The Cup
Text: Mark 10:32-45
Anyone who knows me knows I love horses and horse racing. I’ve never been a jockey, of course, but one of the things I love about watching a horse race is watching a skilled jockey maneuver his horse in such a way as to get his horse in a ‘position’ to win a race. That’s called ‘jockeying’—‘jockeying for position.’
In horse racing ‘jockeying’ is a good thing. It is a skill that must be learned if a jockey is ever to master the art of racing. ‘Jockeying’ is also a positive term when it is applied to other sports, like soccer for instance. But it is not a positive term when it is applied to the serious business of discipleship and living faithfully in the kingdom of God.
‘Jockeying for position’ in this negative sense is exactly what James and John are doing as they follow Jesus to Jerusalem. Just moments after Jesus tells them for the third time that he is going to be mocked and spit upon and scourged and killed, they obliviously say to Jesus, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.
And Jesus answers, What do you want me to do for you? And James and John say to him, Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.
James and John are ‘jockeying for positions’ of special dignity and high honor in the coming kingdom. It is their ambition to rule. They have no clue that this request is totally alien to the nature of the kingdom God intends for his world.
You know, it seems I’ve known thousands of these James and John characters in my life. I call them "Sons of Entitlement." They come in all sorts of shapes, forms, and color, male and female, short and tall. They appear in every walk of life. They are rather easy to dislike. For, you see, they patronize others they consider less than themselves. And they like to refer to persons they know in high places. They readily scoff at those they do not know, and so are not worth knowing.
These "sons of entitlement" are easy to spot in groups, for they are the ones who talk a lot—preventing others from speaking—and, in discussion groups of any kind, they pose questions that are more designed for entrapment than genuine attempts to learn.
They bristle at structure and deadlines—such things are for lesser persons. They are above regular attendance at anything—they have more pressing obligations, you see. Plus, they push really hard saying, "We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And this is not exactly a request, but more of a demand cloaked in arrogance.
Several years ago, when I was teaching religion in the University of South Carolina’s extension program, I had one such "son of entitlement" ask me during a final exam if he could write an essay on a topic of his own choosing, rather than on one of the choices I had provided. When I explained that such latitude would be unfair to everyone else in the course, he replied softly, "No one else has to know." Why was I not at all surprised sometime later when he confessed to me that he believed God was calling him to become a Bishop?
Oh, how prevalent these "sons of entitlement" are in the church!
It is indeed a good thing that the tradition saw fit to preserve our text for this morning. For it seems the disciples of Jesus—present day disciples included—are forever addicted to ways of thinking that are directly contrary to the mind of Jesus. And in this text James and John serve as a perfect illustration of how great a gap there is between the mind of Jesus and the minds of his disciples, both then and now.
James and John share with the other disciples the current Jewish idea of a future world order in which all nations will be subjected to God’s law, and in turn will be subjected to Israel, and the whole world will be ruled from Jerusalem. What James and John are asking is for places of highest responsibility, authority, and power, in this future world kingdom as Jesus’ number one assistants.
Jesus’ first response to their request is surprisingly gentle. He says, You do not know what you are asking. It is here that the gap between Jesus’ understanding and his disciples’ understanding of the kingdom begins to be evident.
You do not know what you are asking, Jesus tells James and John. In thinking of the new age, James and John, cannot conceive of any kind of order other than what now exists. The kingdom for them is the same old world with a new set of rulers. If only we Christians possessed the seats of power everything would be transformed. We would speedily put an end to the world’s evils.
This way of thinking has had its parallels among Christians in every age since the time of James and John right down to the present day. The way to change the world is from the top down, we think. If only Christians could hold the reins of power the world would be transformed.
But let me remind you that Jesus, from the very beginning of his ministry, was faced with that alternative, and he recognized in it a temptation to unfaithfulness. Power exerted from above, even by persons of purest character, can never produce the changes that are needed in the world.
This truth has been confirmed over and over by events in Christian history. Jesus knows what is in man’s heart, and he knows that, even for such a one as Peter or James or John, power has its corruptions. Power corrupts even the best of men. Even a man after God’s own heart like David abused his power when he became king.
Jesus knows that the world has to be transformed not from above—not from seats of power through those who rule—but from beneath by a ‘race of servant people’—a servant people who will take upon their shoulders, whatever the cost, the burdens of humankind.
The gap between Jesus’ understanding and his disciples’ understanding of the kingdom is made evident through Jesus’ words. To James’ and John’s request for seats from which to rule, Jesus says, You do not know what you are asking. And then he asks, Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?
The "cup" in scripture, and the wine within the "cup," is a common image for a person’s destiny. Like all images or symbols, this one, too, comes from a real-life custom. In the culture around the Mediterranean Sea, the head of the family fills the cups of all persons at the table. So, each person is expected then to accept and drink what the head of the family has given. The "cup" therefore in scripture came to represent the destiny in life which God assigns for each person.
Jesus was destined to be a servant, not just servant of God, but servant of every human life that touched his. Jesus accepted the ‘cup’ God poured out for him, and the servant-mission to which he was assigned led eventually to his death. This is not surprising. Conflict was bound to erupt, for such servants always pose a threat to the established order both in the church and in the world.
Jesus asks, Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? Jesus is asking James and John if they are able to share his servant-destiny even if it should cost them the same kind of suffering that he is to endure.
There is a common misinterpretation that Jesus’ ‘cup’ was meant only for him. This is convenient for Christians. It relieves them of all need to identify themselves in any way with the destiny of Jesus. This interpretation—that the Servant destiny was for him alone—is contrary to the mind of Jesus. Rather, in the mind of Jesus, the Servant destiny is to be shared by a growing community of disciples—a community that will indeed share to the full his mission, his spirit, and his sufferings.
Jesus did not invent this idea of a servant people. The scriptures are filled with a succession of persons who know themselves as servants of God. From Moses to Paul, we have an unbroken line of "servants of God."
The whole nature of the kingdom is transformed by this key word "servant." To participate in the coming of such a kingdom as Jesus envisioned it, is not to rule, as James and John requested, but to serve. And to serve in such a way that God is the one who rules.
What Jesus projected was a very different kind of community and a very different order of life from any that now exercise authority or lord it over others. But it shall not be so among you, says Jesus.
This is not just a pattern for a new religion where its members are characterized by mutual helpfulness and humility, and engage themselves in humanitarian projects. It is much more daring and revolutionary than that. Jesus’ intention is literally to turn the world’s order upside down.
The pattern of life that Jesus demonstrates among his disciples is to be the pattern of a new order in all the world—in business, in government, in law courts, in schools, in homes, and of course in religious institutions. Such servanthood demands the death of the self that is ambitious to rule.
In the image of the "cup," Jesus reveals the mystery of the Servant’s power to reach to the depths of the human problem and to overcome every last vestige of humanity’s resistance to God, and humanity’s passion to rule.
Come with me now to another scene. We have left the road to Jerusalem and come to an upper room in the city. There the disciples prepare the Passover meal. And when it was evening, Jesus comes with the twelve. And as they are at table eating, a ‘cup’ of wine is poured. Jesus takes the ‘cup’ and after he gives thanks, he offers it to them.
Jesus asks the twelve to share his ‘cup’ with him. He asks them to share his destiny.
James, John, are you able to relinquish your ambition to rule?
Are you able to abandon your dreams of power and fame?
James, John, are you able instead to share my servant-destiny?
Are you able to suffer and, if need be, to die in faithfulness to this vocation?
Down through the ages whenever we gather at the table, Jesus offers the ‘cup’ to men and women, boys and girls, rich and poor, kings and peasants, priests and laity, small and great. And still his question is—
Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?
Amen.
Anyone who knows me knows I love horses and horse racing. I’ve never been a jockey, of course, but one of the things I love about watching a horse race is watching a skilled jockey maneuver his horse in such a way as to get his horse in a ‘position’ to win a race. That’s called ‘jockeying’—‘jockeying for position.’
In horse racing ‘jockeying’ is a good thing. It is a skill that must be learned if a jockey is ever to master the art of racing. ‘Jockeying’ is also a positive term when it is applied to other sports, like soccer for instance. But it is not a positive term when it is applied to the serious business of discipleship and living faithfully in the kingdom of God.
‘Jockeying for position’ in this negative sense is exactly what James and John are doing as they follow Jesus to Jerusalem. Just moments after Jesus tells them for the third time that he is going to be mocked and spit upon and scourged and killed, they obliviously say to Jesus, Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.
And Jesus answers, What do you want me to do for you? And James and John say to him, Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.
James and John are ‘jockeying for positions’ of special dignity and high honor in the coming kingdom. It is their ambition to rule. They have no clue that this request is totally alien to the nature of the kingdom God intends for his world.
You know, it seems I’ve known thousands of these James and John characters in my life. I call them "Sons of Entitlement." They come in all sorts of shapes, forms, and color, male and female, short and tall. They appear in every walk of life. They are rather easy to dislike. For, you see, they patronize others they consider less than themselves. And they like to refer to persons they know in high places. They readily scoff at those they do not know, and so are not worth knowing.
These "sons of entitlement" are easy to spot in groups, for they are the ones who talk a lot—preventing others from speaking—and, in discussion groups of any kind, they pose questions that are more designed for entrapment than genuine attempts to learn.
They bristle at structure and deadlines—such things are for lesser persons. They are above regular attendance at anything—they have more pressing obligations, you see. Plus, they push really hard saying, "We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." And this is not exactly a request, but more of a demand cloaked in arrogance.
Several years ago, when I was teaching religion in the University of South Carolina’s extension program, I had one such "son of entitlement" ask me during a final exam if he could write an essay on a topic of his own choosing, rather than on one of the choices I had provided. When I explained that such latitude would be unfair to everyone else in the course, he replied softly, "No one else has to know." Why was I not at all surprised sometime later when he confessed to me that he believed God was calling him to become a Bishop?
Oh, how prevalent these "sons of entitlement" are in the church!
It is indeed a good thing that the tradition saw fit to preserve our text for this morning. For it seems the disciples of Jesus—present day disciples included—are forever addicted to ways of thinking that are directly contrary to the mind of Jesus. And in this text James and John serve as a perfect illustration of how great a gap there is between the mind of Jesus and the minds of his disciples, both then and now.
James and John share with the other disciples the current Jewish idea of a future world order in which all nations will be subjected to God’s law, and in turn will be subjected to Israel, and the whole world will be ruled from Jerusalem. What James and John are asking is for places of highest responsibility, authority, and power, in this future world kingdom as Jesus’ number one assistants.
Jesus’ first response to their request is surprisingly gentle. He says, You do not know what you are asking. It is here that the gap between Jesus’ understanding and his disciples’ understanding of the kingdom begins to be evident.
You do not know what you are asking, Jesus tells James and John. In thinking of the new age, James and John, cannot conceive of any kind of order other than what now exists. The kingdom for them is the same old world with a new set of rulers. If only we Christians possessed the seats of power everything would be transformed. We would speedily put an end to the world’s evils.
This way of thinking has had its parallels among Christians in every age since the time of James and John right down to the present day. The way to change the world is from the top down, we think. If only Christians could hold the reins of power the world would be transformed.
But let me remind you that Jesus, from the very beginning of his ministry, was faced with that alternative, and he recognized in it a temptation to unfaithfulness. Power exerted from above, even by persons of purest character, can never produce the changes that are needed in the world.
This truth has been confirmed over and over by events in Christian history. Jesus knows what is in man’s heart, and he knows that, even for such a one as Peter or James or John, power has its corruptions. Power corrupts even the best of men. Even a man after God’s own heart like David abused his power when he became king.
Jesus knows that the world has to be transformed not from above—not from seats of power through those who rule—but from beneath by a ‘race of servant people’—a servant people who will take upon their shoulders, whatever the cost, the burdens of humankind.
The gap between Jesus’ understanding and his disciples’ understanding of the kingdom is made evident through Jesus’ words. To James’ and John’s request for seats from which to rule, Jesus says, You do not know what you are asking. And then he asks, Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?
The "cup" in scripture, and the wine within the "cup," is a common image for a person’s destiny. Like all images or symbols, this one, too, comes from a real-life custom. In the culture around the Mediterranean Sea, the head of the family fills the cups of all persons at the table. So, each person is expected then to accept and drink what the head of the family has given. The "cup" therefore in scripture came to represent the destiny in life which God assigns for each person.
Jesus was destined to be a servant, not just servant of God, but servant of every human life that touched his. Jesus accepted the ‘cup’ God poured out for him, and the servant-mission to which he was assigned led eventually to his death. This is not surprising. Conflict was bound to erupt, for such servants always pose a threat to the established order both in the church and in the world.
Jesus asks, Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? Jesus is asking James and John if they are able to share his servant-destiny even if it should cost them the same kind of suffering that he is to endure.
There is a common misinterpretation that Jesus’ ‘cup’ was meant only for him. This is convenient for Christians. It relieves them of all need to identify themselves in any way with the destiny of Jesus. This interpretation—that the Servant destiny was for him alone—is contrary to the mind of Jesus. Rather, in the mind of Jesus, the Servant destiny is to be shared by a growing community of disciples—a community that will indeed share to the full his mission, his spirit, and his sufferings.
Jesus did not invent this idea of a servant people. The scriptures are filled with a succession of persons who know themselves as servants of God. From Moses to Paul, we have an unbroken line of "servants of God."
The whole nature of the kingdom is transformed by this key word "servant." To participate in the coming of such a kingdom as Jesus envisioned it, is not to rule, as James and John requested, but to serve. And to serve in such a way that God is the one who rules.
What Jesus projected was a very different kind of community and a very different order of life from any that now exercise authority or lord it over others. But it shall not be so among you, says Jesus.
This is not just a pattern for a new religion where its members are characterized by mutual helpfulness and humility, and engage themselves in humanitarian projects. It is much more daring and revolutionary than that. Jesus’ intention is literally to turn the world’s order upside down.
The pattern of life that Jesus demonstrates among his disciples is to be the pattern of a new order in all the world—in business, in government, in law courts, in schools, in homes, and of course in religious institutions. Such servanthood demands the death of the self that is ambitious to rule.
In the image of the "cup," Jesus reveals the mystery of the Servant’s power to reach to the depths of the human problem and to overcome every last vestige of humanity’s resistance to God, and humanity’s passion to rule.
Come with me now to another scene. We have left the road to Jerusalem and come to an upper room in the city. There the disciples prepare the Passover meal. And when it was evening, Jesus comes with the twelve. And as they are at table eating, a ‘cup’ of wine is poured. Jesus takes the ‘cup’ and after he gives thanks, he offers it to them.
Jesus asks the twelve to share his ‘cup’ with him. He asks them to share his destiny.
James, John, are you able to relinquish your ambition to rule?
Are you able to abandon your dreams of power and fame?
James, John, are you able instead to share my servant-destiny?
Are you able to suffer and, if need be, to die in faithfulness to this vocation?
Down through the ages whenever we gather at the table, Jesus offers the ‘cup’ to men and women, boys and girls, rich and poor, kings and peasants, priests and laity, small and great. And still his question is—
Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?
Amen.
posted by Rev. Jo | 4:52 PM
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