Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent (February 28, 2018): Giving your life as a ransom

Today’s Readings:

Jeremiah 18:18-20
Ps 31:5-6, 14-16
Matthew 20:17-28
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022818.cfm

USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/18_02_28.mp3

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew.

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.”

Good News Reflection: 

Do you want to be like Jesus? Really??!

Most of us are like Zebedee’s sons in today’s Gospel passage. We think we want to follow Christ (we think we’re willing to drink of the same cup he did), especially in moments when we feel excited about our faith because of a great liturgy or an inspirational parish mission or an awesome prayer experience during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Jesus invites us to take his cup and drink from it, and we say yes, of course, we want everything that he offers. But then we throw down his cup because it tastes so bitter!

It’s very distasteful to serve “the needs of all” as Jesus tells us we must. Aspiring to greatness in the spiritual life means imitating Jesus all the way to the cross, all the way to giving our lives as a ransom for others, all the way to giving up our comfort zones and embracing the discomfort zones that are foisted upon us, all the way to giving up our personal agendas for the sake of the afflicted.

We prefer mediocrity, settling for a less demanding spiritual life. We put ourselves at the center of our faith, not the cross of Christ.

Jesus is the ransom, the sacrifice, the Savior and Redeemer. For this reason, you and I have been rescued from the torments of separation from God. But there is more to our salvation than this. We cannot grow spiritually unless we put our faith into action, and that means imitating Jesus all the way to where it counts the most, which is on the cross. This is where our love for God is proven and matured. This is where our love for others makes the biggest difference.

The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah experienced this kind of suffering. As we see in today’s first reading, he was hated for speaking the truth, but he continued his ministry, because he cared about the straying Israelites.

When others sin against us, if we forgive them, we hang on the cross with Jesus, saying with him, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t understand.” Such undeserved love is how we ransom our lives for the sake of others. We forgive them (we let go of the grudge and pray that God will bless them) no matter whether they start treating us right or not, even if we cannot remain in that person’s life.

We forgive them, not because we’ll get a loving, healthy response that will make us happy (which often does not happen), but because we want to follow Jesus. We want to be holy.

When we pray the “Our Father,” we ask God to forgive us as much as we forgive others. That binds us to the “contract” of love. God will forgive us only as much as we forgive others. Even so, we don’t forgive others to make God forgive us; we forgive because we want to be like Jesus.

Today’s Prayer:

Lord, preserve me from my selfishness and from caring only for my own interests. Correct me if I do it and help me to be a true instrument of Your Name, serving my neighbors. Amen.

© 2018 by Terry A. Modica

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