Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - Wednesday in the Second Week of Lent
[Jeremiah 18:18-20 and Matthew 20:17-28]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.
After hearing Jeremiah and Jesus talk about what preaching the gospel could demand, one wonders why those two apostles finagled their mama into approaching Jesus about privileged places "in your kingdom?" Jeremiah's privileged place turned out to be the bottom of a well. Jesus' privileged place turned out to be on a cross! Jesus' words, quoted above, are a reply to James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Ambition of their kind has no place in Jesus' kingdom. They probably were thinking that eventually they would sit and watch everybody else work! That's what the rulers of their day did! It's not unheard of in our times either! Jesus came to bring a different kind of kingdom - one of service, one of "washing the feet," one of suffering for others. If someone is ambitious to serve and not to be served, that is the initial qualification. But it must be motivated by genuine faith, love and caring and not simply altruism and humanism if the service is to be in the name of Christ. There are some great examples around to follow. We don't have to look to the big heros like Mother Teresa! At the parish in Naples, FL, where I am currently preaching a parish mission, I attended a meeting of the Youth Group. One of the speakers was a young woman who founded an orphanage in Ethiopia! She started from virtually nothing! I'm sure we know of others who do similar things and even closer to home. These folks put "skin" on the kingdom. So can we! AMEN