FIRST READING: Isaiah 53: 10-11. It was the will of the Lord to bruise him, he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. EXPLANATION: In today's short excerpt from second-Isaiah, we have a reference to the servant of God---as this prophet called the future Messiah. It is God's will that the Servant should suffer and offer himself as a sin-sacrifice for mankind. But his life will not really end in death, it will be given back to him again, he shall see the fruit of his sufferings in the many righteous ones whose iniquities he will bear. will...him: It was God's plan that his Servant should suffer, not for any sins of his own but for those of mankind. The doctrine of expiatory vicarious suffering is clearly enunciated in these verses.
an offering for sin: It was a special sacrifice in the Levitical ritual offered to make atonement for sin.
he shall...days: Even though the Servant dies, as he must to offer himself as a sacrifice (and the two preceding verses 8-9 leave no doubt as to his death "for our faults struck down in death"), yet his days will be prolonged---death will not hold him. He shall live to see his offspring---generations of followers.
see the fruit...satisfied: He shall be pleased with the good results his sufferings produce in his fellowman.
make...righteous: Many equals all. His expiatory sufferings and death will make all men "just."
he shall...iniquities: Because he bore the guilt of all men, mankind is therefore reconciled to God. "God has forgiven us all our sins . . . he has made you alive with Christ. . . The bond (sin) which stood against us, he has set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Col. 2: 14-15, see Phil. 2: 7; 1 Pt. 2: 21-25). APPLICATION: The lesson to be learned from these two verses of second-Isaiah (it would be well to read the entire prophecy, or Fourth Servant Oracle as it is called, in Is. 52: 13-53 : 12), is that God in his extraordinary, infinite love for us men and for our salvation, decreed that his divine Son in his assumed human nature, should suffer torture and death so that we might live eternally. The leaders of the Jews plotted his death, and forced the Roman authorities to condemn him to the shameful death of crucifixion, but this was all in God's plan for us before he created the world. Christ, the Son of God, knew this all along; he tried to prepare his disciples for the shock his death and sufferings would cause them by foretelling on three distinct occasions, that he would suffer and be put to death, but that he would triumph over death and rise again (see Mk. 8: 31-33; 9: 30-32; 10: 32-34). In the garden of Gethsemani, as his hour drew near, he suffered agony because his human nature shrank from the tortures which he vividly foresaw; nevertheless he accepted what his Father had planned and humbly and submissively said: "yet not what I will but what thou wilt " (Mk. 14: 36). That Christ our Lord was the suffering obedient Servant foretold by the prophet is evident from the gospel story. He was "rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering . . . yet ours were the sufferings he bore, our sorrows he carried . . . he was crushed for our sins . . . We had all gone astray like sheep . . . Yahweh burdened him with the sins of us all . . . like a lamb that is led to the slaughter-house, like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers, never opening his mouth" (Is. 53: 3-7). This prophecy had its literal fulfillment in Christ. This is testified by all four gospels. It is not so much the fact that one might be tempted to question, but rather the reason, the necessity, why it had to be thus. Could not God have found other ways of bringing men to heaven without subjecting his divine Son to humiliations and sufferings? God alone has the full and satisfying answer to this question, and part of our joy in heaven will be to learn the answers to this and to other theological questions which trouble us on earth. Both the Old and New Testaments indicate at least a partial answer to this particular question: when they tell us this was an effect of God's infinite love for us. We, of course, can form no adequate idea of what infinite love is and does. But even finite love, if true and meaningful, can and does go to great extremes for the sake of those loved. For instance, true patriots in all ages have never hesitated to sacrifice their lives for their country and their fellow countrymen. Their finite love was sufficient to move them to make the supreme sacrifice. God was not dealing with the preservation of a country's freedom or its liberation from an oppressor, he was dealing with the eternal freedom and happiness of the whole human race. The task was great, the end desired was of everlasting value, the life sacrificed was God's own Son in his human nature---but the love of God which his Son shared with him, was infinite and therefore capable of any sacrifice. Furthermore, if we knew our own weak, lazy, human nature as well as God knows it, we would see another reason for the extraordinary manifestation of his love. The cross of Christ, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with thorns, the cruel nails through the hands and feet, are reminders that will touch a chord even in the coldest Christian heart. With these reminders of God's love for us many of us are still all too slow to show our appreciation of all God has done for us. How much less responsive, how much less appreciative of what eternal life is worth, would such Christians be, if God had opened heaven for them in a less impressive way? Our Savior took human nature---an act of extreme humiliation, in order to make us his brothers and therefore sons of God. He came into a world of sin where God the Creator was practically forgotten. He told those who "had ears to hear," of God and of his desire to give unending life in his own eternal kingdom, to all who would follow the Christian precepts. He established a society---the Church---on earth which would continue until the end of time to proclaim God's mercy and love. He was tortured and put to the cruelest of deaths because of the opposition and hatred of some of the Jews among whom he lived. But as God, and with God his Father, he foresaw all this and in the full knowledge that he would rise again, willingly accepted it notwithstanding the agonies it would cause him. While the resurrection made his life and death a success and an eternal triumph it did not make the pains of his passion any easier. We may not understand what infinite love is, but we cannot fail to see the glorious effects that the infinite love of God has earned for us. We are citizens of heaven. We must expect to meet some obstacles on the way---there will be troubles and trials in our lives, but one look at our crucifix should make us realize how little we are asked to suffer for our own salvation when compared with what Christ has suffered to make salvation possible.
SECOND READING: Hebrews 4:14-16. Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. EXPLANATION: Last Sunday, the epistle to the Hebrews warned us to walk correctly in the presence of God, for the most secret thoughts of our mind are seen by him. Today, the epistle continues to urge us to stand steadfast in the faith, for our Leader and High Priest is none other than Jesus, the Son of God. He has offered full atonement for us and suffered more than we ever can; he understands our weaknesses and our needs. We can and must call on him with all confidence.
we have...priest: The high priest was the head of all the priests and Levites who served in the temple of Jerusalem. He exercised supreme authority over the temple---and over the personnel of Yahweh's only legitimate temple---the temple of Jerusalem. He was the mediator par excellence between God and the people. He carried out the expiation rites on the Day of Atonement and entered the holy of holies on that day to sprinkle the Ark with the blood of the sacrifices. No other priest could enter there. Now, our mediator with God is Jesus, the Son of God, who has entered the real holy of holies, heaven, and pleads there for us.
hold...confession: Our Christian faith is solidly based on Jesus; let us continue to live up to it.
unable to sympathize: Our high priest, our mediator, is one who is well aware of all our weaknesses; he has lived the same life we live on earth and suffered far more.
tempted...sinning: The author knew of the temptations Jesus underwent in the desert, but all through his earthly life he suffered difficulties, and in his public life especially because of the opposition of the Scribes and Pharisees. Unlike us, however, he never gave in to any of these temptations---even his agony in the Garden ended in his triumph over the human fear of suffering.
confidence...grace: Therefore, we can confidently have recourse in our difficulties to the throne of God, for Christ is there to recommend our petitions to his Father. In 10: 19-22, the author develops this theme: we have free access to God's sanctuary, to God, because by his death Christ opened for us the holy of holies.
in time of need: In time of need God will answer our prayers and give us the necessary strength to overcome our temptations and difficulties. Christ has won this guarantee for us. APPLICATION: We Christians are God's chosen people of today. Compared with his Chosen People of the Old Testament, we have infinitely greater blessings and advantages. They knew of the existence of the one true and only God, the Creator of all things, and they knew he was interested in them. Although they knew that he existed they knew very little else about him, and their chief interest in him was to obtain from him all earthly blessings: health, wealth and progeny. They had only a very hazy idea of the future life or what it held for them, yet they did know they were chosen by God so that through them God would send a great blessing on all nations; somehow, sometime they would have a share in that blessing. We Christians are indeed fortunate that we know much more about God and our real purpose in life. Through the incarnation we have learned that God loves us so much that he sent his divine Son to live among us in order to make us heirs to heaven. That divine Son of God suffered and died in his human nature in order to make perfect atonement to his Father in our behalf. This, surely, was divine love for us creatures. Not only did God make us heirs to his eternal kingdom through the incarnation, but he gave us his own divine Son to be our leader and intermediary between himself and us. Unlike the Jews of old we know clearly what our real purpose in life is. It is not to be found on this earth, it is the eternal happiness that awaits us after death. Life on earth is but a preparation for the real life to come. This knowledge coupled with the assurance that Christ our brother is pleading for us at the throne of grace, should fill every Christian with courage and hope. Christ knows our weaknesses and should we give in to them and the temptations of life, he is ready to obtain from our Father in heaven pardon the moment we repent of our fall. We are fortunate to have such a loving and all-powerful high priest who has entered heaven before us and is preparing a place for us. No true Christian can ever despair. God has proved how much he loves us, and how anxious he is to share his heaven with us. Christ, the Son of God, endured the humiliation of the incarnation and the sufferings and pains of his life on earth, and his cruel death on the cross, because he gladly cooperated with the Father in making us heirs of heaven. With such an intermediary and helper how can we fail to reach our goal? With God and his divine Son on our side, who is against us?
GOSPEL: Mark 10: 35-45. James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came forward to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" And they said to him, "We are able." And 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 hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be the first among you must be a slave of all. For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." EXPLANATION: Jesus had just given his Apostles the third prediction of the sufferings and death that awaited him in Jerusalem. These predictions fell on deaf ears as far as his Apostles were concerned. Two of their leaders, James and John, came forward to ask him for the principal places in the glorious kingdom they were sure he was going to set up when they reached Jerusalem. He was gentle with them for he knew they had not yet grasped that his kingdom was not of this world. He told them that if they would have a place in his kingdom they must imitate the sacrifice he was about to make to establish that kingdom---the path to glory is through suffering. Then he added that the leaders in his kingdom would not lord it over others as the Gentiles did; instead they would be the servants of those whom they would lead.
James and John: These two were among the first four disciples that followed Christ down by the Jordan in the days of John the Baptist. Later, he "called" them officially and they left their boats and nets and their father Zebedee.
at...your glory: They were not thinking of his glorious reign in heaven---as yet they could not accept that he would be put to death; much less, therefore, could they have any idea of his resurrection to glory. Yet our Lord's answer told them that it was in heaven that they would achieve the glory which they would have earned.
drink...baptized: Christ was here referring to the sufferings he was about to undergo. To drink the cup of suffering and to be immersed (baptized) in the waters of sorrow, were Old Testament figures of speech. Our Lord admitted that James and John would follow him through the path of suffering but told them the allocation of status in the glorious kingdom belonged to his heavenly Father.
when...heard it: The other ten Apostles were indignant that James and John should look for primacy of honor, not because they were looking for honor but because they wanted to be superior to "the ten." This was not to their credit either.
rule...Gentiles: Christ then explained to the Twelve together that the leadership they must exercise in his kingdom on earth in preparation for the reign of glory, was not to be like that of Gentile rulers who lorded it over their subjects. Instead it would be a humble service of love. They would be the servants of the Christian community, ever ready to help their fellowman without counting the cost and without expecting any reward on this earth.
Son of Man...serve: Christ described himself as the Messiah----foretold by second-Isaiah----whose life would be that of a humble, obedient servant of God---obedient unto death (see Is. 52: 13-53 : 12). He did not come to rule or to be served by others but to serve all and:
to give...ransom: The giving of his life would be the means that would produce the righteousness of all---"many"---men. This is foretold in the Servant oracle in Is. 53: 10-12. Christ's greatest service to all men was his atoning death for them (see today's first reading). APPLICAITON: Our own natural inclination most likely would be to react like the other ten Apostles and become vexed with James and John and to tell them what we thought of their selfish worldly ambitions. However, our Lord's gentle answer: "you do not know what you are asking" shows us that ignorance of the nature of the kingdom he was going to set up, was the cause of their very human ambitions. They, with the other Apostles, had still the common Jewish idea of the messianic kingdom. They thought the Messiah---and they were now convinced that Jesus was the promised Messiah---would set up a political kingdom in Palestine, oust the pagan Romans and eventually extend his kingdom to all nations. That this kingdom he would set up would be universal, extending to all nations, was indicated in almost all the, messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, but that this kingdom would be spiritual not political, was not grasped by most of Christ's contemporaries including the Apostles. Jesus, knowing that his Apostles still had this wrong idea, was gentle with James and John. He took this opportunity to tell them that he would set up a glorious kingdom but that his sufferings and death would be a necessary prelude to its establishment. He had already referred to his sufferings and death three times, but the mention fell on deaf ears. Their argument was: how could he suffer death when he has still to establish his earthly kingdom? The truth in fact was that it was by means of his sufferings and death that he would establish his glorious kingdom. He challenged the two Apostles then to know if they were willing to pay the price for a high place in his glorious kingdom: were they prepared to follow him through suffering and death? He accepted their affirmation, knowing it to be true, but told them their position of honor depended on his Father's decision. Once they realized the nature of his glorious kingdom they would be the last to look for positions of honor in it. While no Christian today thinks that Christ came on earth in order to make us wealthy, happy and prosperous during our few years on earth, there are, unfortunately, many Christians who are unwilling to accept Christ's teaching that the way to heavenly glory is the way of the cross. "All this and heaven too" is their motto. It would, of course, be marvelous if all our days on earth were days of peace, happiness and prosperity to be followed by eternal happiness---when we "shuffle off this mortal coil." But any man who has the use of reason sees that our world is inhabited by weak, sin-inclined and usually sinful mortals, himself included---weak mortals who can and do disturb the peace and harmony that could regulate our mortal lives. There are "accidents" on our roads and highways every day of the year, frequently causing death or grave injury to hundreds. The rules of the road, if kept by all, would prevent ninety-nine per cent of such accidents---the other one per cent are caused by mechanical failure. Would any man be so naive as to expect that we could have even one day free from car accidents? Because man has a free-will he is liable to abuse it by choosing what is sinful and wrong. Most of the crosses and trials we meet in life are caused by violations---by ourselves and others---of the rules of life and the laws of charity and justice. To prevent this abuse of free-will, God would have to deprive men of that essential gift which, with his intellect, makes him a man. Likewise, we could prevent all road accidents by removing the steering wheels from cars but then we would have no cars. Let us face the fact, almost all the hardships and sufferings which we have to bear in life, are caused by the unjust and uncharitable actions of our fellowman: and even God himself, following his own wise pattern of life for men on earth, cannot prevent such evil actions. Would God want to prevent all such injustices and all this inhumanity of man toward his fellowman? Not that he approves of it, much less causes it, but can he not have a purpose in permitting it? How would we, his children on earth, earn heaven if this world were an earthly paradise? What loving father would keep his children from school because they found it a hardship, and when they could be so happy playing at home all day and every day? School is absolutely necessary for those children's future, and it is because fathers are truly kind to their children that they compel them to undergo this temporary hardship. God is the kindest of fathers. He wants us all in heaven. He has mapped out the road which will lead us there. He allows these hardships to come our way so that we can prepare for our real future life. With James and John, let us tell our divine Lord that we are ready to follow him on the path to Calvary; that we are ready to drink the cup of sufferings which he drank and to be immersed in the sorrows which he endured. He went through all of this for us; we are doing it for our own sakes. He carried the real cross---ours is light when compared with his; furthermore, he will help us to bear our daily trial and struggles. How could any Christian become weary and faint-hearted when he has Christ helping him on the road?-b416 Click to return to our Home page
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