December 1st, 2023
Scripture
17 While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves and said to them on the way, 18 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; 19 then they will hand him over to the gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and on the third day he will be raised.”
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” 23 He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. 26 It will not be so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave, 28 just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”
--Matthew 20:17-28
Reflection
The season of anticipation. Day by day, we look forward to the celebration to come. It’s an exciting time. Each day, we are closer to the time we can hardly wait for. Of course, it’s been going on for a while—since about the second week of October.
Oh! Did you think I was talking about Advent? I meant the Christmas shopping season.
Advent isn’t very important to many in our culture. If anything, it means the days of December when we open those little cardboard doors and get a piece of chocolate (or, in some cases, a small bottle of fine Scotch whisky). Christmas is the BIG DEAL. We’re getting ready for all the good things to come. As far as Advent goes, many of us just get through it, surrounded by jingle bells and the syrupy voice of Bing Crosby.
The mother of the disciples James and John also wanted to get on the good things to come. This ministry of Jesus, which her sons participated in, was good as far as it went. Jesus’s healing, teaching, occasional conflicts with various opponents—good as far as it went. But something much grander was soon to come: A KINGDOM! With Jesus on a throne, and important roles for those who got in on the ground floor. It wouldn’t hurt to do a little promotion for the boys.
But Jesus reminds them that his earthly ministry is not just some prelude to a glorious golden age to come. He has just told them, “The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests, and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”
He asks James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They respond confidently, “We are able.” He assures them that they will indeed drink of his cup of rejection and suffering.
Jesus first words to the disciples in this passage about his coming passion and resurrection should be a recurring motif in Advent’s music that sings quietly in our hearts. If we don’t hold his death and resurrection at the center of the season, it’s just a few weeks in December. If we wait only to celebrate the Christ Child and a joyful time with family and friends, and don’t turn our eyes to the dying God on the cross and to mighty Risen One, we have lost an opportunity to deepen Jesus’s blessing on our lives.
As Madeleine L’Engle wrote:
We cannot wait until the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice.
The Rev. John Borrego
Retired Clergy, Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma