Salvation from a Submarine

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

(World Mission Sunday)

Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11; Psalm 32 (33):4-5, 18-20, 22; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45

Picture: By Sung Jin Cho on Unsplash

My dear friends, how does a submarine work? How does it manage to both float on the surface of the sea, as well as dive into its depths? As we may recall, a submarine has something called ballast tanks. When these tanks are filled with air, the submarine is less dense than the surrounding waters, and so it floats. But when the air in its tanks is released and replaced with sea water, the submarine becomes denser, and sinks. Then when compressed air is later pumped back into those tanks, the submarine rises again to the surface. This remarkable ability of a submarine, to allow its own density to be changed, mirrors what our scriptures tell us about Jesus.

The first reading speaks of a mysterious prophetic figure, the suffering servant, who is sent by God to offer his life in atonement for the sins of others. (B)y his sufferings, the servant will justify many. When we Christians listen to this passage, we think first of Jesus. Whom we believe is the only begotten Son of God, sent by the heavenly Father, to submerge himself, not just in the rich ocean of our human dignity, but also in the dark depths of our sinfulness and suffering. To do this, Jesus lets go of his own equality with God. Like a submarine releasing air from its tanks, he humbles himself even to accepting death on a cross (Ph 2:8).

And what enables the Lord to do this is his obedience to God, his own undying trust in the Father’s love for him. Even in the face of torture and crucifixion, Jesus keeps clinging to God. Putting into practice the words we prayed earlier, in the psalm: May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you. Jesus places all his hope in God, who then raises him to New Life. God fills with glory the One who first emptied himself. So that, like a submarine rising majestically from the depths of the sea, Jesus is raised to become the Lord of all creation (see Ph 2:11). As the second reading tells us, in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through the highest heaven.

Jesus is that fully human-fully divine Submarine, who has demonstrated his remarkable ability to dive into the depths of suffering and sin, so as to set free all those trapped there. And shouldn’t this be what we Christians think of first, when we hear and use the word mission? Not just what we have to do, but more what Jesus has done for us. The mission of love and mercy entrusted by God the Father, to Christ the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. The mission of which we are first of all beneficiaries. But to truly benefit from this mission, we need to participate in it. As individuals, and as a people, we need to never let go of the faith that we have professed. We need to keep boldly approaching the throne of grace, continually begging for and receiving the strength we need to follow in the Lord’s footsteps. Allowing ourselves to be emptied and submerged with Christ, so that we might also be filled and raised up to the glory of God through him.

But isn’t this what James and John claim to be willing to do in the gospel? To drink from the Lord’s cup, to be baptised with his baptism, so as to share in his glory? So why does the Lord have to continue patiently teaching them? Isn’t it because they still fall short in at least three ways? In their motivation, the source of their strength, and their desire for control. The brothers’ willingness to endure suffering is clearly motivated by selfish ambition. They also seem to think they can follow Jesus by relying only on their own resources. And, like patrons at a movie theatre, they want to choose the best seats. They wish to control the outcome. In contrast, Jesus empties himself out of love for the Father, and mercy for others. He also relies totally on the power of the Spirit. And instead of choosing his own cross, he humbly accepts the one that’s cruelly thrust upon him. Again like a submarine, the Lord hands over control of his life to God. Allowing God’s purposes to become his own. Continually seeking and putting into practice all that his heavenly Father wants him to do.

Curiously, all this brings to mind a news story I read yesterday, about a local middle-aged woman, named Warda Ismail, whose 70-year-old mother was recently diagnosed with stage-three gall bladder cancer, even as Warda herself continues to undergo treatment for breast cancer. As she steps up to care for her ailing mum and the rest of her family, Warda was quoted as saying, I try not to think about myself. I count my blessings, that I am able to do things for my mum and I'm healthy enough to help her.

Sisters and brothers, how is Christ, our divine-human Submarine, mercifully accompanying us, calling, teaching and forming us to share in his mission of mercy today?