Sunday Reading

29^th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle B)

Readings:
Isaiah 53:10-11
Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20, 22
Hebrews 4:14-16
Mark 10:35-45

Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The words LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).

God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments; therefore, we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Church's Universal Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).

The Theme of the Readings: Taking Up the Cup
Taking up the cup is one of the symbolic images of the Old Testament prophets (see Symbolic Images of the Old Testament Prophets). Drinking the best wine is the image of perfect covenant union between God and His people who drink from the cup of salvation (e.g., Ps 116:13). But when the covenant people abandon their relationship with God by failing to keep His commandments, the prophets symbolized their rebellion as drunkenness and His judgment as drinking the "cup of God's wrath" (e.g., Is 51:17, 22; Jer 25:15).

The First Reading is a prelude to the Gospel Reading and describes the suffering of God's Servant who drank the "cup of God's wrath" on behalf of sinful humanity. He is God's remedy for sin and the separation it causes between Him and His human children because the Servant "shall justify many and their guilt he shall bear," freeing those he has justified of the burden of their sins.

Today's Responsorial Psalm expresses the most basic and powerful theological confession of the Book of Psalms: the Lord is faithful to His promises. His love is apparent to those with eyes who see the wise ordering of creation, which is the Lord's doing. In the last verses of the reading, the focus is on those who receive the blessing of the Lord's hesed, His faithful covenant love. Those who fear offending God trust Him with their lives and show their reverence for Him by their commitment to living holy lives to please Him. They are united to God in a covenant relationship and know they can count on Him as a refuge and the source of their salvation.

In the Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, the inspired writer addressed the Jewish Christian communities of the first century AD concerning the limited mission of the Jewish High Priest. Under the Law of the Sinai Covenant, every high priest had to continually offer the blood of animals for sin sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple, including the twice-daily whole burnt offering of an unblemished Tamid lamb for the atonement and sanctification of the covenant people. And once a year, he made sin sacrifices for the covenant people on the Feast of Yom Kippur (Feast of Atonement). However, Jesus fulfilled all the old covenant blood rituals when He died once and for all time as the unblemished sacrifice for the sins of humanity. And, having accomplished His work of redemption, He ascended to the heavenly Temple where, as the eternal New Covenant High Priest, He continues to offer Himself as the perfect unblemished sacrifice for the redemption and salvation of sinners in every generation.

In the Gospel Reading, the Apostles James and John Zebedee aspired for greatness in Jesus's Kingdom, but they did not understand what He was referring to when He asked them if they could "drink from my cup" (Mt 20:22; Mk 10:38-39). They thought He was speaking of the "cup of salvation." But Jesus referred to the suffering He must endure in accepting the "cup of God's wrath" on behalf of sinful humanity, fulfilling the destiny of God's "Suffering Servant" that Isaiah wrote about in the First Reading.

Because Jesus willingly drank from the "cup of God's wrath" (Mt 26:39-42; Mk 14:36; Lk 22:42; Jn 18:11 ) on behalf of sinful humanity, we are invited to drink from the Eucharistic "cup of salvation" (Mt 26:27; Mk 14:23-24; Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25). The Eucharistic cup of Christ's blood nourishes us spiritually on our earthly journey as we look forward to the banquet of the just in heavenly Wedding Supper of the Lamb and His Bride, the Church (Rev 19:6-9). For this reason, from our hearts, we cry out the words in today's Psalm response: "Lord, let your mercy be on us as we place our trust in You."

The First Reading Isaiah 53:10-11 ~ The Servant of the Lord
10 The LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. 11 Because of his affliction, he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many and their guilt he shall bear.

This passage is from the fourth of the "Servant Songs" in the Book of Isaiah. It points to Jesus and His teaching in today's Gospel that the duty of those who serve Christ and His Church is to submit their lives to the will of God. Like Isaiah's Servant, God calls His Servant, God the Son, to bear sufferings not due to His sins but in atonement for the sins of others. In obedience to the Father's will, Jesus suffered and gave His life in atonement for the sins of others. God will bless those "descendants" who belong to Jesus's New Covenant family with a "long life" in eternity.

St. Matthew will quote Isaiah 53:4 from this passage as a fulfillment statement applied to Jesus and His mission in Matthew 8:17. Matthew writes that Jesus fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah's Suffering Servant, and His healing miracles are a sign of the Suffering Servant's work of redemption. Jesus suffered for the sins of humanity even though He was not guilty of any transgressions. By bearing the penalty for the sins of humanity, He expiated the guilt humankind earned through those sins, and He offered redemption and the gift of eternal salvation.

Jesus's entire life is a mystery of redemption, and His redemptive work comes to us through the blood He shed on the altar of the Cross (Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14; 1 Pt 1:18-19). The unveiling of this mystery began in the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets (CCC 517). St. Theodoret of Cyrus wrote: "The sufferings of our Savior are our cure" ( De Incarnatione Domini, 28). He died for us so we might have an eternally "long life" as children in the covenant family of His Kingdom in Heaven.

Responsorial Psalm 33:4-5, 18-20, 22 ~ A Hymn of Praise for the Lord's Faithful Love

The response is: "Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you."

4 Upright is the word of the LORD, and all his works are trustworthy. 5 He loves justice and right; of the kindness [hesed] of the LORD the earth is full.
Response:
18 See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness [hesed], 19 to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine.
Response:
20 Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. [...]. 22 May your kindness [hesed], O LORD, be upon us, who have put our hope in you.
Response:

Psalm 33 is an invitation to offer a hymn of praise to Yahweh (whose divine name, Yahweh, appears fourteen times in the psalm, rendered as LORD). Yahweh is the Lord God, who created the universe by His divine Word (verses 4-5; Gen 1:3).

Our reading repeats the Hebrew word hesed/checed three times in verses 5, 6, and 22. God expressed His love for His covenant people in the Old Testament by this word, which our English translations usually render as "love," "faithful love," or "merciful love" (expressed as hesed we'emet for example in Gen 24:49; 32:11; 47:29; Ex 34:6; Jos 2:14; 2 Sam 2:6; 15:20). However, hesed has a much narrower definition than the English word "love" conveys.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, hesed refers to the kind of love promised and owed. Hesed is a mutual exchange of affection and loyalty based on mutual obligations. It is also a love formed in the bonds of a covenant relationship. When used for human relationships, hesed means union, fidelity, and loyalty in the context of the marriage covenant (Gen 24:49). And when used between men or nations, it expresses the covenant bond of family loyalty and treaty obligations (Gen 21:27; 1 Sam 11:1). However, using hesed to describe God's interaction with humankind expresses His faithfulness to His covenant. It includes the benevolent blessings and mercy He shows His obedient covenant family and their love and loyalty that He expects in return (as in Ex 34:6-7 or in Ps 136 where the word hesed is repeated 26 times, once in every verse).

In Psalm 33, the psalmist is thankful to the Lord God who has, in his hesed/covenant love, revealed Himself through His works and His word. The "word of the Lord" (verse 4) is an expression of divine purpose and, at the same time, the agent by which God achieves that purpose. It is what the psalmist means when he says the word is "upright," indicating that it does what God intends it to do, just as the righteous faithful, the morally upright, are those who do what God has commanded (verses 4 and 18). The psalmist is aware that God's providence is over humanity. He made every human being, and He reads the hearts of everyone as He watches over the lives of those who revere Him and fear offending Him (verse 18).

This psalm expresses the most basic and powerful theological confession of the Book of Psalms: that the Lord is faithful to His promises, and His steadfast covenant love (hesed) is apparent to those with eyes to see in the trustworthy and wise ordering of creation that is the Lord's doing. The last verses of our reading focus on those who receive the Lord's faithful covenant love: those who fear the Lord by revering Him and living holy lives to please Him. These faithful who trust in the Lord can count on Him as a refuge and the source of their salvation.

The Second Reading Hebrews 4:14-16 ~ Jesus Our Compassionate High Priest:
14 Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. 16 So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Many Biblical scholars, ancient and modern, believe the inspired writer of the Letter to the Hebrews is St. Paul. He writes in verse 14 that Jesus, the merciful and faithful High Priest of the New Covenant, "passed through the heavens" in His Ascension (verse 14) and now stands before the throne of God, expiating the sins of the covenant people. This verse is the first mention of Heaven as the place where Jesus administers His priestly function and where His sacrifice takes on an eternal and timeless value. The inspired writer uses the phrase "let us hold fast to our confession" (verse 14), urging his audience to be vigilant in their faith, avoiding sin, and trusting God's plan in their lives. He used the same words, making the same plea, in Hebrews 10:23 when he wrote: Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested [peirazein] in every way, yet without sin.
The Greek word peirazein [pi-rad'-zin] can mean both "test" and "tempt," as in the temptation to sin. Jesus, our New Covenant High Priest, has been tested: Satan tempted and tested Him after St. John's baptism (Mt 4:1-11; Mk 1:12-13; Lk 4:1-13). But Jesus was also tested throughout His public ministry by the religious authorities and the people (Mt 4:7; 19:3; Mk 8:11; Lk 10:25; 22:28; Jn 6:6). And His final test was in His willingness to fulfill God's plan as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mt 26:39, 42; Mk 14:34-36; 22:42-44; Heb 5:7-8). As a fully human man, Jesus experienced temptation. Still, He was never enticed to commit sin because He was free from the temptation to sin: For our sake, he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him (2 Cor 5:21; also see CCC# 603; 2119).

In verse 16, the inspired writer urges Christians to have no fear and confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help. Faithful believers in Christ should not fear sin, physical death, or judgment. Jesus was without sin, but He witnessed sin and experienced the temptations of sin; therefore, He can sympathize with our struggles to resist sin. He promises that He will intercede for us with the Father and help us overcome the challenges we face as we journey toward our Promised Land in Heaven.

The Catechism assures us of Christ's intervention on our behalf: "All Christ's riches 'are for every individual and are everybody's property.' Christ did not live his life for himself but for us, from his Incarnation 'for us men and for our salvation' to his death 'for our sins' and Resurrection 'for our justification.' He is still 'our advocate with the Father,' who 'always lives to make intercession' for us. He remains ever 'in the presence of God on our behalf, bringing before him all that he lived and suffered for us'" (CCC# 519 quoting 1 Cor 15:3; Rom 4:25; 1 Jn 2:1; Heb 7:25 and 9:24). Jesus's promise to us in Matthew 28:20 gives us the courage we need to seek God's mercy and grace when he said: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

The Gospel of Mark 10:35-45 ~ The Ambition of the Sons of Zebedee
35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 36 He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" 37 They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." 38 Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 39 They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." 41 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 42 Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 43 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Jesus's earlier teaching on humility seems to have had a minimal impact on the Zebedee brothers (see Mk 10:15, 28-31). They heard the part about heavenly rewards but not the teaching on having the humility of a little child or when Jesus said, 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. Therefore, the brothers requested the places of highest honor at the Messianic Banquet of the Just, asking, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."

38 Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 39 They said to him, "We can."
James and John did not understand what commitment they were making when they expressed their willingness to "drink" from Jesus's "cup." The brothers probably remembered the Old Testament prophets' descriptions of drinking from the cup of God's glory in the eschatological banquet. They likely recalled prophecies like the heavenly banquet in Isaiah 25:6: On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines ... and so they have asked for places on either side of the Master when He enters His heavenly glory. On the contrary, "the cup" Jesus would drink and "the baptism" with which He would "be baptized" are His cup of suffering and the cup of God's wrath that He will accept on behalf of sinful humanity through the baptism of His blood on the altar of the Cross (see Is 51:17-23; Mk 14:36 and the chart on the "Symbolic Imagery of the Prophets").

39 Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared."
In reply to their petition and the acceptance of His "cup," Jesus told them He could not give them the places of honor they requested because that was the prerogative of God the Father, but they would indeed drink from His "cup." On this side of salvation history, it is heart-rending to read the brothers' enthusiastic reply that they are ready to drink from Jesus's cup, not understanding He was referring to His "cup of suffering." He had already given them three prophecies of His Passion (Mk 8:31-33; 9:30-32; 10:32-34), but it was inconceivable to them that the Son of God would allow mere humans to harm Him. The irony is that they would each receive what they asked: James was the first Apostle to suffer martyrdom (Acts 12:2), and John lived a long life of suffering for the sake of Christ's kingdom. But at this point, they are both very confident and ambitious, believing that Jesus would reign in glory and want to reign with Him.

Mark 10:41-45 ~ The Anger of the Ten Apostles
41 When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 42 Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 43 But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Unfortunately, the Apostles still acted more "childish" than "childlike." They were indignant that the Zebedee brothers should aspire to such an honor. In responding to their displeasure, Jesus returns to the theme of "the last shall be first" and the importance of humility and service. The question of rank among the Apostles began with their argument concerning "who was greatest" in Mark 9:34. After the disciples experienced their "dark night of the soul" in the crisis of Jesus's Passion and crucifixion, they never raised the issue again. Through their suffering, they all learn humility and obedience.

42 Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt."
Jesus's kingdom will not be like the rank and authority in the Gentile kingdoms, where the people were "slaves" to their rulers. They are to be, and every priest of every generation who succeeds them, the servants of the children of God in Christ's Kingdom of the Church. An ancient title for the Pope, the Vicar of Christ, is "servant of the servants of Christ."

43 "But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 45 For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus again identified Himself in this verse as Isaiah's "Suffering Servant" (see the First Reading). The ransom Jesus pays with His life will bring about the justification and liberation of many and recalls the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12 ~ Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked, and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses. Jesus's service will be His sacrificial death by which He won pardon for the sins of all who call upon Him to forgive their sins (also see 1 Tim 2:6 and 1 Pt 2:23-24; CCC 536, 608).

Catechism References: (* indicates Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation)
Isaiah 53:10-11 (CCC 440*, 615); 53:10 (CCC 623*); 53:11 (CCC 64*, 579*, 601, 623, 1502*); 53:12 (CCC 536*, 608*)

Hebrews 4:14-15 (CCC 1137*); 4:15 (CCC 467, 540, 609*, 612*, 2602*); 4:16 (CCC 2778*)

Mark 10:38 (CCC 536*, 1225); 10:39 (CCC 618*); 10:43-45 (CCC 1551*); 10:45 (CCC 608, 1570*)

Christ's redemptive death in the plan of salvation (CCC 599*, 600*, 601*, 602*, 603*, 604*, 605*, 606*, 607*, 608*, 609*)

Christ's self-emptying is an example for us to imitate (CCC 520*)

Christ, the High Priest of the New Covenant (CCC 467, 540*, 1137*)