Matthew 20:17-28
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."
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for our nation's leaders to defend authentic, Christ-centered truth.
Sometimes I get over-zealous. So much so that I lose sight of what is the most loving and humble response. I know the zealousness of James and John when they respond, "We can."
This past Ash Wednesday, I had a revelation as I was going to mass with the woman I am courting. For Lent, I have committed to driving the speed limit. As I knelt down next to her at mass, I realized that it also meant driving the speed limit with her heart in our relationship. It meant driving the speed limit in how I take of myself. It meant following the posted signs even though my heart may want to follow the flow of traffic.
I pray that we all get to our destination safely, obeying the laws of the road that leads us there. We'll get there through God's grace; we don't need to be an obstacle to that grace. Take care and God Bless.
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