Gospel

Matthew 20:17-28

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,

he took the Twelve disciples 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."

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 chalice that I am going to drink?"

They said to him, "We can."

He replied,

"My chalice you will indeed drink,

but to sit at my right and at my left,

this 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 over them felt.

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first 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.”

Reflection

It's clear that when the disciples heard the proclamation that Jesus made about what was to happen to Him at the end of his life, they didn't grasp it. They were confused. And I think it's fascinating to see James and John with their mommy coming to Jesus and asking for a special favor that they be put in positions of greatest authority and respect and honor.

And Jesus is just shaking his head and saying, you know, they don't yet get it. They don't understand. And all he does is say, you know what you're asking? You really don't even know what you're asking. First of all, things like that are in my father's hands. I'm not the one determining what the future will be like. My father is the one in charge.

But please know this, he keeps saying, please know that what I'm asking you to become is not people of great honor and prestige and importance. But you've all got to be servants. Keep service in mind. It's essential.

Closing Prayer

Father, our nature thrives in positions of authority and power. We like to have things that make us seem successful, and that's nothing unusual for a human being. The ego is sort of set in a way that that's what they want, but we have to always counter those desires with such a simple and beautiful teaching that comes up over and over again. We're not here to be served. We're here to serve. And we asked this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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