20230308 ARE YOU READY TO DRINK THE CUP OF SERVICE?
08 March 2023, Wednesday, 2nd Week of Lent
First reading |
Jeremiah 18:18-20 © |
My enemies are digging a pit for me
‘Come on,’ they said, ‘let us concoct a plot against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of instruction without him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word. Come on, let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to every word he says.’
Listen to me, O Lord,
hear what my adversaries are saying.
Should evil be returned for good?
For they are digging a pit for me.
Remember how I stood in your presence
to plead on their behalf,
to turn your wrath away from them.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 30(31):5-6,14-16 © |
Save me in your love, O Lord.
Release me from the snares they have hidden
for you are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.
Save me in your love, O Lord.
I have heard the slander of the crowd,
fear is all around me,
as they plot together against me,
as they plan to take my life.
Save me in your love, O Lord.
But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;
I say: ‘You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.’
Save me in your love, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Or: | Jn8:12 |
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel |
Matthew 20:17-28 © |
They will condemn the Son of Man to death
Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.’
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.’
When the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
ARE YOU READY TO DRINK THE CUP OF SERVICE?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 18:18-20; PS 31:5-6, 14-16; MT 20:17-28]
Giving ourselves in service to the community, the Church or the country is indeed a noble thing. We are grateful that within the Christian community, many have offered themselves to serve in the Church freely. Many men and women have given themselves voluntarily to the call of priestly and religious vocations in the Church. Many more of our faithful serve in the Church as volunteers, full-time or part-time, whether in Church ministries or charitable organizations. Yet not many know that even whilst giving ourselves in service to the Church, there is a price to be paid, not just in terms of monetary rewards but the need to drink the cup of service.
What is this cup of service? The cup in the bible is often referred to as the cup of wrath and the cup of suffering. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane prayed, “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Lk 22:42) In the gospel reading today, Jesus asked the same question to James and John, “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?” This is the cup of suffering, of rejection, humiliation and even death. This was what Jeremiah went through himself. In the first reading, we read of the oppositions against Him from the rulers and the authorities. They were irritated and annoyed by His message. No one would stand a dissenting voice. Jeremiah was seen as a nuisance. Jesus in the gospel too warned His disciples the third time as He approached Jerusalem, “Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he will rise again.” He would be unjustly condemned to death. He would be humiliated by the soldiers and the crowd, stripped naked and paraded. He would be physically tortured and disfigured. Finally, He would die on the cross.
The question is: are we ready to drink this cup of service? Unfortunately, we are all so blinded by our ambition, subtle pride and self-confidence that like the apostles, we reply without hesitation, “We can.” And Jesus would say to us, “Very well, you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.” Being blind and ignorant to our real motives in service to the Lord is the cause of much tragedy and pain. The reality is that in wanting to serve the Lord and His people, the sin of pride and self-centeredness will subtly manifest itself in the way we do things and act. We pay lip-service that we want to serve God with humility and selflessness, presumably, proven that we are working for the Church for free and even if paid, we assume that we can get a better paid job with better benefits and perks in the commercial world.
Yet, when we read the undertones of how our clergy, religious and faithful talk, it smacks of careerism even in Church ministry. When a priest is transferred to a smaller parish or made as assistant priest, we would say that he is “demoted.” Conversely, when he is given a bigger appointment, we say he is “promoted.” Such terms used already reveal our unconscious perception of service. It has to do with power, glory and honour. This is the same even in Church organizations. We feel proud to be made chairman of the parish council or some organization. Much as we say that we are not interested in position and power, we are not too willing to let go even when asked. Of course, most of the time this is unconscious, and many are not really aware of their real feelings. Many of us in truth lack self-consciousness. We tend to have an exaggerated notion of who we are, what we can do and how good we are. There is arrogance in us. So we can understand why the political and religious leaders could not accept Jeremiah, the prophets and even Christ Himself.
However, it is more than just power and glory that we seek, like James and John who wanted to be seated one at “your right hand and the other at your left in your kingdom.” It has to do with security and convenience. When we are in a place for a long time, we will eventually find our niche. We become comfortable with the environment, with the lifestyle, the people around us and the things we do. So when we are removed from office, we suddenly feel that we have lost control over the situation and our lives. We can no longer determine our lives because others probably will have charge over us. Things might change and most of us are not ready for change because we are creatures of habit. So it is natural for people to react and defend their interests, especially when the status quo is changed. We all need to have a sense of security to live our lives in peace.
But most of all, many of us are not ready for rejection and suffering in service. We can feel with Jeremiah when he cried to the Lord, “Listen to me Lord, hear what my adversaries are saying. Should evil be returned for good? For they are digging a pit for me. Remember how I stood in your presence to plead on their behalf, to turn your wrath away from them.” We cannot but feel misunderstood and angry that in spite of all that we do, presumably, without self-interests for our people, we are being slandered, accused falsely and unappreciated. The sense of injustice is felt deeply by those who suffer under such circumstances. We cannot forgive, and we bear resentment in our hearts because we feel wronged, especially when that injustice comes from people whom we love and trust. Indeed, many Church workers and volunteers have left the Church or even given up their faith because of perceived injustices and rejection by the Church.
How do we respond to those who reject us in service? We retaliate, take revenge, hit back at our enemies and seek to destroy them! Even Jeremiah was not that compassionate and forgiving. Understandably, he reacted in anger and disgust. Jeremiah prayed, “Therefore deliver up their children to famine; give them over to the power of the sword, let their wives become childless and widowed. May their men meet death by pestilence, their youths be slain by the sword in battle.” (Jer 18:20f)
But this was never the way of Jesus. He took the path of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. He was like a lamb lead to the slaughter house, and before the shearers He kept silent and did not open His mouth. Christ demonstrated to us the height of true humble and selfless service. Instead of taking revenge and losing His temper with His enemies or His foolish and insensitive apostles, He took all these in stride. With the apostles who were certainly ambitious and self-centred, He did not write them off completely for being so slow to learn the demands of true service. Towards His enemies, Jesus forgave them and made excuses for their ignorance and sins. He wanted to believe that they were innocent, and it was more out of ignorance that they misunderstood Him as a lawbreaker, a heretic, a political rebel and instigator. He prayed for them, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they were doing.”
As St Peter urges us, we too must “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful Creator.” (1 Pt 4:19) Like the psalmist, we must pray to God and surrender all things to His holy will. “Save me in your love, O Lord. Release me from the snares they have hidden for you are my refuge, Lord. Into your hands I commend my spirit. It is you who will redeem me, Lord. But as for me, I trust in you, Lord; I say: ‘You are my God. My life is in your hands, deliver me from the hands of those who hate me.” This then is the path of true service to the Lord and the way to follow Jesus, by giving our “life as a ransom for many”.
In the final analysis, we are reminded that we are called to be servants not just to serve. We must bear in mind, especially those who are leaders and in authority, that their authority invested in them is for humble and disinterested service, not dominance or for one’s security and benefits. In the gospel, Jesus reminds us that greatness lies in service. “You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” People admire great people who are powerful and influential, but only love those who serve humbly, selflessly and generously. So if we are servants, then we have no rights. We should be grateful to God that we are given an opportunity to serve Him. Jesus taught us, “So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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