In our gospel reading for today, the disciples see Jesus leading the group to Jerusalem, and they are amazed and terrified. There is only one possible fate waiting for Jesus in Jerusalem – violent death – and Jesus knows it. The disciples know it as well, and James and John have a request for Jesus – if Jesus is going to become a martyr, they want to choose to become martyrs, too. They want to be associate messiahs, to share in the glory and the recognition of dying for the one in whom they believe. But Jesus tells them that, although yes, they will share the fate of the martyrs, the glory and recognition of the kingdom of God is not his to grant. In the kingdom, all of the glory and recognition comes from God, and according to Jesus, it is given not just to those who die, but to ALL those who are willing to serve....
Early in the third century, a young mother named Perpetua was killed in the city of Carthage in modern day Tunisia, Africa. She was executed in the arena for the crime of being a Christian. This is the final paragraph of how history has recorded it: “But Perpetua, that she might taste some pain, being pierced BETWEEN the ribs, cried out loudly, and SHE HERSELF placed the wavering right hand of the youthful gladiator to her throat. Possibly such a woman could not have been slain unless she herself had willed it, because she was feared by the impure spirit. O most brave and blessed martyrs! O truly called and CHOSEN unto the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ!” Wow, such expressive prose! Such admiration and homage! It seems that the martyrdom package, comes complete with glory and recognition.
James and John, in our gospel reading, were ready to take the step of martyrdom, and made a special request of Jesus to make that happen for them. They were ready to drink the same cup and be baptized with the same baptism, as long as they got the same glory and recognition. But Jesus tells them, “You do not know what you are asking. I do not decide who is to sit in the seats of glory, my Father does. And your desire to be martyred is based on your WORLDLY desire to be greater than your brothers and sisters.”
We live in a world that continues to revere its martyrs. In three weeks, on Monday, November 11th, we will memorialize those who were martyrs for the cause of freedom. The first responders of 9/11, the firefighters who lost their lives in the recent forest fires, the police killed in the line of duty – these people are rightly seen as heroes. And in some religious systems, martyrs are encouraged, by the promise of sensational rewards if their sensational deaths can cause sensational collateral damage. It's no wonder, with all the glory and recognition that martyrs receive, we may find ourselves desiring this kind of fate, calling it blessed, and even wishing it on our children.
In fact, the desire can be strong enough that we ignore the needs of our own bodies, and subject ourselves to abuse, or overwork, or conflict, or deprivation at the hands of others – solely to claim the status of martyr. The desire can be strong enough that we ignore the needs of our CHURCH, and assume that the best fate for the church is to fade into the sunset at the hands of the secular and other religions – solely to claim the status of martyr. The desire can be strong enough that we manufacture imagined hardships, or oppression, or persecutions – solely to claim the status of martyr. But in all of these cases, we are presuming to TAKE this honour of martyrdom, rather than let God APPOINT us. We are claiming to be martyrs NOT at God's initiative and for God's purposes, but at OUR initiative for OUR purposes, for the worldly glory and recognition.