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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. In the Greek, the words diakános and Doulos are used when the Lord describes who they must become, diakános and Duolos – servant and slave – to not just God, but to their friends. 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 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 republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 166.
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