The Cup of Greatness
(Is.53:10-11; Heb.4:14-16; Mk.10:35-45)
Some people love priming their own egos. They crave the recognition that comes from winning trophies and titles.
We saw this recently in Mark’s Gospel (9:30-37), where Jesus’ disciples were caught arguing about which of them was the greatest.
And today, James and John ask Jesus if they can sit to his left and right – places of great honour – when he returns to heaven. For them, these are prize seats, the equivalent of winning the cup of greatness.
But Jesus responds by talking about a very different kind of cup. ‘You don’t know what you’re asking for,’ he says. ‘Can you drink from the cup that I must drink? Can you be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’
‘Yes,’ they reply, but really they don’t understand what he’s saying.
In Scripture, the word ‘cup’ often refers to our lives, which can be filled with many different things. Our cup can be filled with blessings (Ps.23:5) or salvation (Ps.116:13). It can be filled with desolation (Ezek.23:33) or God’s fury (Is.51:17). And it can be filled with suffering and trials (Ps.75.8; Is.51:17).
At Gethsemane, Jesus prays, ‘Father, if it’s possible, take this cup away from me’ (Mt.26:39). Sadly, this cup is not taken away, and he dies a painful death. But then Jesus returns to new life, and that’s why he also calls his suffering his baptism, for baptism always leads to new life.

Now, in the Mass, whenever we are offered the Precious Blood with the words, ‘The Blood of Christ,’ we are in effect being asked the same question that Jesus asked his disciples: ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink?’ Our reply ‘Amen,’ in effect means ‘yes, I will follow you, Jesus. I will be wine poured out for others.’
And when at Communion we are offered the Body of Christ, our reply ‘Amen’ means ‘yes, I will follow you, Jesus. I will be bread broken for others.’
This is a radical commitment. The Holy Eucharist is not meant to be received passively. It’s a gift that nourishes and strengthens us to live like Jesus himself.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, ‘anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant.’ What kind of servant is that?
In the 1700s, the English Archbishop Thomas Secker said that God has three kinds of servants in this world. The first are the slaves who serve him out of fear. The second are the hirelings who serve him because they are paid.
And the third are God’s sons and daughters who serve him because they are filled with love. This is the kind of servanthood we are called to.
Mother Teresa was such a servant; she was absolutely filled with love.

In Calcutta one day, she rescued a woman who was covered in festering sores and crawling insects. As she quietly cleaned and dressed her wounds, the woman shrieked and swore and insulted her. Then she asked, ‘Sister, why do you do this? Not everyone behaves like you. Who taught you?’
Mother Teresa replied, ‘My God taught me.’
The woman said she wanted to know her God. Mother Teresa kissed her on the forehead and said, ‘You know my God. My God is called love.’
Recently I heard another story about selfless love. A young boy had burns to 85% of his body. He was saved by his parents, three doctors and three nurses, but the nurses were the real heroes.
Dressed in caps, gowns, masks and gloves, they stayed with him every day, working 8-hour shifts around the clock, helping him through operations, skin grafts and other critical procedures.
The boy came to hate these nurses and he blamed them for his pain, but they kept working. The room was small, hot and cramped, and it smelt of chlorine and burnt flesh. But they stayed with him. Then one day, after 14 months, he started to walk again.
Their love saved his life. It was tough, but they said they’d do it again if they had to.
Each of us is called to greatness, but not the worldly kind.
The cup of greatness Jesus invites us to drink may seem like a bitter drop, but as St Terese of Lisieux once said, ‘I’ve always found his bitter chalice full of sweetness… Your lot is indeed a beautiful one, since Our Lord has chosen it for you, and has first touched with his own lips the cup which he holds out to yours.’
When you next come forward for the Holy Eucharist, remember that it’s your invitation to be transformed, to become bread broken for others.
And to become wine poured out for others, just like Jesus himself.