You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

 

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may it, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

  Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  This is the third time Christ predicts His Passion to the disciples.  Now they are clearly going to Jerusalem, already in Judea and on the road going up to the Holy City.  The disciples are amazed because they know the hostility of the religious leaders in Jerusalem which Jesus has so far avoided, and they are afraid.  These repeated predictions of Christ's Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they will face there, my study Bible says.  It adds that it also confirms that Christ was going to His death of His own will and choosing.  We must remark upon the detail that Jesus gives them; they are prepared for all the humiliation and rejection He will face. 

 

 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may it, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  My study Bible calls this quest for temporal power and glory unfitting for a disciple, and it shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  It seems quite likely that James and John (and their mother, as reported in St. Matthew's Gospel) expect that this travel to Jerusalem will culminate in Jesus the Messiah establishing a worldly kingdom for Himself.  Thus they ask for the highest places in that kingdom they imagine, on His right and on His left, and speak of a worldly glory.  My study Bible notes that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  It explains that the Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is a baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in this same cup and baptism is a prediction of the life of persecution of martyrdom they would lead after Pentecost.  St. James will become the first to be martyred among the apostles (Acts 12:1-2), and St. John will go on to a long life of persecution and exile in the early Church, giving us one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  My study Bible also explains that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give does not mean that He lacks authority.  It means, instead, that they are not His to give arbitrarily.  Instead, He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  Moreover, according to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, no one could possibly occupy such a position.  Regarding the highest places of honor that can be given to human beings, the icons of the Church universally show the Virgin Mary (the most blessed among women; Luke 1:28) and St. John the Baptist (the greatest born of women; Matthew 11:11) holding these places.  

 

  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  This is another repeated emphasis by Christ on what constitutes greatness in His Church and the Kingdom, and in particular the use of worldly power for those who will become responsible for His flock.  See also the readings from Monday and Tuesday.  For many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

 

The transformation (or perhaps we should say transfiguration/metamorphosis) of Sts. James and John Zebedee is a remarkable illustration of the power of the Holy Spirit and the effects of Pentecost that will manifest in the Church after Christ's Ascension.  They will go from the two who request Christ's highest places in what they imagine will be a popularly-expected worldly kingdom presided over by the Messiah, to the two great apostles who will suffer and sacrifice so much for the Church.  St. Mark tells us that Christ gave them the name "Sons of Thunder"  (Mark 3:17), and the truth of this name is borne out in their subsequent histories in the early Church.  Thunder would be the apt description of the effects of their own voices for Christ and evangelization.  St. James was a powerful (and perhaps even "fiery") orator for the Church, hence the first target of the wrath of Herod Agrippa against the early Christian movement.  St. John, of course, became a prolific spokesman in that he produced so much of the word we are given in the New Testament.  His Gospel, Epistles, and the Revelation remain for us among the most powerful inspired Scripture in existence, to this day studied, read, debated, and treasured in the Church among the faithful.  So much of St. John's writing determines what we understands about Jesus, and in particular his Gospel is the Gospel of love, and it is his words that teach us that God is love (1 John 4:8).  These men would truly go on to the cup and baptism of Christ, and lives of great sacrifice as well as great service.  We can understand the fulfillment of the name given to them by Christ in their subsequent histories in the Church, the "thunder" of their advocacy of the gospel reaching far and wide and even into today's world through the widespread dissemination of the New Testament through the internet and the world.  So we are given two great examples in today's reading, both of the power of the Spirit and Christ's ministry, and the transformational power we find in the Church, and which continues to create saints -- great and small -- today.  It is this power evident in these men that works to help all of us today to manifest the fruits of the Spirit, and to rely upon the power of God even to work through our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).

 

 

 

 

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!

 

 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. 

 

Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.   And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

 

- Luke 18:31-43 

 

On Saturday we read Jesus was casting out a demon and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.  Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven.  But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.  If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.  But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."

 

  Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.  For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.  They will scourge Him and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.   Today the lectionary skips ahead from our last reading (Luke 11:14-23; see above) to chapter 18, as Jesus is on the road to Jerusalem and is now approaching Jericho.  This is the third warning in Luke's Gospel that Jesus has given to the disciples about what will happen to Him after they reach Jerusalem.  But this saying was hidden not by God, my study Bible says, but because the disciples could not comprehend its meaning until after the events of His Passion had taken place.  

 

 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging.   And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant.  So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.   So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  And he cried out, saying, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  This road going past Jericho on the way toward Jerusalem was a notorious stretch to travel, that made its way through a deep canyon to elevations below sea level.  Jericho was known as a place for sin, but this route was popularly marked by its treacherous dangers because of bandits and robbers who could hide in caverns and attack travelers.  It is this road which gave the setting for the parable of the Good Samaritan (see this reading).  The blind man greets Jesus with a title associated with the Messiah, Son of David.  

 

 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight."  Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God.  And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  Note that Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him.  My study Bible comments that, although Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also in patristic commentary a spiritual interpretation to this miracle.  In St. Matthew's version of this story (Matthew 20:29-34), there are two blind men.  In that interpretation, they symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  The ones who try to silence the blind man symbolize persecutors and tyrants who, in each generation, try to silence the Church.  But nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ. 

 

It's easy to see this notorious road (St. Jerome called it "the Bloody Way") as a place synonymous with sin and all of its dangers.  A place that sloped to 1,000 feet below sea level (while Jerusalem is 3,000 feet above), it was an extremely steep mountain road with blind turns, and rocky narrow passes -- so travelers were easy prey for bandits.  So we come to another analogy for a life steeped and mired in sin -- blindness.  The blind man is an easy symbol for those of us so used to a way of life, or a particular environment, that we only see things one way, and we have no idea of what a different life we could be living, or what aberrations pass for normal in what we know.  We can see what the environment is like for this blind man in the responses of the people who surround him.  In the spiritual interpretation cited by my study Bible, we see an understanding that the people who try to silence the blind man have been historically seen as stand-ins for tyrants and persecutors who try to silence the Church and her faithful.  But we can broaden this understanding to include a possible interpretation of an entire environment steeped in denial of faith, where people prefer that others remain blind and silent, and oppress to the extent that those who do wish to seek Christ find it very difficult to do so.  If we look at the blind man as an individual seeking to grasp any hope of making his way out of his blindness, we can see the image of social forces that would suppress these urges in those who would seek Christ and His Kingdom for themselves.  The pressure to shush and to be quiet in that perspective is a pressure to silence our internal demands for safe spiritual space, the save haven of the kingdom of God as Christ gives it to us through His gospel message.  The urge to reach out to Christ is met here by Jesus, who clearly always knows what we want and need, as He knows our hearts more deeply than we know them.  But in the story, His standing still on the road, commanding that this blind man be brought to Him, shows His own will to engage those who recognize they need Him.  His engagement is made clear in that He does not simply give to the man what he needs, but makes him ask, by first asking the man, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  This explicit question demanding an explicit answer is perhaps our best testimony as to how Christ wants to engage us:  direct, personal, and knowing what we want in our own hearts.  In some sense, it gives us the truth that what He offers is a precious gift, on offer to all the world, but not given to all without the depth of knowledge of how badly we need it, and how priceless it truly is.  As Jesus says Himself, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14).  The blindness in today's story also extends, significantly, to the disciples, who cannot "see" or discern the meaning in Christ's warnings of what is to come in Jerusalem.  Perhaps it is that they are so fixed on their own expectations of a material kingdom manifesting, that they simply cannot take in what He's warning them about; perhaps they are afraid to do so.   As is common with many of us hearing shocking or dread news, they can't take it in and comprehend what it means to them.  The people on the road who shush the blind man represent another kind of blindness, common to social crowds today, as it was in Christ's time when so many in the crowds get Christ completely wrong and fail to understand who He is (Luke 9:18-19).  Perhaps it is true, in some sense, that it is this blind man who is the one who can truly see, as it is he who not only reaches to Christ -- despite the oppressive efforts of the crowd to silence him -- but knows what he needs and who can give that to him.  "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" is a cry for help, for what we need, made to the One who can give it to us, if we but understand His truth.  So it is that it finds its way to the prayer we reach to, the one that permeates our liturgies and worship, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me!"  It's worthy to say at any time, any moment, even in the midst of crowds that deny its importance.  If we know our own blindness, and have a sense that we need spiritual sight, we may call on Him despite the noisy crowds that would drown out our needs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You do not know what you ask

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45 

 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.' "   And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

  Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  My study Bible says that Christ's repeated predictions of His Passion were intended to encourage and to strengthen the disciples, as they will come to face terrifying events.  Let us make careful note of the fact that they are now on the road and going up to Jerusalem.  Additionally, my study Bible also comments that these warnings by Jesus confirm that He is going to His death in Jerusalem of His own will and choosing. 

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all."  In our readings from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Jesus has already been addressing the question of "greatness" among His disciples.  In yesterday's reading (above), Jesus addressed the question of great possessions and the obstacle that can be to entering the kingdom of God.  Here, my study Bible comments that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple and shows an earthly misunderstanding of the kingdom of God.   In Matthew's Gospel it's reported that the mother of Zebedee's sons makes the request for this honor, but as is clear in the Greek text, Christ responds by addressing them in the plural ("What do you want Me to do for you?"; verse 36).  My study Bible notes also that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  It says that the Cross is a cup because He drinks it willingly (Hebrews 12:2); His death is baptism because He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Here it is also noted that Christ's words to the Zebedee brothers are a prophecy.  That they will indeed participate in the same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom which both would lead after Pentecost.  Furthermore, that Christ says the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give doesn't mean that He lacks authority.  What it means is that these are not Christ's to give arbitrarily.  He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  With regard to sitting as equals on Christ's right and left hand in His Kingdom, St. John Chrysostom says that no one could possibly occupy a position like that.  In terms of the highest places of honor given to human beings, my study Bible notes that the icons of the Church universally show the Virgin Mary (the most blessed among women - Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (the greatest born of women - Matthew 11:11) holding these places.  

 

 "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  For many as used here is an Aramaic expression, which means "for all."

As pointed out above, in several readings this week Jesus has addressed the issue of greatness and what that is in His Church and His Kingdom.  Therefore, it is somewhat surprising at this stage that these apostles, John and James Zebedee, who together with St. Peter make up three "pillars of faith," should now come to Christ with this request.  They are the ones, together with Peter, whom Jesus has taken with Him in times that called for the greatest strength of faith:  in the healing of Jairus' daughter, and at the Transfiguration (and the healing that followed).  It seems quite possible that, at this stage when Jesus' intention is very clear that He is setting off on the road to Jerusalem, the brothers (and their mother, as indicated in St. Matthew's Gospel), believe that the purpose of going to Jerusalem is to inaugurate this Kingdom, which they assume will be an earthly one.  Perhaps it is, after all, because James and John have been so close to Jesus as part of His "inner circle" together with Peter that they seek these places of honor. But, as in the cases where Peter's behavior is disappointing (such as in his denials of Christ to come at Mark 14:29-31), or the times the disciples haven't measured up to the kind of faith Christ would ask of them (as in this reading), or have so lacked understanding it seemed to exasperate Jesus (in this reading), perhaps we are given these examples by the disciples to teach us something important.  For we learn primarily that discipleship is not a one-time quiz or test that we either pass or fail, but a lifelong journey.  Indeed the word for disciple in the Greek of the Gospels means "learner" (μαθητής/mathetes).  In modern Greek this word is used to mean "student."  Discipleship, in the context of the Gospels, is a lifelong road.  And we can see for ourselves, through the remarkably short three-year period of Christ's ministry, how the disciples grow and become the apostles they would eventually be.  As my study Bible pointed out, both John and James Zebedee (also named "Sons of Thunder" by Jesus as we read in Mark 3:17) would truly both drink Christ's cup and be baptized with His baptism.  James would be the first of the apostles to be martyred (in AD 44, beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I in Jerusalem; see Acts 12:2).  John would go on to a long life of persecution and exile, producing one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation, as well as caring for Mary the Mother of God (John 19:26).  So what is it that will take these two men (and presumably their mother) from the ones who demand the two most important places in Christ's Kingdom, on His right and on His left, to the ones who would serve with the kind of greatness that Jesus has described over the course of the past several readings?  Christ's Passion itself, just ahead of them in Jerusalem, will without a doubt take them through its shattering realities and the tremendous story of Christ's sacrifice "for many," as Jesus prophesies in today's reading.  But the powerful spiritual realities to come, of Resurrection, and of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as well as the growth of the Church and its many servants to come, will no doubt have their effects upon all of them.  Let us take these examples to heart, and understand that for each of us, our journey forward into discipleship and deepening faith might very well take us through the deep changes of heart and mind as exemplified by these Sons of Thunder.  Let us be grateful for the grace we're given and the examples in the Gospels.  When these men make their request of Jesus, He tells them truthfully, "You do not know what you ask."  But they would learn in time, and through faith.  Let us remember that we, also, may have a lot to learn along the way.  Clearly, when we pray, we also may not know what we ask.  Let us keep our patience and keep learning as disciples throughout our lives, and pray for the grace to change and accept what we're meant to learn.