(Mark 10:35-45)
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?"
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."
Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus’ question to his disciples is an interesting one. Can you drink the cup I drink? Preoccupied with their desires for greatness, their answer seems like it might have been a little premature, like they didn’t really understand the cup Jesus would drink. The cup was his redemptive suffering.
Everything Jesus suffered, the condemnation, the whipping and beating, spitting, name calling, humiliation, the crown, the cross, the nails, the abandonment, and finally his death had a purpose. The purpose for all that suffering was for us, so that we might be redeemed. So that we might be freed from the clutches of evil and sin in the world, that draws us away from Him and returns us to the loving embrace of God our father. Jesus suffered to rescue you.
Knowing what drinking from the cup represents, the response Jesus gives his disciples can seem a little frightening. “The cup I drink, you will drink.” The cup he drinks, we will drink. Seems like we don’t have a choice. We will suffer. In one way or another and to different degrees, in this life we will suffer.
Like Jesus, our suffering doesn’t have to be meaningless. Suffering is hard, painful, and not something we seek out but, it can have a purpose. That purpose is to help Jesus continue to redeem the world. To bring about the conversion of souls and bring people closer and closer to God. St. Therese of Lisieux said that suffering, gladly borne for others converts more people than sermons. By enduring suffering for others and uniting it to Jesus, we become co-redeemers.
This isn’t something that automatically happens though. This is something we must choose to do. We might pray something like, “Jesus, like you did on the cross, I am willing to accept and endure this suffering. I give all my affliction to you, that …….. might be brought closer to you.” A name or face becomes the intention of our suffering. It has a real purpose.
When we patiently assume our suffering in this way, it becomes a spiritual sacrifice that we unite to the sacrifice of Jesus, who meets our pain with spiritual power, grace, and consolation.
This leads to the second point to our suffering. We suffer so that others may be consoled and believe. St Paul in his letter to the Corinthians says that God consoles us in every affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction. Because of our suffering, we are able to share God’s consolation with others in their suffering. They show us the face of the suffering Jesus, we show them his love in return.
Mary is an example to what it means to console. She saw her son’s bloody, whipped and beaten body. She heard the names he was called, what people said about him, and their cry for his crucifixion. Their eyes met as she stood in the noisy crowd and watched beaten and weary her son struggle to carry his cross. She looked upon him as he hung and died on his cross. Mary didn’t stop or change anything, but she was with her son until the end.
Many who come to Catholic Charities are suffering. They come because they are seen, noticed, accepted, and accompanied in their struggles, no matter who they are. Often, they are helped, and their suffering reduced. Sometimes though like Mary, nothing can be done to change the situation, but they are consoled in the fact that they are not suffering alone. Just knowing somebody cares makes all the difference in the world.
The cup I drink, you will drink. Suffering can have a great value. If you’re suffering, give your suffering a face, give it a purpose, join your sacrifice to Jesus. If you know somebody who is suffering, be with them, help them drink the cup they drink. Both those who suffer and those who are with them can experience an intimate encounter with Jesus, helping him to continue to redeem the world.