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The Passion of the Lord
conveyed in the Gospel of Mark confronts Jesus’
disciples with two contrasting images. One image portrays those who
remain faithful to their word despite suffering and even unto death.
The contrasting image portrays
all of those nondescript characters each of whom promises fidelity
and yet, when they are put to the test, betray their word. “Surely, it
is not I,” each of the Twelve responded when Jesus told them that one of
the Twelve would betray him. Apparently, disciples like these fear
suffering and desperately want to avoid it at all costs. “It would be
better for that one if he had never been born,” Jesus warned the infidel
seated at table with him.
The first image is
portrayed best in the person of Jesus. When the consequences of
preaching God’s
word cause Jesus to be rejected by friend and foe alike, to suffer and, then, to
die, Jesus does not flinch. Mark’s narrative of the Passion also
portrays this image in the person of Jesus’ mother, Mary. Tested by the
heartbreak and tragedy of her son’s rejection, suffering, and death,
Mary remains faithful, positioned at the foot of the Cross. In
addition, Mark portrays this image in the person of the beloved
disciple. When tested as he watches his friend’s
rejection, suffering, and death, the beloved disciple remains faithful,
holding Mary in his arms.
Jesus, Mary, and the
beloved disciple teach of the fidelity, courage, and conviction required if a disciple is to be faithful to one’s word. In the face of
what otherwise would be an overwhelming temptation to conclude that God
is powerless as Evil captivates and seizes the minds and hearts of human
beings, Jesus, Mary, and the beloved disciple don’t flinch.
The Passion narrative
conveyed in the Gospel of Mark also presents a contrasting image,
namely, all of the nondescript disciples who profess fidelity but, when
they are put to the test, fail to practice what they preach.
This group includes all
of the members of that cheering throng. Gathered along the road in
Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, they cheered Jesus on and cried out “Hosanna
to the Son of David.” Yet, when confronted by their religious and
political leaders, each and every one of them turned their backs on the
one they had just proclaimed “the Messiah.” There’s also the apostles,
Judas and Peter. When they are put to the test, both betray their
friend. One did so for money. And the other, who had just boasted
“Even though all should have their faith shaken, mine will not be….Even
though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you,” did so only
because he feared what being identified as a disciple of Jesus might
mean for him. Furthermore, we are told “…they all spoke similarly.”
And then, there’s that mysterious, unnamed young man―evidently
a disciple of Jesus―present at Jesus’ arrest. This fellow is noticeable because he’s
only wearing a linen cloth. When his friendship with Jesus is made
known and the guards attempt to seize him, the young man turns away and
runs buck naked into the darkness of the night.
All of the disciples in
the crowd, the apostles Judas and Peter, as well as the young disciple
teach how, when put to the test, disciples are tempted to infidelity,
cowardice, and a lack of conviction. The conclusion of each and every
one of these characters reached was that God is powerless and could
not save them from their fate. Their words, then, are devoid of
substance. Their infidelity, cowardice, and lack of conviction
demonstrate what happens when Evil captivates and seizes the minds and
hearts of human beings.
“Watch and pray that
you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing but the flesh is
weak,” Jesus tells his disciples.
These contrasting
images―fidelity to one’s word and infidelity to one’s word when put to the test―challenge Jesus’ disciples to recognize that discipleship and suffering
are synonymous. One does not exist without the other. Disciples may
wish it were otherwise, namely, that the more faithful one is, the less
one will suffer and, perhaps, even avoid death. But, this simply is not
the case. In every generation, Jesus disciples will suffer when they
remain faithful to their word.
In contrast, all of the
disciples in the crowd, the apostles Judas and Peter, as well as the
young disciple teach how disciples are tempted to infidelity, cowardice,
and the lack of conviction when they are put to the test. The
conclusion of each and every one of these characters was that God is
powerless and could not save them from their fate. Their infidelity,
cowardice, and lack of conviction demonstrate what happens when Evil
captivates and seizes the minds and hearts of human beings.
Instead of offering
answers to the question, “Why does God allow human beings to suffer?”,
all that Mark’s narrative of the Passion offers is an example. In the
midst of his suffering and facing execution, Jesus’ example teaches the
depth of fidelity that is required of disciples when they are tested:
Trust in God
no matter what. Even as questions and doubts arise, remain faithful.
Even if He seems absent, continue to call upon God. Recognize how
utterly powerless human beings really are.
The narrative of
Jesus’ suffering and death provides an example of absolute fidelity to
God when one is put to the test. But, that
provides little or no
solace and no answers to the question “Why would God allow His only
begotten Son to suffer?”
Mark’s passion
narrative ends with a somber scene. As Joseph of Arimathea inters
Jesus’ corpse in a tomb, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joses,
watch from a distance. Surely these two women must have been wondering―and
we must be wondering, too―why God would allow the power of Evil―manifesting
itself in suffering and death of His only begotten Son―to
emerge triumphant. At the narrative draws to its somber dénouement, all
the two women know―and
all we know―is that Jesus has been executed and his corpse lies wrapped in a linen
cloth, buried in a tomb hewn out of rock.
Why did Mark end his
passion narrative on this note of cruel irony?
The days of Holy Week―from Passion
Sunday through Holy Saturday―offer Jesus’
disciples time to contemplate the terrifying and dreadful possibility
that God is impotent when the power of Evil exerts its grip upon their
hearts and minds. It is the very image that Jesus’ disciples
contemplated following his burial on Good Friday.
Like the two Marys
standing at a distance and gazing upon the tomb or like the disciples
who had gathered in the upper room, we must contemplate what these
events mean and we must seek answers to the question, “Why would God let
His only begotten Son―who remained
faithful to his word to the end―to
be rejected, to suffer, and to die?”
What we must avoid is
the temptation to race ahead to the events of Easter Sunday and to
neglect contemplating these events and answering that question. If we
do so, we leave behind all that is to be learned about fidelity from
these harsh, but real lessons about discipleship.
The Passion narrative
preserved in the Gospel of Mark provides Jesus disciples’
no answers. All the author offers are contrasting images. There are
those disciples who remained faithful when put to the test and those
disciples who did not. During these holiest days of the Church year,
these are the images that Jesus’ disciples must contemplate. With no
answers provided by the Passion narrative, all that really exists is a
choice: to be faithful to one’s word or not. |
HOMILY
