2ND WEEK OF LENT
Psalter: Week 2 / (Violet)
Ps 31:5-6, 14, 15-16
Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
1st Reading: Jer 18:18-20
Then, they said, “Come, let us plot against Jeremiah, for even without him, there will be priests to interpret the teachings of the law; there will always be wise men to impart counsel and prophets to proclaim the word. Come, let us accuse him and strike him down instead of listening to what he says.”
Hear me, O Yahweh! Listen to what my accusers say.
Is evil the reward for good? Why do they dig a grave for me? Remember how I stood before you to speak well on their behalf so that your anger might subside.
Gospel: Mt 20:17-28
When Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “See, we are going to Jerusalem. There, the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law; and they will condemn him to death. They will hand him over to the foreigners, who will mock him, scourge him and crucify him. But he will be raised to life on the third day.”
Then the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down, to ask a favor. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?” And she answered, “Here, you have my two sons. Grant, that they may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said to the brothers, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We can.” Jesus replied, “You will indeed drink my cup; but to sit at my right or at my left is not for me to grant. That will be for those for whom my Father has prepared it.”
The other ten heard all this, and were angry with the two brothers. Then Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of nations behave like tyrants, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you: whoever wants to be great in your community, let him minister to the community. And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man, who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life to redeem many.”
Reflections
MAKE YOURSELF THE SERVANT OF ALL
Jesus as a Formator never ceased to point out to his disciples the difference between the values of the world and the values of the Kingdom of God he was establishing on earth. One of the most glaring contrast of these two values is the understanding of power. The world’s view of power is to use it for domination, exploitation, oppression or for vainglory. When one has wealth or in a position of power, one expects adulation, admiration, praise, prestige. One wants to be in the center of everything. One can also use power to coerce people to do what one wants them to do, to exploit their gifts to augment one’s wealth. Worse still, one can use power to cause suffering to people who oppose and do not follow one’s will. In contrast to this, Jesus wishes us to use power for the good of people, to serve them in their needs, to make them bloom. Pope Francis is truly a disciple of Jesus in this regard. He uses the power and prestige of the papacy to give joy to people, to heal the sick, to denounce those who cause poverty and suffering in the world.
Daily Reflection 2018
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
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