Three cheers for James and John
Today I want to give three hearty cheers for James and John, because of today's gospel I think they’ve had an unnecessarily harsh press throughout history. They come to Jesus and ask: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you”. They get short shrift from Jesus and understandably the rest of the disciples get exasperated with them. But in actual fact, they are only doing what Jesus had told them to do. Remember “Ask, and it shall be given to you…” “I will do whatever you ask in my name…” So, to be fair they must have been a bit befuddled. On the one hand, Jesus tells them to ask for things and then when they do, they get a ticking off and go down through 2,000 years of history as being wicked, selfish, egotistical people. It all seems unjust and confusing…
And what about the request itself? “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory”. Again, that doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request for they didn’t have the benefit of hindsight like we do. They thought Jesus would be heading to Jerusalem to set up the Kingdom of God by overthrowing Roman rule and renewing the role of the Temple in traditional Judaism. They were expecting political and spiritual conflict and they were being loyal to Jesus and standing with him in this new world order. So it seems only reasonable that they should think that some rewards will be given in the glorious time to come.
So we should not demonise James and John as selfish, arrogant disciples. They were only doing what Jesus had asked them to do: ask for stuff - and they were loyally standing with Jesus as he headed towards Jerusalem.
I think it’s helpful to see James and John in this way because you and I can identify with them far more easily.
The truth is that most times when we pray and ask God for things, we are not being particularly arrogant or selfish or egotistical. We are not transactional with our prayers, just laying our requests at his feet for His consideration and blessing. We are merely expressing what we think would be helpful in a particular situation. Perhaps what we express is right, perhaps it is wrong: but when we come to the altar we are rarely driven by arrogance and selfish ego.
Of course, the other disciples were angry with them. They thought they might have been pipped at the post for the seats in glory and that they would be missing out. Do I detect the faintest whiff of envy here?
So when we read Jesus’ words by way of response, I don’t think he is ticking James and John off. He is being gentle with them and he is using this opportunity to teach them what is important in the Kingdom of God: a lesson they needed to learn, and a lesson we need to learn. And what we continuously need to be reminded of is this
To be a Christian means to totally submit ourselves to the will of God.
James and John had asked for positions of glory for their faithfulness but the Master simply says, “You do not know what you are asking”. And then he draws on two images that James and John would have understood only too well: Drinking from a cup and being baptised.
Well, the cup that Jesus was about to drink was suffering and death:
So Jesus is saying to James and John, “I am about to suffer and die. Can you go through that?”
And James and John give their response without flinching “We are able”.
Now how’s that for bravery and loyalty? Forget any sense that James and John are to be ridiculed or despised as a result of their selfish request. Instead, three cheers for their courage and loyalty, knowing that calamity and suffering and death would befall them.
And Jesus knowing this, says “The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptised, you will be baptised…” And… he… was right…
Both James and John did drink from that cup and were baptised into that suffering. It would have been easy for them to walk away,… and think no… I don’t think so, not for me Jesus. But they don’t do that. Instead, they humbly submit themselves to the will of God and they say “Yep, we are prepared to walk the way of Christ whatever the cost.”
We can be tempted to think that because we have spent a long time being faithful to God that we deserve a gold star and a hippopotamus stamp. And when the reward doesn’t come, we shake our fist. But the way of Christian discipleship has never been a business transaction.
As Christians, we are called to submit ourselves totally to the will of God. Full stop. Maybe good things will come our way, maybe they won’t.
When we read the Gospel stories, there are only two people who were placed on the left hand and right hand of Jesus as he was glorified: the two thieves on the cross. If you want to sit at Jesus’ left side or right side then…