Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time (May 30, 2018): The baptism of suffering

Thứ Ba, 29-05-2018 | 15:00:18

Today’s Readings:

1 Peter 1:18-25
Ps 147:12-15, 19-20
Mark 10:32-45
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/053018.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/18_05_30.mp3

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark.

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,
and Jesus went ahead of them.
They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.
Taking the Twelve aside again, he began to tell them
what was going to happen to him.
“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 who will mock him,
spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death,
but after three days he will rise.”

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
came to Jesus and said to him,
“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”
He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?”
They answered him,
“Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.”
Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”
They said to him, “We can.”
Jesus said to them, “The chalice that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared.”
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
“You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Good News Reflection: The baptism of suffering

In the Gospel reading today, look at how James and John wanted spiritual growth the easy way! They wanted to achieve high places of honor in God’s kingdom, and they wanted to get there just by asking for it.

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t snap his almighty fingers and make your problems go away when you ask for his help? Instead, he takes you by the hand and leads you deeper into the problem — true?

It’s not because he wants you to suffer. The Father did not want Jesus to suffer, but it was the only way that humankind could be redeemed.

Do we want a quick escape from pain more than we want God to redeem bad situations into something good? To see the redemptive power of Christ in our lives, we have to accept that the way to get there is through the cross. We have to be willing to endure the people who are contributing to our difficulties, and in enduring them, learn patience, and in learning patience, develop unconditional love for them, and in developing unconditional love, become more fully united with God who is love.

The benefits far outweigh the sufferings.

Jesus told James and John that they would have to drink of the cup of suffering and be baptized in pain. What does baptism do? Water baptisms were originally by full immersion, and the Vatican has been encouraging parishes to restore this ancient tradition because it more easily conveys the true meaning of baptism. Baptism drowns our sinful nature and raises us up to a new life in God. Likewise, baptism by immersion into our problems redeems the situation much more fully than if God had taken us to a quick escape.

(Time out for a word of caution: If you are in an abusive relationship, this is not a situation you are being called to endure! This is not a redemptive cross. He is inviting you to get away to a safe place where you can insist that the abuser seek proper professional help. Only after real change takes place — real healing in both of you — can reconciliation and reuniting safely occur.)

Of course, we all want the easy way to glory. Jesus did, too. (Remember what he begged for in the Garden of Gethsemane?) But when we can look back at the sufferings that we’ve endured and see the blessings that they produced, we are thankful that we took the hard journey.

Evil is overcome, not by our avoidance of hardship, but by the victory that comes from embracing the cross.

Today’s Prayer:

Lord, forgive me for the times I pursued my own interests instead of those that benefit others. Give me an alert and humble heart to serve You in the poor. Amen.

Tags: Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Good News Reflection, Holy Gospel according to Mark