high-priestly office. Just as the high priest of the Old Testament passed through the curtain into the presence of God in the holy of holies, there to sprinkle sacrificial blood on the mercy seat (Hebrew 9:7), so Christ, exalted after shedding his own blood, passed through the heavens into the presence of God. Being the Son of God, his sacrifice far exceeds anything that the ritual performed by the high priest might have actually accomplished or hoped to accomplish. Jesus’ exalted state has not distanced him from us. On the contrary, he knows our limitations; as a man he shared many of them. He was tried to the limit, but he did not succumb to despair or blasphemy. Furthermore, it is precisely his exalted state that gives us access to the throne of God. As an authentic human being, he carries all of the members of the human race with him as he approaches the heavenly throne. Unlike former high priests who approached the mercy seat alone and only on the Day of Atonement, Christ enables each one of us to approach God, and to do so continually. This confidence we have in our relationship with Christ should empower us to approach the throne of God boldly, there to receive the grace we need to be faithful. The throne of grace from which we receive mercy is in striking contrast to the mercy seat on which the blood of reconciliation was sprinkled. Where previously the mercy seat was inaccessible, now we are invited to approach God’s throne with confidence. Reconciliation has been achieved through the blood of Christ. Now grace reigns.
In the gospel reading, we see how the close disciples of Jesus misunderstood his role as the vicarious sufferer, his identity as the Son of God and his identifying with us. James and John seek places of prominence in Jesus’ kingdom, and Jesus informs them that real prominence is found in service, not in wielding authority over others. The other apostles were probably indignant not because the request of James and John was so audacious but because it was made before any of the others were able to make comparable requests. The instructions that follow indicate that the apostles were all ambitious and misunderstood the nature of Jesus’ life and ministry. whose ministry was to serve people and ransom them.
We may ask ourselves: What reward do we hope to receive ourselves for our loyal services as Christians and contemporary disciples of God? When we set out to follow Jesus, faithful to the promises we made at baptism to renounce sin and to live lives that are directed by the Spirit, we normally do so with generosity of heart, with full enthusiasm. It is the love of God that impels us, not the thought of reward. However, after we have borne the burden of this decision for a while and we realize some of the implications of our commitment, we begin to wonder what it is all worth. How will we benefit from our dedication? What will we get out of it? We know that we will be generously blessed by God, that we will inhabit one of the mansions that Jesus has gone ahead to prepare for us. Would it be so wrong to hope for a little more, especially if we have made significant sacrifices along the way? It seems that two of Jesus’ closest disciples felt the same way. These two brothers belonged to Jesus’ inner circle. They had already been set apart from the others. They had been privileged to witness his transfiguration (cf. Mark 9, 2-8). Surely they were not asking for a privilege that God had not already granted them. Of those to whom much has been given, much will be required in return. The closer we are to Jesus, the more we will be expected to mirror him. James and John asked for places of honor, places reserved for those who exercise authority. Jesus did not deny that they would have such authority. He assured them that they would have places that were set apart. However, he described these places of distinction in a way the brothers had not expected. The great ones in the reign of God, the ones who exercise authority over others, must be the servants of the rest. Parents, teachers, civil authorities, managers of every kind, pastoral leaders (catechists, priests and bishops) must all be servants, as Jesus was a servant. Besides modelling our leadership after his, we will also have to model our hardship after his; we will drink from his cup of suffering and be baptized into his death. As we draw close to the one who gave his life as an offering for sin, we will find that the same self-sacrifice is being asked of us. Put another way, when we struggle with the misfortunes we encounter, misfortunes we face because of our commitment to Jesus, we will have him as an inspiration and a model to follow. He can sympathize with our weaknesses, identify with our suffering. For this reason, we can draw strength from his example, and we can hope for his kindness. May we pray in today’s Eucharistic celebration for the graces to morrow in our lives Jesus the servant of all and Jesus the vicarious sufferer. Happy Sunday!
+John I. Okoye
(graphics by chukwubike)
(Isaiah 53,2.3.10-11; Hebrew 4, 14-16; Mark 10, 35-45; 29th Sunday: Year B)
This short passage of the first reading provides a partial sketch of the portrait of the suffering servant of God. It opens on a discomforting note: the suffering of this forlorn individual was brought on by the Lord; the Lord has been pleased to crush his servant with suffering. The vicarious nature of this suffering is clear from the reading. The servant gives himself as a sin offering; he endures his agony so that others can be justified. His death will win life for others, and in this way he will accomplish God’s will. It seems that the Lord delights in crushing this pitiable victim because his agony will bring about salutary benefits in the lives of others. The prophet claims that the servant too will eventually be relieved and will experience fullness of days. However, the principal consequence of his sufferings will be felt in the lives of others. So often violence begets violence. Here the suffering servant offers no defensive response, no retaliation. The violence inflicted upon him is accepted, embraced, and put to rest. With the vicarious offerings of this innocent scapegoat, reconciliation with God is accomplished. Who is this suffering servant? He is the prefiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ whose vicarious suffering brought salivation to the whole world.
This first reading gives us some glimpses of the person of Christ. The second reading takes up cue from the first reading and develops further the personality of Christ from the point of view of his role as the High Priest. He is the High Priest who intercedes for all those who turn to him. He is a high priest who was tempted in all things and, therefore, can sympathize with human struggle. He is as well the Son of God. In order to demonstrate Jesus’ preeminence, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews, from where our second reading is got, applies to him several features of the high-priestly office. Just as the high priest of the Old Testament passed through the curtain into the presence of God in the holy of holies, there to sprinkle sacrificial blood on the mercy seat (Hebrew 9:7), so Christ, exalted after shedding his own blood, passed through the heavens into the presence of God. Being the Son of God, his sacrifice far exceeds anything that the ritual performed by the high priest might have actually accomplished or hoped to accomplish. Jesus’ exalted state has not distanced him from us. On the contrary, he knows our limitations; as a man he shared many of them. He was tried to the limit, but he did not succumb to despair or blasphemy. Furthermore, it is precisely his exalted state that gives us access to the throne of God. As an authentic human being, he carries all of the members of the human race with him as he approaches the heavenly throne. Unlike former high priests who approached the mercy seat alone and only on the Day of Atonement, Christ enables each one of us to approach God, and to do so continually. This confidence we have in our relationship with Christ should empower us to approach the throne of God boldly, there to receive the grace we need to be faithful. The throne of grace from which we receive mercy is in striking contrast to the mercy seat on which the blood of reconciliation was sprinkled. Where previously the mercy seat was inaccessible, now we are invited to approach God’s throne with confidence. Reconciliation has been achieved through the blood of Christ. Now grace reigns.
In the gospel reading, we see how the close disciples of Jesus misunderstood his role as the vicarious sufferer, his identity as the Son of God and his identifying with us. James and John seek places of prominence in Jesus’ kingdom, and Jesus informs them that real prominence is found in service, not in wielding authority over others. The other apostles were probably indignant not because the request of James and John was so audacious but because it was made before any of the others were able to make comparable requests. The instructions that follow indicate that the apostles were all ambitious and misunderstood the nature of Jesus’ life and ministry. whose ministry was to serve people and ransom them.
We may ask ourselves: What reward do we hope to receive ourselves for our loyal services as Christians and contemporary disciples of God? When we set out to follow Jesus, faithful to the promises we made at baptism to renounce sin and to live lives that are directed by the Spirit, we normally do so with generosity of heart, with full enthusiasm. It is the love of God that impels us, not the thought of reward. However, after we have borne the burden of this decision for a while and we realize some of the implications of our commitment, we begin to wonder what it is all worth. How will we benefit from our dedication? What will we get out of it? We know that we will be generously blessed by God, that we will inhabit one of the mansions that Jesus has gone ahead to prepare for us. Would it be so wrong to hope for a little more, especially if we have made significant sacrifices along the way? It seems that two of Jesus’ closest disciples felt the same way. These two brothers belonged to Jesus’ inner circle. They had already been set apart from the others. They had been privileged to witness his transfiguration (cf. Mark 9, 2-8). Surely they were not asking for a privilege that God had not already granted them. Of those to whom much has been given, much will be required in return. The closer we are to Jesus, the more we will be expected to mirror him. James and John asked for places of honor, places reserved for those who exercise authority. Jesus did not deny that they would have such authority. He assured them that they would have places that were set apart. However, he described these places of distinction in a way the brothers had not expected. The great ones in the reign of God, the ones who exercise authority over others, must be the servants of the rest. Parents, teachers, civil authorities, managers of every kind, pastoral leaders (catechists, priests and bishops) must all be servants, as Jesus was a servant. Besides modelling our leadership after his, we will also have to model our hardship after his; we will drink from his cup of suffering and be baptized into his death. As we draw close to the one who gave his life as an offering for sin, we will find that the same self-sacrifice is being asked of us. Put another way, when we struggle with the misfortunes we encounter, misfortunes we face because of our commitment to Jesus, we will have him as an inspiration and a model to follow. He can sympathize with our weaknesses, identify with our suffering. For this reason, we can draw strength from his example, and we can hope for his kindness. May we pray in today’s Eucharistic celebration for the graces to morrow in our lives Jesus the servant of all and Jesus the vicarious sufferer. Happy Sunday!
+John I. Okoye
(graphics by chukwubike)
No comments:
Post a Comment