Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
The Lenten readings open our minds not merely to the need for conversion, but also to the need for God in general. Today’s readings prayerfully call on God for protection and for extraordinary help. We are reminded of our own requests for shelter from the storms of life and for blessings beyond what we deserve. In the first reading the people of Judah are plotting against the prophet Jeremiah. They conspire to destroy Jeremiah with his own tongue; “let us carefully note his every word.” The prophet, sensing the hatefulness growing around him, prays for protection. And in what seems a great irony, Jeremiah is being plotted against by the very people for whom he has advocated protection from God’s wrath. The plot twist is not lost on us, in that many of us know of or have experienced how a good deed can be repaid with unkindness and sometimes outright evil. We, like Jeremiah, might be dumbfounded at these unforeseen consequences of our actions.
Our prayer might be today’s psalm response, “Save me, O Lord.” The psalm not only echoes Jeremiah’s plea but also foreshadows Jesus final hours as alluded to by Jesus in today’s Gospel. Matthew’s Jesus declares, “The Son of Man will be handed over…mocked and scourged and crucified.” These prophetic words of Jesus were essentially ignored by Jesus' closest followers as witnessed by the rest of today’s Gospel. Immediately following this third prediction of the suffering servant, Jesus is given an absurd request; “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus asks if they are prepared to drink the cup from which Jesus will drink, and they answer affirmatively. As they talk, the other disciples become angry because of what seems to be their own jealousy. This absurdity misses the point of Christ’s prophecy. How often do we miss the point of Christ’s message to us by failing to listen?
Jesus almost demands the disciples listen by alluding to the meaning of His prophecy. This call to attention speaks to us today. “The Son of Man did not come to serve but to serve.” This service comes to us in the form of the suffering servant. Jesus pays our ransom becoming a slave and dying for us. Jesus accepts the cup He is given. We too are called to be servants, who accept the same cup as Christ.
What character are we in the story? Are we the one with the absurd requests? Are we like Jeremiah begging God to have this cup of suffering pass us by? No matter what our answer, we must ask ourselves: Are we really listening to the word that God is giving us today? This message is drawing us closer to Christ’s life, death and resurrection. This journey extends to us and invites us to walk with Christ to the cross and beyond. For the sake of the Gospel, are we prepared to die?
-Michael Montgomery