Missing the Point
Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Daily Reading: Matthew 20:17 – 28
Focus Passage:
Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." (Matt. 20:17 – 21)
The reading lays the clear-headed, discerning way that Jesus dealt with life-matters alongside the illusions with which others operated on a regular basis.
Jesus recognized the path that had been laid before him, a difficult path of suffering, betrayal, death, and ultimate life. He also experienced the expectations others had for him, unrealistic as they were.
Jesus never shied away from speaking bluntly about his death. Suffering, betrayal, and death may sound ominous to us, but Jesus modeled a life-posture for moving into the most difficult and anxiety-producing moments of life. He walked forward with resolve, peace, and the inner freedom that comes from not living in fear of what the future might hold.
Even as Jesus was stepping openly and faithfully toward his own death and ultimate life, those around him were obsessed with trivialities. Some asked, “Who will be seated in the places of power?” Then others became envious and indignant the question was asked in the first place.
An obsessive concern for power and control reveals a self-centered agenda, a life-stance that cannot fully trust “unless I call the shots” or “unless I am in control.” Our culture is obsessed with power and control, manipulating people and managing outcomes. We’ve made an industry out of helping people manipulate others, often blessing it as “good leadership.” Self-help and leadership books are commonplace in bookstores, and it’s easy to start up a discussion around their principles with others who are on the leadership fast-track.
Then you have another group of disciples in the passage, equally self-interested, who are indignant that the first group would grapple for power. Their indignation is a form of judgment which dehumanizes the other. Those who judge in this way believe their reality is everyone’s reality. I falsely judge my neighbor by my own measure of what is appropriate and inappropriate.
Jesus said that the truly great ones serve others. He’s not giving us a strategy for climbing the Western success-ladder: “Aspire to serve in order to be great!” Rather, he’s speaking of a life-style, a way of ordering life which truly transforms the person and the world.
Jesus’ way of life grows out of a transformed heart and bears fruit by giving that transformation away in the world.
For Reflection:
As you consider this passage today, with whom do you identify more closely? Do you find yourself today more like the persons who were interested in gaining power? Or are you dealing more with envy today?
Enter the passage as best you can, allowing yourself to be in conversation with Jesus as you truly are. You don’t have to clean up yourself before engaging with Jesus. Simply tell him how it is with you and what it feels like to be you today.
Daily Reading: Matthew 20:17 – 28
Focus Passage:
Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." (Matt. 20:17 – 21)
The reading lays the clear-headed, discerning way that Jesus dealt with life-matters alongside the illusions with which others operated on a regular basis.
Jesus recognized the path that had been laid before him, a difficult path of suffering, betrayal, death, and ultimate life. He also experienced the expectations others had for him, unrealistic as they were.
Jesus never shied away from speaking bluntly about his death. Suffering, betrayal, and death may sound ominous to us, but Jesus modeled a life-posture for moving into the most difficult and anxiety-producing moments of life. He walked forward with resolve, peace, and the inner freedom that comes from not living in fear of what the future might hold.
Even as Jesus was stepping openly and faithfully toward his own death and ultimate life, those around him were obsessed with trivialities. Some asked, “Who will be seated in the places of power?” Then others became envious and indignant the question was asked in the first place.
An obsessive concern for power and control reveals a self-centered agenda, a life-stance that cannot fully trust “unless I call the shots” or “unless I am in control.” Our culture is obsessed with power and control, manipulating people and managing outcomes. We’ve made an industry out of helping people manipulate others, often blessing it as “good leadership.” Self-help and leadership books are commonplace in bookstores, and it’s easy to start up a discussion around their principles with others who are on the leadership fast-track.
Then you have another group of disciples in the passage, equally self-interested, who are indignant that the first group would grapple for power. Their indignation is a form of judgment which dehumanizes the other. Those who judge in this way believe their reality is everyone’s reality. I falsely judge my neighbor by my own measure of what is appropriate and inappropriate.
Jesus said that the truly great ones serve others. He’s not giving us a strategy for climbing the Western success-ladder: “Aspire to serve in order to be great!” Rather, he’s speaking of a life-style, a way of ordering life which truly transforms the person and the world.
Jesus’ way of life grows out of a transformed heart and bears fruit by giving that transformation away in the world.
For Reflection:
As you consider this passage today, with whom do you identify more closely? Do you find yourself today more like the persons who were interested in gaining power? Or are you dealing more with envy today?
Enter the passage as best you can, allowing yourself to be in conversation with Jesus as you truly are. You don’t have to clean up yourself before engaging with Jesus. Simply tell him how it is with you and what it feels like to be you today.
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