Reflection for Sunday 17th October

Can we drink the cup?

In his book Everyone Leads author Chris Lowney speaks about a Congregation of Sisters who made the decision to share their accommodation with a group of refugees and asylum seekers who had nowhere else to go. Their generosity was striking given that the average age of that community was 79.  They could have reasoned that they were too old to manage such a situation or that it was too risky to live with strangers or that the language barrier was too great to overcome at their time of life. However, in a spirit of tremendous generosity they took the decision to accommodate them. They prepared the rooms, and they were patient when the children became noisy and messy. In giving of their lives in this way they found new life. 

In this week’s Gospel we listen to how James and John, the Sons of Zebedee, come to Jesus asking if they could enter God’s glory by having places at his right and left hand in his heavenly kingdom. In this scene there is a contrast between how the world and Jesus view greatness. If we want to be great in the eyes of Jesus, we must be generous and good-hearted servants. Being first means we must travel the humble pathway. The consequence of this will mean putting ourselves last. Real honours are earned by how we live, not by what kind of position we have. Real authority comes through not by our title or our role but through our way of being, through our life of ordinary service and our daily commitment to the power of the Gospel. The cup that Jesus calls us to drink is the cup of sacrifice, patience, and generosity. 

Last week we heard how the rich man was invited by Jesus to let go. This is another Gospel about letting go. This week we are called to let go of all posturing and blind ambition for power. We are asked to let go of putting our own needs first to consider the needs of others. It means letting go of the desire for recognition for the service we give to others. 

The Sisters in the story remind us to generously serve which means sacrificing our time and being prepared to have our lives disrupted. Entering God’s glory means letting go of what we may consider to be logical and embracing the logic of Jesus.  Making such a choice means accepting times of suffering but it is also the pathway by which we find new life. 

Can we drink the cup? 

Fr. Alan