That you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel

 

 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves.  

 

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

 

- Luke 22:24–30 

 

Yesterday we read that, when the hour had come, Jesus sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

 

  Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  My study Bible comments that this small-minded dispute is out of place in the context of the mysteries which Christ has just revealed (see yesterday's reading, above).  Jesus corrects His disciples by first comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom my study Bible says they already considered to be an abomination, and contrasting them to Himself, who serves us, although He is Lord of all.  

 

 "But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study Bible quotes the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  The apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, my study Bible says, but by the witness of their own lives.  As God's kingdom begins with Christ's Resurrection, it notes, the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23).  

 

 It's always remarkable to me how the disciples will betray all the impulses of human beings which are contrary to the intentions of Christ's Kingdom.  They show us who we are, in this sense, and the things we all battle against.  In particular this includes all of our varied and myriad impulses of selfishness and especially a desire for worldly power and position.  As my study Bible implies, how can they have any idea how in contradiction and out of place their squabble and their concerns are after receiving the holy mystery of the Eucharist?  But such is the stuff of the Gospels.  It's often long after events and teachings have taken place that the disciples come to grasp the fullness of Christ's meaning -- with more to come in the history of the Church.  But they tell us who we are, and so our Gospels show us what we're up against.  Jesus redirects them in an absolutely powerful manner.  For what He is doing is giving them the image of the true power they will wield, the high places which will be assigned to them in the Kingdom.  But it is not the type of Kingdom that they expect.  One can read in the Revelation that "a great, fiery red dragon" appeared as a sign in heaven, and "his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth."  This is a story in symbolic language of the fallen angels, drawn by Satan in his own self-centered desire for power, and accepting human worship rather than serving God.  The one-third of the angels drawn down with him (whom we now call demons, and formed the backdrop of the story of pagan worship of a pantheon of gods) are meant to be replaced by human beings -- those who will serve in Christ's heavenly kingdom.  These are those, like the apostles, who have continued with Christ in His trials by following Him in this world.  They will take the place of the angels who failed to shepherd humankind (see Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Genesis 6:1-4; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6 Revelation 12:7-9; Matthew 25:41).  The aspirations of the apostles for places in a worldly kingdom are redirected by Christ to a goal of service (as He serves) and a heavenly kingdom that awaits a destiny that belongs to "those for whom it is prepared by My Father" (see Matthew 20:20-23).  As we have commented recently and throughout this blog, Christ comes to wage a spiritual battle in this world, to reclaim it -- and us -- for Himself and the Kingdom of heaven from the one known as the ruler of this world in the language of St. John's Gospel, the god of this age as St. Paul writes.   Let us remember that God is enthroned -- or not -- in the hearts and minds of human beings.  But moreover, there is a greater destiny for us, upon which rests the life of the world, meaning the whole of creation in the language of Scripture.  Jesus has come to prepare such a destiny for us; let us follow Him into the spiritual battle He asks of us.  Let us do as He directs the disciples in today's reading, take our minds from being conformed to this world and to the place that Christ prepares for us, and where He asks us to follow.   For that is how the good fight is fought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me

 

 Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves.  

 

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

 

- Luke 22:24-30 

 

Yesterday we read that, when the hour had come, Jesus sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

 

  Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.  And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'  But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves.  For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?  Is it not he who sits at the table?  Yet I am among you as the One who serves."  My study Bible comments that this small-minded dispute is out of place in the context of the mysteries Christ has just revealed.  He corrects the disciples by first comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom they themselves considered an abomination, and contrasting them to Himself.  For Christ serves us even though He is Lord of all.  

"But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials.  And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  Here my study Bible quotes St. Ambrose of Milan, who writes, "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  My study Bible also notes that the apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  As God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ, it says, so the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19; John 20:23). 

 

 What does it mean to be a part of the kingdom of God? Here Jesus makes it clear that to participate in this kingdom, we must first receive it as it is given to us by Him (I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me).  We must understand it as a gift.  He makes it clear that this is linked to the fact that these disciples "are those who have continued with Me in My trials."  St. Ambrose, in the quotation from my study Bible, also clarifies that the means by which the apostles participate in that bestowed kingdom of God is "by rebuking error with virtue."  In this way they become the living stones spoken of by St. Peter:  "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:4-5).  So if we are to break down these teachings about the kingdom of God, we are to understand that the gift the disciples are given really has to do with the persistence of their faith, and their willingness to engage in what we can call spiritual battle in this context:  they have persisted through participation with Christ in His trials, and fought such battles by rebuking error with virtue.  If the gift of the Kingdom also comes with the enduring presence of the Holy Spirit, then our lives as followers of Jesus, and inheritors of this Kingdom as successors and fellow disciples means that we, also, must seek to live this kind of life.  This is how we carry the kingdom of God within us and through the world.  This is given to us in contrast to the earthly desire for greatness expressed by the apostles, their misunderstanding of what Christ's kingdom will be about, and what it will mean to be participants in it.  Jesus is leading them through His example of service, and not greatness on worldly terms.  As those who are given this Kingdom, they also will continue in trials, as Christ did before them, and they also must rebuke error with virtue, as Christ did, and showed them His blessed way of life.  Imagine what kind of repentance must have happened among them to go from one expectation (of worldly greatness in an earthly kingdom) to another (of service, endurance in trials, and the virtue exemplified and taught by Christ).   As those who would seek to inherit this Kingdom, and to participate in it, perhaps we must also consider what that means in the same way -- that expression of virtue in response to error.  In a very pragmatic and materially-oriented society, it seems that many have given up on such a standard in social mores.  Where once there were socially-acceptable characteristics of politeness, today we experience applause for behavior that shocks or outrages (nominally in the name of "progress" or "rights"), or is violent or provocative, often for similar reasons.  Unfortunately thanks to the widespread use of all kinds of media, and the attention that follows, such behavior and its public expression frequently goes viral thanks to social media and its addictive and even voyeuristic nature.  So, rebuking error with virtue, in such an environment, remains a challenge within yet new contexts.  But we are still those who would inherit this Kingdom, and the one way to do so is by being those living stones, and participating in the ways that we are called to do so.  If Christ's kingdom is born through His trials, so that it may open to the world through His Resurrection, then such struggles, and the full story of Resurrection, become what we're a part of -- the energies of grace in which we participate.  Let us consider what our struggles are and hold fast to Resurrection, for there is where we find ourselves as members of that Kingdom.  Today is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.  We have already noted St. Peter's understanding of "living stones."  Let us quote from St. Paul also, relative to today's passage:  "If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.  If we deny Him, He also will deny us" (2 Timothy 2:12).  Let us endure as living stones!