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:
Is evil the reward for good? Jere­miah posed this question to God as he suffered persecution because of doing God’s command.
In the world where evil seemingly prospers while the good is doomed, this is a very relevant question. We have many people who in their
sincere love for God and for others had to suffer. This has been the narrative of many martyrs of the Church who shed their blood for the sake of others.
This has been the story of Jesus whose deep compassion lead to His crucifixion and death.
Bishop Pedro Casaldaliga once said that martyrdom is the mark of one’s authenticity of witnessing. This is the challenge of
being Christ’s followers today. Christian life is to ‘drink the cup’ that Jesus drunk which means to suffer as He did.
The call to serve often bears the consequence of suffering because it confronts evils in the world. Jesus’ invitation is to follow Him
and follo­wing Him means being a servant of all. Such servanthood determines our closeness to Him, not to sit beside Him as the
mother of James and John had reques­ted. Today, to desire a place in Jesus’ kingdom is to sit among those who needed our help; it is to be a servant of all.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2020