The Chalice

Mt 20:20-28

The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
He said to her,
“What do you wish?”
She answered him,
“Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply,
“You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.”
He replied,
“My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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Each time the Chalice is elevated for its contents to become the Blood of Christ, we are reminded of how Christ gave up His life for God's plan to be accomplished.

It is but human not to desire death, and as fully human, Jesus somehow felt afraid (thus explaining His immense anguish in Gethsemani). But eventually, God's plan for our salvation took effect in the form of Christ's resurrection. Our eternal salvation is another matter though, for although Christ opened up the door for us, the choice remains ours to make. Just as James the Apostle, whose feast we are celebrating today, Christ today offers us a question: "Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”

Are we ready to open our hearts to God and follow Him? We need not look far in scripture for us to understand how this can be done. How are we to drink the Chalice of Christ? How are we to offer ourselves to God's service? Jesus Himself tells us: "...whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Saint James son of Zebedee, pray for us. Let your martyrdom inspire us to likewise offer our lives for the love of Christ. Amen.

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Saint James and Saint Isaac Jogues, pray for us.

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photo credits: http://www.willgwitt.org/images/chalice.jpg, http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/webmuseum/jamesGreaterCano.jpg, http://propheticverses.com/images/img01/img0101/img0101n/41mark0119calling.jpg