James and John are discussing who will be on Jesus’ right and who will be on His left in the Kingdom.
What they and their mother do not understand is that standing on either side of Jesus can be quite challenging.
To stand on Jesus’ right or left to work in a soup kitchen or a food pantry or a thrift shop serving the poor.
To drink the chalice that Jesus drinks is about humility, putting aside our own wants and expectations to keep family and community together. To drink from Jesus’ cup is to be willing to accept the demands and sacrifices that come with helping another in need, to drink the cup of Jesus is to be willing to be forgiven and forgive.
To stand with Jesus may involve challenging the status quo, to be willing not to be the first in line. To stand with Jesus is to work to secure the rights and dignity of the vulnerable and abused, to help the broken, to reach out to people we may not necessarily like or are not comfortable around.
Remember shortly after this dialogue, one of the first actions of Jesus at the last supper, was that He washed the feet of the disciples.
Remember his words, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me teacher and master, and rightly so for indeed I am. If I therefore, the master and teacher have washed your feet you ought to wash one another’s feet.”
I have given you a model to follow so that what I have done for you. You should also do.
And so, the Gospel challenge today… Do we really want to be on Jesus’ right or left, and if so, do we understand what will be asked of us, if we do?