TODAY’S READINGS

In today’s Gospel (Mt 20:17-28), as Jesus death approaches, He really lays into the scribes and Pharisees. One verse that has caused controversy since the Protestant Revolt:

“[W]hoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” (vv. 26-27)

“Jesus stresses that Christians ought to be servants and slaves to one another. This is, in practice, a more difficult proposition than being servants and slaves to God. once we have accepted the reality of God as Master of the Universe, it is easy to perform the gesture of self-subordination to him. In fact, in such a gesture there always lurks the temptation of a certain exhibitionism and even self-aggrandizement by my association with the Lord of all. Jesus’ invitation here, in fact, abolishes all verticality that could be construed as a ladder of social ascent, even with ‘God’ at the top.” (Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word, Volume III, 289)

“Vatican II puts a marked emphasis on this service which the Church offers to the world and which Christians should show as proof of their Christian identity: ‘[T]his sacred synod, proclaiming the noble destiny of man and championing the Godlike seed which has been sown in him, offers to mankind the honest assistance of the Church in fostering that brotherhood of all men which corresponds to this destiny of theirs. Inspired by no earthly ambition, the Church seeks but a solitary goal: to carry forward the work of Christ under the lead of the befriending Spirit. And Christ entered this world to give witness to the truth, to rescue and not to sit in judgment, to serve and not to be served.’ [(Gaudium et spes, 3, taken from vatican.va)[” (The Navarre Bible: St Matthew, 177)

Jesus says this to James and John after their mother advocated for them to have a special place in the Lord’s kingdom, upsetting the other ten apostles. The takeaway for all the Twelve were the words of Jesus highlighted here. The idea of being a servant, and even more so, a slave, is repugnant to modern man, especially when the one we are asked to be subordinate to has a low standing in our eyes. And since we are to act this way toward everyone, the number of “undesirables” in our estimation will be a high number.

So, the thing for us to remember is this:

Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.” (Jn 13:16)

God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8)

God bless.