Word to the Wise
Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 2nd Week of Lent - Wed
[Jer 18:18-20 and Matt 20:17-28]My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.
Politics and power seem to get into even the best of enterprises, even the preaching of the gospel! The two apostles, James and John, get their mother to intercede for them with Jesus to secure positions of honor and power in the "kingdom." Jesus makes an understatement when he says, "You do not know what you are asking!" They misunderstand what the "kingdom" truly is, and they misunderstand what that "kingdom" is going to require of them. They will have to drink the same cup that Jesus will drink - rejection and suffering for the sake of the "kingdom." Jesus has to call all the apostles together to give them a lecture on what real authority and power in his kingdom will mean. It will NOT mean power and authority of the kind that they have observed in the rulers of their day. It will mean service and dedication. James and John were allowing their politics to shape their faith and not the other way around.
Casual observation of important political events will always show a kind of "pecking order" in the people who are involved. There are even special individuals who are called "chief of protocol" to insure that every important ego is properly displayed. In our church, I have seen this time and time again from smallest parish to Vatican gathering! I cannot help but wonder if Jesus is sighing with exasperation: "Will they never learn?" James and John were interested in the "perks" without any understanding of the service. It might be a good Lenten exercise to ask ourselves what "power" means to us and how we use it. Even if it might be difficult to cure secular politics of the problem, I would hope we could change that culture in our local church or diocese! AMEN