GOSPEL READING:
Matthew 20:17-2817 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, 19 and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." 20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, "What do you want?" She said to him, "Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." 22 But Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." 23 He said to them, "You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; 28 even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
SCRIPTURE READING:
Jeremiah 18:18-2018 Then they said, "Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not heed any of his words." 19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to my plea. 20 Is evil a recompense for good? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
Meditation: Who or what takes first place in your life?
You and what you want to do with your life or God and what he
desires for you? When personal goals and ambitions are at odds
with God's will, whose will prevails? The prophet Jeremiah spoke a
word that was at odds with what the people wanted. The word which
Jeremiah spoke was not his personal opinion but the divinely
inspired word which God commanded him to speak. Jeremiah met stiff
opposition and even threats to his life for speaking God's word.
Jeremiah pleaded with God when others plotted to not only silence
him but to destroy him as well. Jesus also met stiff opposition
from those who opposed his authority to speak and act in God's
name. Jesus prophesied that he would be rejected by the religious
authorities in Jerusalem and be condemned to death by crucifixion
- the most painful and humiliating death the Romans had devised
for enemies who opposed their authority.
Jesus called himself the "Son of Man" (Matthew 20:17) - a
prophetic title for the Messiah which came from the Book of
Daniel. Daniel was given a prophetic vision of a "Son of Man" who
is given great authority and power to rule over the earth on
behalf of God. But if Jesus is the Messiah and "Son of Man"
prophesied by Daniel, why must he be rejected and killed? Did not
God promise that his Anointed One would deliver his people from
their oppression and establish a kingdom of peace and justice? The
prophet Isaiah had foretold that it was God's will that the
"Suffering Servant" who is "God's Chosen One" (Isaiah 42:1) must
first make atonement for sins through his suffering and death
(Isaiah 53:5-12) and then be raised to establish justice on the
earth (Isaiah 42:4). Jesus paid the price for our redemption with
his own blood. Jesus' life did not end with death on the cross -
he triumphed over the grave when he rose victorious on the third
day. If we want to share in the Lord's victory over sin and death
then we will need to follow his way of the cross by renouncing my
will for his will, and my way for his way of self-sacrificing love
and holiness.
Seeking privilege and power
Right after Jesus had prophesied his impending death on the cross,
the mother of James and John brought her sons before Jesus
privately for a special request. She asked on their behalf for
Jesus to grant them a special status among the disciples, namely
to be placed in the highest position of privilege and power.
Rulers placed their second-in-command at their right and left
side. James and John were asking Jesus to place them above their
fellow disciples.
Don't we often do the same? We want to get ahead and get the best
position where we can be served first. Jesus responds by telling
James and John that they do not understand what they are really
asking for. The only way one can advance in God's kingdom is by
submitting one's whole life in faith and obedience to God. Jesus
surrendered his will to the will of his Father - he willingly
chose the Father's path to glory - a path that would lead to
suffering and death, redemption and new life.
When the other ten disciples heard what James and John had done,
they were very resentful and angry. How unfair for James and John
to seek first place for themselves. Jesus called the twelve
together and showed them the true and rightful purpose for seeking
power and position - to serve the good of others with love and
righteousness. Authority without love, a love that is oriented
towards the good of others, easily becomes self-serving and
brutish.
Jesus does the unthinkable - he reverses the order and values of
the world's way of thinking. If you want to be great then become a
servant for others. If you want to be first, then become a slave
rather than a master. How shocking and contradictory these words
must have rung in the disciples ears and in our own ears as well!
Power and position are tools that can be used to serve and advance
one's own interests or to serve the interests of others. In the
ancient world servants and slaves had no personal choice - they
were compelled to serve the interests of their masters and do
whatever they were commanded.
Freedom and servanthood
The model of servanthood which Jesus presents to his disciples is
based on personal choice and freedom - the decision to put others
first in my care and concern and the freedom to serve them with
love and compassion rather than with fear or desire for reward.
That is why the Apostle Paul summed up Jesus' teaching on freedom
and love with the exhortation, "For freedom Christ has set us
free... only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the
flesh [for indulging in sinful and selfish desires], but through
love be servants of one another" (Galatians 5:1,13). Jesus, the
Lord and Master, sets himself as the example. He told his
disciples that he "came not to be served but to serve" (Matthew
20:28). True servanthood is neither demeaning nor oppressive
because its motivating force is love rather than pride or fear.
The Lord Jesus summed up his mission by telling his disciples
that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew
20:28). The shedding of his blood on the cross was the payment for
our sins - a ransom that sets us free from slavery to wrong and
hurtful desires and addictions. Jesus laid down his life for us.
This death to self is the key that sets us free to offer our lives
as a sacrifice of thanksgiving and love for the Lord and for the
people he calls us to serve.
Can you drink my cup?
The Lord Jesus asks each of us the same question he asked of James
and John, "Can you drink the cup that I am to drink"? The
cup he had in mind was a cup of sacrificial service and death to
self - even death on a cross. What kind of cup might the
Lord Jesus have in mind for each one of us who are his followers?
For some disciples such a cup will entail physical suffering and
the painful struggle of martyrdom - the readiness to die for one's
faith in Christ. But for many followers of Jesus Christ, it
entails the long routine of the Christian life, with all its daily
sacrifices, disappointments, set-backs, struggles, and
temptations. A disciple must be ready to lay down his or her life
in martyrdom for Christ and be ready to lay it down each and every
day in the little and big sacrifices required as well.
An early church father summed up Jesus' teaching with the
expression "to serve is to reign with Christ". We share in God's
reign by laying down our lives in humble service of one another as
Jesus did for our sake. Are you ready to lay down your life and to
serve others as Jesus did?
Lord Jesus, make me a servant of love for your kingdom, that I may seek to serve rather than be served. Inflame my heart with your love that I may give generously and serve others joyfully for your sake.
Psalm 31:5-6, 14-16
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
6 You hate those who pay regard to vain idols; but I trust in the LORD.
14 But I trust in you, O LORD, I say, 'You are my God.'
15 My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors!
16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Do you wish to be great? by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Do you wish to be great? Then begin from what is slightest. Do
you plan to construct a high and mighty building? Then think first
about the foundation of humility. When people plan to erect a
lofty and large building, they make the foundations all the
deeper. But those who lay the foundation are forced to descend
into the depths." (excerpt from Sermon 69, 2)
