JESUS, can we drink the cup that you drink or be baptized with the baptism with which you are baptized? Can we really do this?
Can we accept failures? Can we accept imperfections in people, in church, in government and in business? Can we forgive and understand those who annoy us, who do not share our thoughts, who we consider idiots, old-fashioned, liberal or traditional?
Can we be content with being average, simple, anonymous or ordinary? Can we take the back seat and become mere followers?
Can we be patient with long lines, long waits and long conversations? Can we withstand criticisms, face our enemies and follow our peers? Can we compromise, meet in the middle, share resources and be in the same room? Can we let go of our opinions, listen without arguing, agree without defending and be silent instead of fighting back?
Can we accept our mistakes, relate back to someone and work as a team player? Can we leave our biases behind, associate with those who don’t speak our language or who don’t share our culture or color of skin? Can we throw out our arrogance, feelings of superiority and prestige?
Can we be at peace with being old—with having wrinkled faces and disproportionate body parts, poor eyesight and weak legs? Can we listen to the young, allow others to take charge, celebrate the achievements of others? Can we accept changes in family, society, religion or faith community?
Can we take care of old people and deal with their idiosyncrasies? Can we be compassionate with the sick, the alcoholic, the drug addict or the lunatic?
Can we tolerate bad odor and pollution of all kinds, whether it is air, noise or water? Can we deal with poor conditions without sacrificing our ideals?
Can we be happy with personal achievements and be content with one’s fate? Can we support and affirm our leaders? Can we motivate those below us and recognize their gifts and contributions?
“Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized in the baptism with which I am baptized?” This was the question of Jesus to his two disciples, James and John, who were jockeying for the best seats in heaven. Jesus realized that the two ambitious brothers did not have a clue as to what they were asking. Before they could take the right and the left seats in God’s Kingdom, they must prove that they are well-deserving—that is, only after carrying the crosses and inconveniences of life and ministry with love, faith, hope, and patience; that is, only after imitating the Teacher and the Master of all in His life of total self-abasement.
Once again, the Gospel reminds us that to be the greatest in the Kingdom of God, one must be the least of all.
Can we?
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1999-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
