As we ponder the readings today, we begin to sense a rising tension. This stage of Jesus’ earthly journey brings him and the disciples ever closer to the culmination of his mission, and we see him working, little by little, to prepare his followers for what lies ahead. Jesus announces to the disciples for the second time that he will be put to death. At this news, the seeds of fear, disorder, and confusion begin to grow in the minds of his struggling followers. They fall into wrong thinking, so Jesus in his great mercy shows them the way into right thinking and right living, the way of humility.
In speaking of his death, Jesus adds a new and disturbing detail that he did not mention in last Sunday’s Gospel – the fact that he will be “handed over.” This reference to betrayal must have deeply shocked the Apostles. We can almost see them nervously glancing at one another. Handed over? By whom? How? Such talk of betrayal and death, and then the mysterious mention of rising from the dead after three days – it was all too much for them. “They did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.”
If the disciples had immersed themselves in the word of God, they might have been able to call to mind the passage from the Book of Wisdom that we have as today’s first reading. It foretells the sufferings of “the just one,” ridiculed and tortured by those in power. The wicked say, “he is obnoxious to us; / he sets himself against our doings.” They also unwittingly prophesy that “God will defend him / and deliver him from the hand of his foes.” This deliverance by divine power is what Jesus reveals as his Resurrection from the dead on the third day. However, the disciples cannot yet see that Jesus is fulfilling the Scriptures. They are too disturbed by the prospect of his suffering and death.
We can identify with this reaction of the disciples. How hard it is to hear what we do not want to accept. How painful it is to realize that our loved ones will suffer. How frightening it is to not understand what is going on. We sit in stunned silence. Inside, we cry that surely this cannot be part of God’s plan.
The disciples show us another part of how we typically react: in our fear and confusion we begin to focus on the wrong things. We look for something that seems to be in our power, so that we can regain some sense of being in control of what is happening. As they walk along with Jesus, but no longer talking with him, the disciples begin to argue among themselves about who is the greatest. It is as if they have given up on Jesus and are now thinking only about themselves. They had thought he would stay with them and lead them to victory as their Messiah, but now that he is talking about dying, they are lining themselves up for greatness on their own. Despite all Jesus’ signs and instructions on what the Kingdom of God is like, they are still not able to see beyond themselves and their earthly advantages.
In times of great trial, we are often very much like the disciples. We may know our faith to a point; we may trust Jesus to a point; we may declare ourselves his followers to a point, but when things fall apart, how easily we can become confused and desolate. In that desolation we become self-serving; we grasp at something to control. Often the first straw we grasp at is our pride, our “greatness.” And then we seek some sort of material comfort.
Jesus understands our misguided attempts to confirm our own greatness, so he places a child before us, embracing and giving importance to someone who in those days was considered almost a non-person. By placing himself at the service of a child, Jesus demonstrates what he means by saying, “if anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” This radical idea does not come naturally to us or to the disciples. It is one we must learn over and over in our lives. As we turn to God in humility, in the worst of times and in the best of times, he teaches us to receive others as equals in dignity. He replaces our desire to be served with a desire to be a servant. These are the qualities Jesus had to shape in his followers and continues to shape in us.
In the process of our formation as disciples, there are many pitfalls to avoid. St. James gives us some “wisdom from above” to help us identify some of them. “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice.” We have only to listen to the news on any given day to know how our disordered human passions are still afflicting the world. But James gives us the antidote: “The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.” How different the news of the day would sound if we all heard, understood, and obeyed the word of God! We belong not to this world but to the Kingdom of God. We serve him best when we follow Jesus as the last one of all and the servant of all.
When do the seeds of fear, disorder, and confusion enter my heart? When have I been betrayed, even by a friend? Why do I still get disturbed by the reality of suffering and death?
Excerpt from The Anawim Way, Volume 20, no. 7. More information about The Anawim Way may be found here.