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| Waiting for vocation |
The First Letter of Peter exhorts followers of Christ to love one another.
* [1:22–25] The new birth of Christians (1 Pt 1:23) derives from Christ, the imperishable seed or sowing that produces a new and lasting existence in those who accept the gospel (1 Pt 1:24–25), with the consequent duty of loving one another (1 Pt 1:22).In the Gospel from Mark, Jesus reminds the disciples that a share in His glory must involve a share in suffering.
* [10:38–40] Can you drink the cup…I am baptized?: the metaphor of drinking the cup is used in the Old Testament to refer to acceptance of the destiny assigned by God; see note on Ps 11:6. In Jesus’ case, this involves divine judgment on sin that Jesus the innocent one is to expiate on behalf of the guilty (Mk 14:24; Is 53:5). His baptism is to be his crucifixion and death for the salvation of the human race; cf. Lk 12:50. The request of James and John for a share in the glory (Mk 10:35–37) must of necessity involve a share in Jesus’ sufferings, the endurance of tribulation and suffering for the gospel (Mk 10:39). The authority of assigning places of honor in the kingdom is reserved to God (Mk 10:40).Luiz Rodriguez, S.J. wonders about what Dietrich Bonhöffer would later call “the cost of discipleship”.
and yet these two, like the rest of the followers, were deep down good people. They had left everything to follow Jesus. In yesterday’s gospel reading Peter had said to Jesus: we have left everything to follow you. Well, everything... but themselves. The self is something we always carry with us, even after we accept the Lord’s invitation to follow him, and it is from this self that such discordant attitudes come.Randy Alcorn outlines the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and explores his writing about The Cost of Discipleship and “cheap grace”.
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “you were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.Don Schwager offers a quote from one of the early church fathers, Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D., on the way to glory and honor.
"Ponder how profound this is. They were conferring with him about glory. He intended to precede loftiness with humility and, only through humility, to ready the way for loftiness itself. For, of course, even those disciples who wanted to sit, the one on his right, the other on his left, were looking to glory (Matthew 20:20-23; Mark 10:35-40). They were on the lookout, but did not see by what way. In order that they might come to their homeland in due order, the Lord called them back to the narrow way. For the homeland is on high and the way to it is lowly. The homeland is life in Christ; the way is dying with Christ (Matthew 6:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17-33). The way is suffering with Christ; the goal is abiding with him eternally. Why do you seek the homeland if you are not seeking the way to it?" (excerpt from TRACTATE ON JOHN 28.5.2.13)The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 10:32-45 describes the value of giving ourselves—our time, talents, and money.
St. Francis of Assisi said that it is in giving that we receive. Leo Tolstoy said that the sole meaning of life is to serve humanity. Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” Robert Louis Stevenson said, “You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” And best of all, Pope Francis said, “Christ leads us to go out from ourselves more and more, to give ourselves and to serve others.”Friar Jude Winkler contrasts the views of John Duns Scotus and Thomas Aquinas on the relationship of the Incarnation to our sin. Our acceptance of mystery in our relationship with God is how we deal with such theological tension. In the Eucharist we promise to share in His cross and resurrection. Friar Jude comments that our discipleship is based on how much we can serve, love and sacrifice for others.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, uses quotes from Parker J. Palmer, “Let Your Life Speak” to help us search for our True Self.
Today I understand vocation . . . not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received. Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice “out there” calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice “in here” calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God.The rush to locate ourselves in relation to the benefits of life is truly a human drive that Jesus wants to direct to our giving to others from our True Self.
References
(n.d.). 1 Peter, chapter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 30, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1pt/1:161
(n.d.). Mark, chapter 10 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved May 30, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/mark/10:32
(2007, December 4). Dietrich Bonhoeffer and The Cost of Discipleship - Blog - Eternal .... Retrieved May 30, 2018, from https://www.epm.org/blog/2007/Dec/4/dietrich-bonhoeffer-and-the-cost-of-discipleship
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 30, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(n.d.). 8th Week in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved May 30, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/
(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archives - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 30, 2018, from https://cac.org/category/daily-meditations/
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