Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
In an interesting way, today’s Gospel calls me to consider the way I most closely identify with Christ and the attitudes and actions that flow from that identification. I might ask myself; do I most closely identify with Christ in his earthly ministry, with his suffering and death on the Cross, with his Resurrection, or with his Ascension and eternal reign? From that, what are the implications for my attitudes and actions? Today’s Gospel calls all of this into question. Will I approach Jesus like James and John, or will I approach our Lord in greater humility, desiring that the motivation, attitude, and actions of Christ might become my own?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus bares his soul to the Twelve, disclosing to them God’s plan for him. He holds nothing back, telling them everything that he is about to suffer and the horrific death that awaits him in Jerusalem. Next, the mother of James and John makes an audacious request of Jesus. On behalf of her sons, she asks for a place of honor and prominence for them in the Kingdom of God. Every time I read this text, I’m appalled. Jesus has just disclosed the terror and trauma that awaits him, and not only that but has revealed the depth of his sacrificial love. Jesus’ friends ignore his revelation of abject humility and suffering servanthood and slap him in the face with their pomposity and arrogance. Ironically, they present Jesus with an example of the sin that he is prepared to take to the Cross. I feel the pain of this insult in my gut as I read this account. And yet . . . and yet I must ask myself to examine my own attitude and approach to my discipleship.
Praying this Gospel, I realized that I tend to identify most with the Resurrected and Ascended Christ. My reigning Lord sends his Holy Spirit to fill and fuel me; he walks with me as my constant friend and companion; he leads and guides me; he fills me with hope and assurance of his constant presence. This is an easy identification – it’s comforting, it’s energizing, it’s invigorating. More difficult is to identify with the suffering Christ. More challenging is to humble myself such that my attitude becomes that of Christ Jesus, who, as St Paul says, emptied himself taking the form of a servant (Philippians 2).
This Lent, as part of my prayer, I’m seeking to unite myself with Christ on the Cross. I want to know him more intimately there. I want to understand deeply what it means that I am united with Christ in his crucifixion. St Paul writes, “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom. 6:5). Perhaps I’ve tended to get it backwards – focusing on resurrection first. But of course, one must die before one can rise. It’s in dying that we learn humility; it’s in dying that we learn radical servanthood; it’s in dying that we become selfless.
I’ve realized, that like James and John, my tendency can be my own selfish ambition and vain conceit, wanting to be first rather than last, looking to my own interests rather than the interests of others. Uniting myself with the Cross of Christ forces me to confront these tendencies and attitudes. How can I stand in front of the Crucified One and be self-serving, petty, and entitled? How can I, like the mother of James and John, look the Suffering Servant in the eye and demand my own way?
Alongside today’s readings, praying Philippians 2:1-11 might be fruitful. Let us ask God to give us the graces we need to unite ourselves with the Crucified One and to follow him in the way of the Cross. Today, may we have an attitude of radical servanthood. Amen!
Elizabeth Wells