2nd Week of Lent
08th March 2023 (Wednesday) Readings and Reflection
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Reading of the Day
First Reading: Jeremiah 18:18-20
They said, "Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words." Hear me, O Lord, and listen to the voice of my adversaries. Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before you to speak good for them, to turn away your wrath from them.
Psalm 31:5-6, 14, 15-16 (R. see 17b)
R/. Save me, O Lord, in your merciful love.
Gospel : Matthew 20:17-28
At that time: As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." 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, "Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the chalice that I am to drink?" They said to him, "We are able." He said to them, "You will drink my chalice, 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 ones 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."
Daily Gospel Reflection
The Reflection by Fr. Thumma Mariadas Reddy MSFS{alertWarning}
Main Theme: Life is a trial!
Indicative: The fact of suffering is real in everyone’s life. All the more, it is true in the life of a true follower of Christ{alertSuccess}
1. Today’s word of God presents to us a clear contrast between the ways of God and the ways of the world. The world shuns every suffering and difficulty. It seeks shortcuts to go up, gain or achieve something. It evades every possible adversity or risk
2. Further, the world equates greatness with the power to dominate others, to dictate terms over others, and to be served. Accordingly, the world seeks greatness in power, position, prestige, fame, popularity, et cetera
3. Jesus shatters such wrong notions and pursuits. He makes it crystal clear that the way of following him is the way of suffering. This is so evident in both readings. In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah goes through an intense ordeal of suffering. He suffers ingratitude, hostility, rejection, betrayal and persecution
4. Jesus himself was a victim of unjust suffering. But neither the prophet nor Jesus would run away from suffering. They would not be depressed. They would not blame God. Instead, they surrender themselves totally to God. They make it clear that there are no shortcuts to fulfilling our mission
5. Further, Jesus teaches that true greatness is not in domination but in submission, not in exterior power but in the interior power of the Spirit. One is great when he serves others. In fact, the very purpose of Jesus’ coming itself is this: to serve and not to be served
Imperative: They are great, those who serve others and those who are served. This is a radical reversal. If only people follow this principle of greatness in humble service, all will be truly great!{alertSuccess}