David Bahn – Reflections

Steve was the coolest guy I knew in junior high school. He was bigger than life, good with the girls, popular and good looking. I was pretty much – in my own opinion – a nobody. But I had a pool! Since I lived at our parent’s motel, I had the use of our swimming pool and decided to have a pool party. When Steve decided to crash our party, I felt both honored (Steve came to my party!) and angry (Steve crashed my party!). I can remember it like it was yesterday: his mom drove him up, he jumped out of the car, over the fence and into the pool. He never got his comeuppance as far as I know – at least not that night at that party. No one likes a usurper; not one like it when people horn in and take advantage of their own moxie or presume upon a group’s good will and aversion to contention. But it happens. And sometimes we wish someone would stand up to the usurper.

In this encounter between Jesus and “the mother of Zebedee’s sons” (a curious way to identify her and these two men, James and John), the comeuppance is not quite the slam dunk we might want. But it is a more powerful and deeper challenge to the spiritual need that these men and their mother need. James tells us that human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. So rather than resorting to human anger, Jesus peels away the scales from the hearts of James, John and their mother: “Can you drink the cup I will drink?” he asks. When they announce that they could do that, he tells them that they would indeed drink that cup. But, he says, the place of honor on his right and left is reserved for the ones the Father in heaven intends.

I can imagine John the Baptist, Moses, Elijah, St. Paul, Martin Luther, St. Augustine, or other spiritual giants at Jesus’ right and left hand. But there is one more possibility worth considering – and we all need to determine where we will be when that time comes. When Jesus was crucified there were two thieves crucified with him – one on his right and one on his left. Here’s the question: Will you take the place of the one on Jesus’ right or on his left? One cursed him for any number of reasons and determined that Jesus was not good. The other realized in the midst of his suffering that Jesus was good and he was to be trusted, and asked that Jesus remember him when he came into his kingdom.

Jesus promises the repentant thief that he would be in paradise with him that day. The seat of honor we must each occupy is the seat of repentance and faith. There is no greater place of honor than that!

Matthew 20:20-23

²⁰Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. ²¹And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”²²Jesus answered,  “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” ²³He said to them,  “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”