Today's Gospel
Matthew 2:17-28
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."
Matthew 2:17-28
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."
Reflection
Matthew is teaching us today about service. To serve someone else means to surrender your will and desires for another. Jesus and our most Blessed Mother are the ultimate example of selfless desires and service. Jesus' attitude was "not my will, but your will be done" (Luke 22:42) and Mary said, "Be it done to be according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). In surrendering to God's will, they sacrificed their desires, and chose to trust in God's greater plan. They exemplify full surrender and conformity to the will of God. Although His will did not save them from suffering, it did bring them eternal joy.
The secret to Jesus and Mary's peace and joy in doing God's will, lies in the fact that they made their one desire to do what God desired. Do we surrender like Jesus and Mary? We can get frustrated, lose hope and despair thinking that God forgot about us when things do not go as we want. Or how often do we force our own will and the things that we want instead of listening to what God wants. What if we asked that our desires reflect God's desire for us? When we humble ourselves and serve, we forget about ourselves and are able to see the bigger picture that God sees. We learn what He desires for us and our desires become His and His will becomes our own.
May we take the time this Lent to put aside our desires, to serve others and to fully surrender the rest to God and trust in His perfect plan for our lives. Today, say a decade of the Rosary and ask the Blessed Mother to intercede and unite your desires to her most loving and merciful son Jesus.
Matthew is teaching us today about service. To serve someone else means to surrender your will and desires for another. Jesus and our most Blessed Mother are the ultimate example of selfless desires and service. Jesus' attitude was "not my will, but your will be done" (Luke 22:42) and Mary said, "Be it done to be according to thy word" (Luke 1:38). In surrendering to God's will, they sacrificed their desires, and chose to trust in God's greater plan. They exemplify full surrender and conformity to the will of God. Although His will did not save them from suffering, it did bring them eternal joy.
The secret to Jesus and Mary's peace and joy in doing God's will, lies in the fact that they made their one desire to do what God desired. Do we surrender like Jesus and Mary? We can get frustrated, lose hope and despair thinking that God forgot about us when things do not go as we want. Or how often do we force our own will and the things that we want instead of listening to what God wants. What if we asked that our desires reflect God's desire for us? When we humble ourselves and serve, we forget about ourselves and are able to see the bigger picture that God sees. We learn what He desires for us and our desires become His and His will becomes our own.
May we take the time this Lent to put aside our desires, to serve others and to fully surrender the rest to God and trust in His perfect plan for our lives. Today, say a decade of the Rosary and ask the Blessed Mother to intercede and unite your desires to her most loving and merciful son Jesus.
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