Feast of Saint James, Apostle
I don’t really fault the mother of the sons of Zebedee for what she asked Jesus. I mean it sounds pretty foolish to us with hindsight, but who doesn’t want the best for their children. I know I’m “guilty” of wanting my kids to succeed and in taking pride in their accomplishments. She was planning ahead, not understanding of course that Jesus’ kingdom would not be one like political rulers, but I don’t blame her for getting excited about the possibility of good things coming to her sons and subsequently to her. How many of us have outwardly or inwardly calculated the benefits of some new development for our own sake or our family’s sake?
In today’s gospel reading (Matthew 20: 20-28), however, we are reminded that Jesus isn’t about power and status and striving to be first. Jesus uses the question posed by the two brothers’ mother to instruct his disciples in what they (and we) should be striving for: to serve others. Jesus poses the question to the sons of Zebedee: “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” and they don’t yet “get” what is being asked of them. Have you ever felt like the two brothers, eager to say “yes” with a youthful enthusiasm only later realizing that it would be harder than you thought it would be?
Life is hard. And in some ways it seems like it just keeps getting harder with age! Paul, who suffered more than his share of trials and tribulations, however, offers words of hope in today’s first reading (2 Corinthians 4: 7-15), “We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.” Afflicted, perplexed, persecuted and struck down, but not constrained, despairing, abandoned or destroyed. That is life with Jesus.
And if I may borrow from the next verse of Paul’s letter, “Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day…for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.” (vs. 16, 18)
Paul also refers to our bodies as “earthen vessels” in which the treasure of our Lord is held. He reminds us that the instruments God uses are human and fragile. I find Paul’s words encouraging as I deal with middle age, health crises and the realities of aging in myself and my parents who are further on the journey. Our bodies are fragile, we do suffer, we don’t live forever, yet we have hope in Jesus who suffered and died for us, demonstrating his tremendous love for us. May we find strength in that treasure within our “earthen vessels.” And may that treasure shine forth from our fragile, even broken, bodies to all who we encounter and serve this week.
Eileen Miller