Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time • Year B

Over these past few Sundays, our gospel readings present Jesus revealing to his disciples who He is and what it means to be his disciple. Today’s gospel has the same intent: to give us further insight into Jesus’ identity and our identity as his disciples.

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, the writer proclaims the role and fate of the Suffering Servant. Who is this Suffering Servant? Is Isaiah pointing to a particular person or to the people of Israel as a whole? We do not actually know. But the point of this passage is to inform us that the Suffering Servant has been “crushed in infirmity.” The Servant has experienced the rejection and hatred of his enemies. What is the purpose of his suffering and death? It is for God’s purposes, the Servant’s gift of self is an offering for the sins of many others. As a result of this sacrifice, this Servant is exalted and will witness in the lives of those coming after him the effects of his sacrifice. This Servant, because of his faithfulness, will live in the light of Eternity.

Isaiah’s Suffering Servant foreshadows the Church as being fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth and his purpose for coming into the world. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus three times predicts his suffering and death for the sins of humanity. God is pleased with Jesus’ atonement for sin – so much so that God raises Jesus from the dead and he becomes, as the letter to the Hebrews says, “the great High Priest who has passed into the heavens to the throne of God.” From his throne, the Risen Christ continues to act on behalf of his people for humanity’s salvation.

The disciples in the gospel did not understand Jesus as this type of Servant Messiah. James and John ask Jesus to have them seated on either side of him in the Kingdom, much to the chagrin of the other disciples. Jesus takes the occasion to say that they do not know what they are asking. Jesus tells them that to be first in his kingdom is to be the servant of all. To follow Jesus is to give yourself over totally to the words and example of Jesus. Jesus tells his disciples that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” It would take the disciples more time to understand these words. It would be the power of the presence of the Risen Lord and the gift of his Holy Spirit that would give them knowledge and understanding of the true meaning of discipleship – service and self-giving for others. This discipleship will cost them something: they will experience suffering as they give their lives in service to the Lord and to his people, the Church.

The same is true for you and for me. If we call ourselves disciples of Jesus, then we must be totally in. We cannot follow the Lord half-heartedly. We will experience suffering in our walk with the Lord through our lives of faith. Discipleship is not easy; it costs us something! It can make us unpopular, make us experience mockery and rejection from the world. We are to be servants to those who are on the margins of our society, those who count for nothing in the eyes of the world. As Jesus’ disciples, we are to be their advocates! God provides the grace to be the disciples that we could never thought imaginable. It will be with God’s grace, that what the Lord has begun in you and in me can and will be brought to fulfillment.