Suffering and Sacrifice: The Heart of Christian Discipleship

In the Gospels, we hear about the two sons of Zebedee asking Jesus for a favor.  The request is to take the place to the right and left of Jesus when He comes into his Glory.  They are totally unaware what it is that Jesus sees as His moment of Glory: the crucifixion.  But Jesus tells them that they indeed will drink from the cup from which He will drink, foreshadowing His request in the Garden of Gethsemane that this very cup might pass from Him.  And the place at His right and at His left is reserved for two thieves.  But this cup does not pass from the Apostles either, and as disciples of Jesus, we too must accept our cup if we are to pick up our cross and follow Him.
As I mentioned, the cup does not pass by the Apostles.  This, according to tradition, is how each of them suffered, and all but John were killed for the love of Jesus:
James the Son of Zebedee was beheaded in Jerusalem.  Tradition has it that the Roman officer who guarded James converted due to James’ faith.
John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge vat of oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously saved from death.
John was then sent to the prison Island of Patmos. His vision on that island is now known as the book of Revelation.  He died in old age.
Peter was crucified upside down in Rome.  According to the long-standing tradition, it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way as Jesus Christ had died.  The spot of his crucifixion is today marked by the Egyptian obelisk in St. Peter’s square.
Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia; he was killed with a sword.
James the Less. The leader of the church in Jerusalem, he was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple, the place of Christ’s temptation by the devil, when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club.
Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel, was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.
Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece after being whipped severely by soldiers.
Philip preached the Faith in Greece, and he was martyred at Hierapolis in Persia in the year 62.  Like Saint Peter, he was crucified upside-down.
Thomas was thrust through with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in that part of the world.
Jude was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
Simon, the Zealot, preached the Faith in Persia together with his brother, Jude.  Saint Simon was crucified at Edessa in the year 67.
Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.
Paul was tortured and then beheaded by Emperor Nero in Rome in A.D. 67.  Before that, Paul was imprisoned several times during which he would write his letters to the churches he had helped establish throughout the Roman Empire. These letters form a large portion of the New Testament.
Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets.
Luke was hanged in Greece because of his preaching the faith.
As Christians we should understand what has been true for all two thousand plus years of Christianity, that the seeds of the Church is the blood of martyrs.  
If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we are bound to face suffering in our life.  The readings for today remind us that what we tend to think of as glory is totally unrelated to the way Jesus sees it.  The only way we are able to share in the glory of Christ is through the giving of ourselves, through agape (or sacrificial) love.  The sons of Zebedee found this out and the Church has demonstrated this for 2000 years in the lives of the Martyrs and Saints.
Venerable Bishop Fulton Sheen puts it this way in the Way of the Cross: “By that one act, our blessed Lord revealed that we can never become like unto Him in the nobility of His birth, when angels sang to shepherds, nor in the glory of His Transfiguration, when His face shone like the sun and His garments were as white as snow. There is only one way we can become exactly like Him, and that is by suffering.”
We are to cooperate with the grace we receive in the sacraments by going out into the world and showing Christ’s love through our actions, accepting the consequences that come with this, no matter what, and in doing so, perhaps, changing the world for the better.
The book of Isaiah says, “If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.”  
If we offer our lives in and for the service of God, the will of the Lord will be done through us.  
That is Christianity.  
Jesus, I Trust in You!