Gospel of 3 March 2021
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Matthew 20:17-28
They will condemn the Son of Man to death
Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.’
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.’
When the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Reflexion
Many of the older folks would be familiar with the word association game. The young, engrossed in their technologically advanced digital games of strategy, have little patience or interest in these silly antiquated mind games. But remember how the James Bond movie “Skyfall” brought back this timeless challenge at the beginning of the film? Anyway, what would be the word or words that you would most likely associate with “suffering” or “humiliation”? For the mother of the two sons of Zebedee in today’s gospel, her proposed word would have appeared strange and totally disconnected with what our Lord had predicted about His own future. If you could summarise her request in a single word, it would be simply this, “honour.”
But perhaps, it is not so strange after all. Our Lord’s disciples were all looking to climb the ecclesial ladder. Thinking ahead to a time when the Lord would need to be replaced, the disciples scramble to position themselves as His obvious successors. No doubt they are anticipating the prestige and power that will come with being princes in the Kingdom. Their naked ambition is deaf to the scenario that our Lord – only a few moments earlier – had laid out for them. He is going to Jerusalem to be “mocked and scourged and crucified.” Now our Lord would challenge them and ask if they are willing to follow Him, to drink from His cup which could only mean that they too will end their days ridiculed for the faith and for some, die for it.
Will you be willing to drink the cup which many covet but few understand the full ramifications of doing so? If you wish to be honoured in the eyes of men, this cup is not meant for you. If you wish to be first, this cup is not meant for you. If you wish to be served, this cup is not meant for you. But if you wish to put the needs of others before your own, if you are willing to bear the cross of a disciple and follow our Lord to the very end of the road, then drink deep from this cup. The initial sip may appear to leave a bitter taste, the taste of suffering, but the aftertaste will leave you with the sweetness of glory, the glory of the resurrection and heaven which our Lord wishes to share with those who are willing to follow Him on the way of the cross.
Christ's passion, His death, and His resurrection: all these have consequences for us. We cannot choose the glory but refuse to accept the cross. It’s a package deal. In order to be conformed to Christ, we must share His death to share His life. Anything less will be counterfeit. Greatness in the Kingdom of heaven, then, is measured by our likeness to Christ, it is measured by love, by service and ultimately, by sacrifice.