But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptized with the
baptism that I am baptized with?" (v. 38)
TRUE DISCIPLES
The Gospel of Mark tells a
bleak tale. The disciples ignore or misunderstand the words of Jesus.
As he heals and casts out demons across the countryside, it seems he
is powerless to exorcise the anxieties of his own disciples.
In Mark 10, James and John seek reassurance. Their anxiety has
taken hold of them yet again, and with good reason. Already marginalized as Jews
living in occupied Palestine, they followed Jesus even farther out to the
margins, away from power, away from riches, away from safety. And lately their
leader and friend had been acting strangely.
The grandeur of his miracles seemed to be fading. His last
encounter with a prospective convert had resulted in the man sadly walking away.
Jesus was challenging the authorities with greater audacity than ever before,
and speaking of his imminent suffering and death with increasing frequency. In
the midst of all this, James and John wanted the reassurance of a happy ending.
Their question is understandable and heartbreaking. Their happy
ending is personal glory. They fail to grasp that their reward is freedom from
the system that dehumanizes and imprisons them. And so Jesus tells them yet
again: We do not do things according to the system of the Roman Empire. We do
things according to God
s
system. You never again need worry about being privileged or oppressed, because
that system is finished. It is defeated utterly in me, and you can bear witness
to this by serving and loving God and each other.
The Gospel of Mark was written during a period of terrible Roman
persecution of Christians, when following Jesus to the cross was a literal
possibility. As we read Mark today, we find that instead of being the targets of
an empire, we are caught up in one. Even so, this Gospel still speaks to us. It
does not propose an easy trade of suffering now for glory later. Instead, Mark
speaks of freedom from a system, a freedom that is both as simple and as
stunningly difficult as faith.
Dear Teacher, why is it so difficult for us to learn the
lessons you put right before us? Our eyes don’t see and our ears don’t
hear. We want to be true disciples, Lord, but we don’t know how. Show
us the way.
Quinn Gorges
