Meditation Minute

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

 

“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.”

 

Gospel Reading: Matthew 20:20-28

 

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him, with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 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." 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." 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." And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at 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 men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

 

How many times do we ask Jesus for special privileges?  How many times do we fall on our knees and ask God to make us the top dog.  In today’s Gospel reading, James and John’s mom, kneeling before Jesus in a position of humility, ask Jesus to put her sons in a position of superiority over the other Apostles.  Jesus does not say no, but replies, “You do not know what you are asking.”  Jesus was sent to this earth to be our Lord and savior, not to lord over us. To be at the right hand of the Father, we must not be the master but be the slave. We must be willing to do for others. We must be willing to make great sacrifices for the benefit of those in need. Just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, we too must take on a life of service for others. Jesus’ service to mankind was exemplified in all his actions and his teaching. His mission was one of enduring love and compassion for all man, not just those that believed. He reached out to the sick and to the sinner; to the Jew and the Gentile. Jesus lets us know that for us to have any true authority, we must sit in the back and humble ourselves to those that need us. He tells us that we must be last to be first. God gives each of us so many graces not so we can hold these powers over people, but so we can use these powers to create the Kingdom of God right here on earth. We must be a community for others. We must be willing to be generous with our gifts, our talents and our time for everything that we own was given to us by God above. Even the life that we breathe is a gift from God. We do not own anything. We may not always be popular nor seen as the king of the playground, but we will always be loved by our Father in Heaven. Are you willing to commit to God? Are you willing to drink from the same sacrificial cup? For us, the sacrificial cup means a daily commitment to Christ, daily prayer, a daily renewal of our faith and most of all, service to others.

 

A Simple Prayer

 

Lord, Jesus, make me a servant; humble and meek.

Lord let me lift up those who are weak;

And may the prayer of my heart always be - Make me a servant.

 

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon