The Second Humorous Mystery...

as many have guessed, is the Boanerges-

"James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17, see also Luke 9:52-56).

One cannot help but admire the impetuous character of these two brothers upon whom Our Lord bestowed so evocative a name. "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Like Peter, James and John are admirable in their courage and lovable in their faults- even if we are understandably relieved when Jesus rebukes their more appalling suggestions. And indeed we see that they like Peter are particularly favored among the apostles, John in particular frequently being referred to simply as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." One cannot help but wonder, though, if Our Lord could not help having a little fun at their expense:

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached [Jesus] with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:20-28)

Preceding this passage in Matthew's Gospel, tellingly, is the third prediction of the Passion: "As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day" (Matthew 20:17-19). James and John are blissfully unaware of what must have been to Jesus an almost painful irony. Expecting Christ to usher in an earthly kingdom, they had no idea that the places they coveted would be crosses on Golgotha- though perhaps John, who would be present at that hour, remembered when he heard the words of the repentant thief:

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
"Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:42-43)

or perhaps in the garden of Gethsemane:

"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39)

For the moment, Jesus seems to lead them on only to disappoint them- "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." Indeed it seems almost cruel- 'You can't have what you want, but you can pay the price anyway.' James, at least, was indeed martyred under Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-2) although John survived these early persecutions of the Church, living to write the Gospel which bears his name.

As for us, we should not be too smug about the benefit of hindsight as we chuckle over the disciples' frequent inability to understand what Jesus is saying to them. Taking the central events and indeed the purpose of Our Lord's life for granted, we forget how utterly unexpected and unthinkable was the Crucifixion and death of the Messiah to them, no matter how explicit the predictions. No doubt we too can be similarly thick when it comes to listening to Jesus, being too concerned with our own desires and agendas. Contrast James and John, who at the call of Jesus got up and left everything, abandoning their nets to become fishers of men (Matthew 4:18-22). Boanerges, ora pro nobis.

(The First Humorous Mystery)