Gospel: Matthew 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.”
Reflection:
The Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines empathy as:
“the action of understanding, being aware of, being
sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings,
thoughts, and experience of another of either the
past or present without having the feelings,
thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an
objectively explicit manner.” Some are born with the gift
of empathy. Some have to really work hard at practicing
empathy. In today’s gospel neither the disciples nor the
mother of the sons of thunder show empathy towards Jesus.
Here is Jesus achingly confiding in his beloved ones the
heartbreaking reality of his impending death. But they do not
have a word of consolation for him. Worse, some choose that
very moment or immediately after, to bring up issues of their
preferred seating arrangements in heaven! Mercifully, Jesus was
empathy-incarnate. Without taking offence, but setting aside
his own pain, he gives them a patient, kind hearing.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2022