October 21, 2024
Paulist Fr. Rich Andre preached this homily on the 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year B) on October 20, 2024, at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in Chicago, IL. The homily is based on the day’s readings: Isaiah 53:10-11; Psalm 33; Hebrews 4:14-16; and Mark 10:35-45.
We’re spending seven weeks this fall with the Book we call “Hebrews.” One thing I learned in the seminary is that the Letter of St. Paul to the Hebrews was not a letter, nor was it written by St. Paul, nor was it written to the Hebrews. It’s a very smart essay written to people who know the Old Testament very well. It lays out why Jesus is our high priest. Our passage today explains that Jesus Christ, although he is God, understands human weakness because he became a human and made the ultimate sacrifice for the salvation of the world.
Our gospel passage is also about sacrifice. No matter how much James and John want to focus on the eternal glory of Jesus’ resurrection, Jesus tells them that they will drink from the same cup of sacrifice as he will drink. But today let’s try to focus on another element of this sacrifice. It is a shared sacrifice. As Jesus says to James and John, “with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.” As we were baptized into Christ’s death, so we were baptized into his resurrection.
Let us now greet some people who desire to conform their lives more closely to Christ. [Lead into the Rites of Acceptance and Welcome for those in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, Youth, or Children.]
In the first 8 chapters of his gospel, Mark presents Jesus quickly going from place to place, grabbing the crowd’s attention with his preaching and miracles. But for the past 6 weeks, we’ve been in what is the central portion of Mark, where Jesus lays out what it truly means to be a disciple. This section contains only three healings, starting with a blind man who only comes to see in stages. Mark has likewise set up Jesus’ revelation to his disciples in stages.
So in this next-to-last week in the central portion of Mark, it’s disappointing to see how far off two of Jesus’ closest disciples are from understanding what it means to be a disciple. James and John know that Jesus is the Son of God, the anointed one who will be revealed in his full glory at the end of time. But they don’t seem to understand the sacrifice that Jesus must make to achieve his glory, nor do they understand that they too will be required to make similar sacrifices.
James and John aren’t the only ones who think this way. There are plenty of people who view baptism as a privilege without a responsibility, something like a “get out of hell free” card. “If I ‘get’ baptized, God,” some people think, “then you will bring me into your kingdom at the end of time.” But talk with any of our catechumens about why they are seeking baptism. They’ll talk about belonging and discipleship. Baptism is better understood as a pledge, a promise, a covenant for this lifetime. Suffering is part of the human condition; it’s not optional. But to think of our suffering as a sacrifice for the greater good? That is a gift. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: sacraments are not a reward for a job well done; they are graces for the journey ahead. Through baptism, we are knit into the Church, the Body of Christ. Then, through the grace of the Holy Spirit and strengthened by the other sacraments, we will serve to build up the reign of God in this present age.
But Americans often see themselves as individuals more than as belonging to groups. We rage against large corporations, financial institutions, and government entities. “Don’t blame me,” we say. “It’s not my fault. I’m not part of the system.” But Christianity has taught us that we are part of the system. As people living in the world, we must do what we can to reform these institutions. The Church itself is flawed and imperfect, too, and all the baptized are called to assist in its constant need for reform. The catechumens and candidates who celebrated the rites of acceptance and welcome with us today are doing something radical. They are each publicly declaring, as flawed and imperfect people, their willingness to be contributing members to improving this flawed and imperfect Church made up of other flawed and imperfect people.
Each of us has gifts to offer to the larger community. When we speak of “the Church” as if we ourselves don’t belong to it, we neglect the baptism of Christ into which we have been baptized. We are part of the institution trying to live out Jesus’ teachings. We are a living sacrament to the world. We are heralds of the good news. We are servants of the poor. We are a communion of disciples. We are knit into the Body of Christ.
James and John don’t seem to get it. They want the glory without the sacrifice. And there are surely times when we don’t seem to get it either, when we think that being a Christian is a privilege instead of a responsibility. But Mark’s narrative seems to indicate that James and John may not be as far off as we think. Jesus has now predicted his passion three times. The first time he was setting out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi at the extreme northern end of the region. And there he called Peter “Satan” for his misunderstanding of the requirements of discipleship. The second time, Jesus was traveling through Galilee, and he met a rich man who had done all things right but went away crestfallen when he heard that there was yet one more thing to do. And now this third time, Jesus is getting close to Jerusalem. Although James and John misunderstand Jesus’ teaching, they stay in conversation with him.
That is one of the keys of discipleship: we have to keep trying to understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. We have to keep trying to be disciples of Jesus. And we have to keep trying to love others as Jesus loved us, with a selfless, sacrificial love.
But all is not lost when we fail. Even though James and John seem mighty selfish and somewhat obtuse, they have a deep relationship with Jesus. As the preaching professor Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm writes: “Jesus’ tenderness and forbearance toward his disciples is good news for those of us today who hear his words yet do not fully understand what he means or who struggle to relinquish our own plans for success.”
Immediately after this exchange outside of Jericho, the last major town before Jerusalem, Jesus will ask another person the same thing he asked James and John: “What do you wish me to do for you?” And this person, blind from birth, is ready to be Jesus’ disciple immediately, willing to follow Jesus to Jerusalem for his passion and death.
As Jesus says to the disciples: “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.”
Dear friends — especially our dear candidates and catechumens: Most of us will not instantaneously understand what God requires of us, but if we keep trying to follow Jesus, the mystery of discipleship will gradually be revealed to us. Amen for that!