Devotional reflection based on the readings for the third Sunday of Lent according to the Syro-Malabar Church Liturgy
Fr. Jinu Jacob, Vatican City
When Jesus, who is equal to us in all things except sin, conveys to his disciples the agonizing sufferings of the soul which he had experienced and was about to experience, the entrance of the sons of Zebedee, followed by the plea of their mother, may sometimes disturb even us. These expressions reveal the blindness of faith that cannot understand the divine expression of suffering. Today’s word tells us that if we want to understand the sacrifice experienced in the manger in Bethlehem, the slanders, oppositions and sufferings created during the public life, it is not enough to just walk with Jesus, but we must establish our place in his heart. We cannot blame or belittle a mother’s desire because that question embodies the generosity of a good mother who has good dreams for her children.
But without wounding the desire of the Mother’s mind, born of the largeness of the heart, Jesus replies, “You know not what you ask.” Because Jesus points to a divine pilgrimage beyond human comforts. Jesus leads the sons of Zebedee to a revolutionary decision to drink the cup that He is about to receive and to participate in His baptism. In this journey, Jesus shows not power but the servitude of ministry. The message of this passage for us Christians is to radiate the spirit of resurrection by sharing in suffering with Jesus. There are three main ideas that today’s gospel conveys to us.
Authority is ministry
The first human thought that arises in Jesus’ mind as he talks about his passion and resurrection with his chosen twelve is about authority. Perhaps when Jesus uttered these prophecies, they thought why not use his Christ authority to spare the tormentors. But Jesus, the gospel imparted to us on this third Sunday of Lent is the lesson of contradiction that authority is ministry. While authority without the goodness of ministry fills the darkness of death, the authority of ministry fills the lives of others with the light of life.
A great example of this: Herod, the epitome of terror, who destroyed thousands of innocent lives in opposition to the infant Jesus, King of the whole world, born in Bethlehem, and King Pilate, who washed his hands of self-righteousness by putting the real authority to death in the throne and scepter. But the power that Jesus showed was the power of love that held even the enemy close to his heart, the power of forgiveness that hated the sin and loved the sinner, the power of humility that washed the feet and kissed the feet, the power of care that laid on the cross and entrusted her children to the mother. Jesus invites us to this authority through today’s Gospel.
The throne is the cross
Echoing the appeal of the sons of Zebedee is the idea of the throne. The mother’s desire to have one of her two children seated with Christ at her right hand and the other at her left is a desire that arises in any person. But if we want to understand the uniqueness of that throne, Jesus’ question is relevant: ‘Can I drink the cup that I drink?’ Here we can see the father who takes his children beyond a relative problem to a reality of karma vibhakti. It is an invitation to the fullness of discipleship to witness the resurrection of life by sharing in his suffering and death. This is an invitation that perhaps we ignore in our lives. In our divine calling to become Christ’s disciples, we must never let the zeal to possess this throne diminish in us. If we want to be able to be on both sides of the cross raised on the top of Mount Calvary as the throne of Jesus, we must humble ourselves to a community life of serving, sharing and understanding each other.
The God who seeks the fleeing man
In this way our good God is still seeking us today to make us sharers in His throne. Today’s Gospel tells us that even when most of the disciples he held close to his heart ran away in the bitter moments of his suffering, Jesus’ hopes did not end, but the Christ who seeks those who run away. By drinking the cup of their life with the Master in the last days, Zebadi sons gave more light to his resurrection. Jacob, one of the Zebadi sons, was fortunate enough to become the first martyr among the disciples by spreading the fire of faith to others in life. Even after two thousand years, we can experience God seeking our repentance through the gospel.
These words of Jesus should give us courage when we are overwhelmed by the great waves of suffering in our lives today. Let us not forget the truth that when we share the sufferings of Christ and share in the sufferings of my brothers, we can win the victory of resurrection in the midst of worldly losses. May we be able to live a life of humility, repentance, service, and the cross to secure our place on both sides of His throne in the temple that is our heart this Lent.