Matthew 20: 17-28
While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.”
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes 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 a ransom for many.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Call to Serve, Not to Be Served
Over the years, I’ve come to draw a great deal of hope and consolation from the first apostles. Though they walked the same roads as Jesus and witnessed his many healings, they still struggled to grasp who he truly was—even with him standing right in front of them.
They wrestled with many of the same things we do: ambition, power, prestige, and even recognizing the Spirit at work around them. Perhaps this shouldn’t surprise us. Jesus chose ordinary men—tax collectors, fishermen—not the wealthy or the highly educated.
Even at this early point of our Lenten journey, our path likely has not been perfectly straight. At times we have been faithful to our promises; at times we may have fallen short.
And so today is a fitting moment to hear again what Jesus tells his apostles: whoever wishes to be great must be the servant of all. We are not called to be served, but to serve, in the remainder of our Lenten journey and throughout the year.
—Jim Bozik is a permanent deacon and Associate for Pastoral Ministry at St. Peter Catholic Church, the Jesuit church in the Diocese of Charlotte, NC.
Prayer
God of love,
help us to use the gifts you give us
for the people who need us.
Help us to see their need and, inspired by your Son,
reach beyond ourselves,
beyond our institutions,
to the very margins and bring all to you, the center.
May all we do be in preparation to serve more fully,
seeking you in the world that we are invited to create with you.
Send your Spirit to keep us aglow with the desire of justice.
—Author unknown, published on jesuitresource.org