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| “Christ Washing the Apostles Feet" by Dirck van Baburen, c. 1616 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading I: Jeremiah 18:18-20
The people of Judah and the citizens
of Jerusalem said,
“Come, let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah.
It will not mean the loss of instruction from
the priests,
nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages
from the prophets.
And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue;
let us carefully note his every word.”
Heed me, O LORD,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak in their behalf,
to turn away your wrath from them.
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Commentary on Jer 18:18-20
This
passage comes from that part of the Book of Jeremiah referred to as “Oracles in
the Days of Jehoiakim.” The good king, Josiah, has died and with him the
reforms Jeremiah was supporting. Now, in Jeremiah’s time, idolatry is creeping
back in and the prophet is becoming unpopular. In his fourth
"confession," we hear the forces gathering against him in this reading.
We also hear him pray to God that he might be remembered for his faithfulness
(see also Psalm 1:1-6).
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31:5-6, 14, 15-16
R. (17b) Save me, O Lord, in your
kindness.
You will free me from the snare they set for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hands I commend my spirit;
you will redeem me, O LORD, O faithful God.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten
me from every side,
as they consult together against me, plotting to
take my life.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
But my trust is in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”
In your hands is my destiny; rescue me
from the clutches of my enemies and my
persecutors.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
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Commentary on Ps
31:5-6, 14, 15-16
Psalm
31 is a lament in the face of adversity. These strophes contain the first
mention in the Psalms of “O faithful God.” The meaning put forward is
that God always remembers his promise of salvation to those who believe in him.
The psalmist continues, asking for protection from those who would persecute
the faithful.
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Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28
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.”
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Commentary on Mt 20:17-28
St. Matthew’s Gospel reading gives us the
third and most detailed description of the coming passion. Emphasizing
the lack of understanding of this event, the mother of James and John asks
Jesus to elevate them to places of honor in his kingdom. The Lord
questions the two, asking if they can drink the cup he will drink (accept the
fate of martyrdom). When they answer in the affirmative, the Lord almost
pronounces their acceptance as a sentence of death.
The squabbling that occurs between the disciples
following this exchange prompts the Lord to define Christian leadership again,
saying that those who would lead must be servants. They cannot be like the
scribes and Pharisees.
"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: "In
proclaiming the noble destiny of man and affirming an element of the divine in
him, this sacred Synod offers to cooperate unreservedly with mankind in
fostering a sense of brotherhood to correspond to this destiny of theirs. The
Church is not motivated by an earthly ambition but is interested in one thing
only--to carry on the work of Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for
He came into the world to bear witness to the truth, to save and not to judge,
to serve and not to be served" ("Gaudium Et Spes", 3 cf.
"Lumen Gentium", 32: "Ad Gentes", 12; "Unitatis
Redintegratio", 7)." [4]
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Reflection:
The common thread running through scripture
today is not a happy one for those of us who claim the call to discipleship in
the Lord. First we hear one of God’s great messengers, the Prophet
Jeremiah. He is hearing of plots against him, and it is clear from his
prayer that he takes them seriously. He fears for his very life. The
psalm supports the feeling that the faithful are constantly encountering fierce
opposition.
Then, in the Gospel, the passage opens with
Jesus stating in clear terms that “the Son of Man will be handed over to the
chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death.”
Even his own disciples, who, having been schooled in the Hebrew Scriptures,
would have seen this pattern in prophecy, did not understand what was about to
happen.
If it happened to Jeremiah six hundred years
before Christ, and it happened to Jesus as he said it would, why should it be
any different for his followers? He told Zebedee’s sons that they would
follow him in death for their faith. We don’t have to be hit over the
head too many times to guess that our path, followed faithfully, will be met
with significant resistance.
Perhaps, we live in a society that is, for the
most part, somewhat benign -- benign unless we get too ambitious and try
to actually change the hearts of others. If we do that outside the
comforting walls of the Church we see quickly the resistance that waits for
us. The recent mandate by the Department of Health and Human Services has
made it abundantly clear that even if we just try to live a life that respects
human life, our faith is under attack. Our supposedly guaranteed freedom
of religion is only protected as long as it does not interfere with hedonistic
secularism.
Today our prayer is that we be given the
strength of spirit given to the saints. May we be examples of fearless faith to
others and thereby earn some piece of the reward promised to God’s faithful
servants.
Pax
[1]
The picture
is “Christ Washing the Apostles Feet" by Dirck van Baburen, c. 1616
[3]
The
readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm
and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, ©
2002, pp. 166
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