As Jesus was
going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and
said to them on the way, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of
Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will
condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and
scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
Then the
mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him
homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, “What do you wish?”
She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right
and the other at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus said in reply, “You do not
know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?”
They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you will indeed drink, but
to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those
for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” When the ten heard this, they
became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, “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.”
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Reflection:
What makes us
worthy in the eyes of Jesus? Obviously it’s not our title/s or any worldly
appendages. What makes us worthy in the eyes of Jesus is our readiness to
humbly serve without seeking any recognition in return. This is what makes us
worthy in the eyes of Jesus.
Why do we
follow Jesus in the first place? Is it for us to be exalted in the community
where we belong? Is it for us to have influence? Do we make Jesus happy when we
use Him for us to be exalted? Of course not! But this is where we always fall!
We use Jesus as our springboard for us to be exalted and respected.
Can’t we
simply fade away in silence after we’ve served our church or after we’ve done
good to our fellowmen? Can’t we simply fade away and let our gentle and
merciful God be in front so that He could attract more believers?
Many of us
are afraid to be humble because we perceive humility as weakness. But truth be
told, our humility is powerful very powerful that it creates endless echoes in
the hearts of those who see it. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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