Reading I
Jer 18:18-20
The people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem said,
“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets.
And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.”
Heed me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.
Gospel
Mt 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.”
Meditation: Matthew 20:17-28
God has a plan for each one of us.
Have you tried to discover what it is for you? In collusion with their mother, James and John tried to suggest to Jesus what their lives should look like—with royal thrones and seats of honor next to the Lord himself. But Jesus had a different idea for them. Rather than be recognized and served as “important” people in the kingdom, they were to become servants, following his example by laying down their lives for the gospel.
Today’s Gospel reading makes it clear that James and John had yet to develop the heart of a servant. Jesus had just revealed that he would suffer and die for others, while these two men showed that they were out for themselves. Earlier in Matthew’s Gospel, we read how Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him for predicting his own death and resurrection (Matthew 16:22). Like James and John, it seems that Peter had his own plan.
Of course, the apostles were not bad men. In fact, they served Jesus diligently throughout his public ministry. But there is a difference between serving a person or a cause and becoming a servant. A servant is always on duty, always thinking about how to build up the church and bring glory to the Lord. By contrast, serving is something we can turn on and off, as a sort of break from our “normal” lives. It wasn’t until after Jesus’ resurrection—after Jesus returned to heaven and left the church in their hands—that the apostles began thinking and acting like servants.
Jesus doesn’t expect any of us to be serving him one hundred percent of the time, but he does want to see us take up the heart of a servant. He wants us to become like dedicated parents whose children are always in their hearts, even when they are at work or enjoying a little downtime. A servant never stops thinking about God’s people, never stops caring about the need to evangelize or the state of the church. All this because Jesus has captured his heart, and he wants nothing more than to give back to the Lord for everything he has done.
“Lord, I love you, and I am in awe of your love for me. By your grace, change my heart. Lord, I want to become your servant!”
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