Well might we wonder if these two disciples recalled their hasty agreement to suffer for glory as they approached their gruesome ends. There would be James, with his head on the block waiting for the axe, remembering back to this time when the Lord said, “drink the cup.” And then there’s John: as he is being lowered, tradition says, into a vat of boiling oil before his exile, he has a single word come to him: “baptized”.
Having made good on their undertaking by terrible suffering, James and John have a place now with the risen Lord in heaven. Theirs are not the places on his right or left: those belong to the thieves at the cross, or perhaps to the Father and the Spirit, who are enthroned with the Son in co-eternal glory. Nevertheless, James and John drank the cup of suffering and so live with Jesus for ever. And so shall we if we do likewise.
But this isn’t simply a cautionary tale about what to pray for, however valid that message in fact is: it remains true that God will sometimes give us what we say we want, to show us what we really need. The message here is that we should want heaven at any cost. There should be in us such a desire for heaven for ourselves and our loved ones that we would be prepared to pay the Lord’s price. This desire, for heaven for myself and others at any cost to myself, is the same one Jesus had all through his mortal life. He went to the cross so that we would live forever with him in light.
These two disciples made their request of Jesus because they saw how things were going and were resolved to be with him in every way. With the other ten, they saw the miracles, the exorcisms, and the healings, and together received the Lord’s sublime teaching. But they with Peter alone saw Jesus raise a little girl from the dead. They with Peter alone saw the Lord transfigured; they saw eternal glory shine through the mortal flesh of Jesus. James and John saw more than the others, and so they ask for more.
So, their question, their request, is in fact rather carefully worded. “Let us sit with you … in glory.” “Glory” isn’t the same as “kingdom” in every respect. Sure, James and John might have a notion of an earthly kingdom in making their request, and might indeed be aspiring to become the Lord’s lieutenants in Jerusalem. But having seen glimpses of eternal glory, they’re at least also asking about a place of honour in glory with him when all is finally revealed.
We can make the request of James and John a prayer of our own, if we purify it by needful humility and knowledge of the resurrection: “Lord, let me join you one day in your glory. Lord, make me want to do whatever is necessary to join you in your glory. Lord, give me whatever is necessary to suffer so that my family and friends join you in your glory.”
Heaven is for those who die in God’s grace and friendship, and so we have to check ourselves and see whether we are in God’s grace and friendship. Are we in God’s grace, that is, have we confessed our grave sins in reconciliation? Are we also God’s friends by being able to bring to him, without shame, all the beauty and ugliness which is in our heart?
Heaven is the place where we become like God, because we see him as he is. Right now, we only see him through the veil of the Church: the sacraments and our saints. But in heaven, the veil will be lifted away and we shall become like the one whom we perceive. From the moment of our entry into heaven, our deepest desires will be met because we shall have received God. We want to love and be loved: that will happen in heaven. We want to honour the honourable and be honoured as honourable: that too will happen in heaven. There, we shall be independent sure but never alone. There, we shall be empowered but live in complete harmony with everyone. All this and more is heavenly glory, sought in a strange way by James and John, and sought too by us who are being purified to want what God wants to give.
There are circumstances which can impede the desire for heaven. We might suppose that one of them would be our own limited understanding of what heaven. It’s hard to want what we don’t know much about, but not impossible. The range of human experiences can also get in the way of our desire for heavenly glory with God: success and failure, the company of others as well grief over them. But we shall overcome this by inviting God into those moments in prayer. We can seek God in those moments: “How much greater is God than this moment of sadness or happiness? What does God add to this suffering or celebrating?”
Our faith says that our whole life is in God’s hands and that nothing escapes his notice. So, whatever suffering, humiliation, or service is required of us to be given heaven, it will be bearable; we can bear the cross with and after Jesus. Whatever cup of suffering is poured for us to drink, Christ drank it first for us. Whatever baptism we are plunged into, Christ is ready and waiting, for it is the way to join him in his glory.
Fr Paul Rowse, OP Parish Priest
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