Reading 1 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.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 31:5-6, 14, 15-16
R. (17b) Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my persecutors.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
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
“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve.” (Matthew 20:28)
Talk about completely missing the point! Jesus lets the apostles in on the biggest news in history—that he was going to die and rise for all sin, and James and John have the nerve to respond by asking for places of honor and glory. It’s a wonder Jesus didn’t bang his head against the wall out of frustration! And the other apostles don’t come off much better. They were “indignant” all right, but probably because they were mad that they hadn’t made the request first!
Ever the patient teacher, Jesus turned James and John’s ill-timed request into an opportunity to clarify what he was all about—and what he expected of them. He made it clear that whoever among them wanted to be the greatest had to be the least, and whoever wanted to be first had to be last. By inviting James and John to drink his cup of self-sacrificing love, Jesus was inviting them to die to their old lives and to take up a new life of service of the gospel.
Today Jesus offers us the same invitation: to become the least, so that we can become the greatest servants of the Lord. Do you want a good place in heaven? Then start by taking the lowest place on earth. Be a servant in your home. Seek to give rather than to receive, and to love rather than to be loved. Offer up some of your free time to volunteer in your parish or community. If up to this point you have looked more to be served, then your options are wide open.
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you some ways that you can begin to take on a servant’s heart. If you are already doing a pretty good job at serving and giving, there may be ground to be gained in your attitude of heart while you are serving. Either way, know that Jesus will bless every effort you make. He will lift you up and fill you with his love and grace!
“Jesus, change my heart to be more like yours. I want to serve rather than be served and to love rather than be loved. Let me be last, so that you and your gospel may be first in my life.”
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