Father A is a seasoned priest, beloved not only by his parishioners but everyone who comes in contact with him. Prior to be appointed as the pastor of a large parish, he served as pastor for two busy parishes. And he has taught in the major seminary of his archdiocese, too. And everyone had thought that Fr. A would be the next auxiliary bishop for the vicariate. But, when the former auxiliary bishop of the vicariate stepped down for his retirement, the succeeding bishop was not Fr. A. Instead, it was Fr. B, who is much younger than Fr. A, and this new bishop has obviously less pastoral experience than Fr. A.
So, how do you take this story? Does this make sense
to you?
I invite you to take a minute and ponder upon the
above fictional story before reflecting on today’s Scripture Readings (Jeremiah18:18-20;
Psalm 31:5-6, 14, 15-16; Matthew 20:17-28).
Let’s start with the Gospel Reading (Matthew
20:17-28).
But, it is important to read from the beginning of
Chapter 20 of Mathew’s Gospel to reflect better.
There is Jesus’ parable of the works of the vineyard
(Matthew 20:1-16) preceding today’s Gospel Reading (Matthew 20:17-28). The parable tells that some vineyard workers
worked longer than other workers but all the workers received the same amount
of pay. It is because all of them agreed with the vineyard owners to work for a
day’s wage. What the workers who worked all day long did not know was that the
workers who were brought to work in later hours and thus worked less hours than
them also were recruited for the day’s wage. So when the works who worked longer
hours found that other workers with less hours of work also received the same
amount of the day’s wage, they grumbled against the vineyard wonder, “These last ones worked only one hour, and
you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat”(Matthew
20:12). In response, the vineyard owner said, “My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the
usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last
one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are
you envious because I am generous?”(Matthew 20:13-15). And, with this parable, Jesus makes his
point:
Thus,
the last will be first, and the first will be last
(Matthew 20:16).
Remember, the last sentence of yesterday’s Gospel
Reading (Matthew 23:1-12)?
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted (Matthew 23:12).
What Jesus wants us to learn from the above is that
we must be humble enough not to feel jealous of others in terms of how we are
recognized by God for our works for Him (Matthew 20:1-16). If we are humble, of
course, we will not exalt ourselves or work for ourselves to be exalted, as the
hypocrites do (Matthew 23:1-12). These narratives are important in order to
make most out of today’s Gospel Reading (Matthew 20:17-28).
Today’s Gospel Reading has two parts: vv.17-19 and
vv. 20-28.
First part of today’s Gospel narrative (vv. 17-19)
describes Jesus’ third foretelling of his death and resurrection, after his
first one (Matthew16:21-23) and second one (Matthew 17:22-23). And, the day of his entry into Jerusalem to die
and to be risen as foretold repeatedly (Matthew 21:1-11) was nearing. Thus, there must be an increasing tension in the
air in today’s Gospel.
The second part (vv.20-28) is another segment of
Jesus’ teaching on humility as required for the loyal discipleship, in response
to the mother of James and John asking Jesus a favor for her sons.
Perhaps, it was the maternal instinct of the mother
of James and John to ask Jesus for his favor on her sons to put one of her sons
to his right and the other son on his left, sensing that her sons might have to
die with Jesus as they were coming nearer to Jerusalem. In case they die, she
wanted to make sure that both of her beloved sons receive the best place in the
Kingdom that Jesus was leading the disciples to.
Did Jesus considered her request?
No, not at all.
Jesus is not a fan of favoritism. And, his parable
of the vineyard workers (Matthew 20:1-16) is not about justifying favoritism –
though some people may feel so.
So, Jesus said to James, John, and their mother:
You
do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to
drink? (Matthew 20:22a).
To this, James and John said to Jesus: We can (Matthew 20:22b).
And, Jesus said:
My
cup 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 (Matthew 20:23).
The cup in v. 22 is the cup of passion in the Father’s
will for Jesus:
My
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but
as you will (Matthew 26:39).
Jesus’s foretold death means to drink up from this
cup of passion.
It is the folly of James and John to say that they
can drink from it. However, Jesus was implicating of the martyrdom of James and
long suffering of John to be a martyr without shedding blood like his brother,
James, in saying that they will eventually drink his cup of passion (Matthew
20:23).
Now, what was the reaction of the rest of the
disciples to this development, started with the mother of James and John asking
Jesus a favor for her sons ?
It was probably worse than the vineyard workers who
felt “cheated” by the vineyard owner, in grumbling about their pay, being the
same amount as other workers who worked less hours in Matthew 20:1-16.
The disciples became angry at James and John
(Matthew 20:24).
Why did these ten disciples grow indignant at James
and John?
Perhaps, they felt that Jesus had bestowed a special
honor on them by saying that they would also drink from the cup that he
drinks. These ten disciples must have
felt to James and John as the grumbling vineyard workers have felt about the
other workers.
So, how did Jesus respond to this? As the vineyard
owners did to the grumbling workers? Or, did he respond to appease the anger of
the ten disciples?
This is how Jesus handled the situation, upon
summoning all the twelve disciples, saying:
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
(Matthew 20:25-28).
Basically, Jesus was pretty much like the vineyard owner in Matthew 20:1-16.
The Son of Man, namely, Jesus, is the first one to
drink from the cup of passion for our salvation. And, James was to be the first
one among the twelve to drink from this cup of suffering. But, Jesus tells in
the above words that it does not mean any special status of James.
So, Jesus reiterates what he said in concluding his
parable of the vineyard workers:
Thus,
the last will be first, and the first will be last
(Matthew 20:16).
And later, repeat this teaching in Jerusalem in his
teaching against hypocrisy, as it was in the last sentence of yesterday’s
Gospel Reading:
Whoever
exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted
(Matthew 23:12).
The point here is humility that enables us to be the
last, not to complete to be the first – enables us to continue working for God,
even though nobody acknowledges the hard work, even though not compensated “fairly”
according to the worldly sense.
There is always a temptation to be honored by the
public and by God. And succumbing to
this temptation would make us as arrogant as the hypocrites. Or, this kind of
temptation would make us like the mother of James and John.
Jesus assures, however, that God will exalt whoever
deserves to be exalted – not by the worldly standard but by God’s standard, which is like how the vineyard owner in
Matthew 20:1-16 paid his workers.
Now, while we reflect on today’s Gospel Reading (Matthew
20:17-28) in connection to the preceding parable of the vineyard workers (Matthew
20:1-16) and yesterday’s Gospel Reading (Matthew 23:1-12), let us reflect on
today’s First Reading (Jeremiah 18:18-20).
It is drawn from the fifth confession of Jeremiah
(Jeremiah 18:18-23) in the potter’s house narrative (Jeremiah 18:1-20:18),
which is concluded with Jeremiah’s sixth confession (Jeremiah 20:7-18). The
first four confessions of Jeremiah are found in Jeremiah 11:18-23; 12:1-4;
15:10-21; 17:12-18, candidly reflecting his internal struggles, mixed with
anguish, hope, crushed hope, and struggles to regain hope, in his prophetic
ministry.
Think about it: Who wants to do a job like
Jeremiah’s?
Jeremiah’s ministry began when Josiah, king of
Judah, reformed the governance of the kingdom and the worship enthusiastically.
However, the spirit of Josiah, with which Jeremiah thrived in his ministry, was
crushed with this good king’s death in battle. Then, idolatry and spiritual
corruption resumed, leading to God’s punishment. Though Josiah died, Jeremiah
remained. And, God called him to carry on what Josiah began even after his
death, while Judah easily forgot Josiah’s reform and drifting away from God and
sinking deeply in spiritual filth. As you can see from the Book of Jeremiah,
this task in facing stubbornly sinful Judah without king’s support took a
really heavy toll on Jeremiah. The subsequent kings of Judah were not good and
priests turned evil. And other prophets were also corrupt as they completed with
Jeremiah to gain favor from the priests and king, while Jeremiah was the only
one to send true message of God to warn.
Because of this, Jeremiah’s efforts to bring Judah
back to God faced false accusation against him, because of the rivalries with
false prophets who only seeks favors from priests and kings. With this
background in mind, we shall read and reflect today’s First Reading (Jeremiah
18:18-20). In this, we can see Jeremiah honestly speaking of his frustration
for his efforts to turn Judah back to God, as in the days of Josiah, resulted
in persecution toward him – while false prophets were getting favors from
corrupt priests and kings.
So, did Jeremiah quit his service to God as a true
prophet? You may want to read the rest of the Book of Jeremiah. So you
understand what you can get for yourself as a result of serving God, while how
it may impact the people of God.
Nobody in the world honored Jeremiah for his hard
work for God. And, he even felt that even God might not acknowledge him. So,
today’s First Reading (Jeremiah 18:18-20) gives a snap shot of how Jeremiah
felt. Couldn’t you sense Jeremiah making his appeal to God?
But, what if Jeremiah had heard and understood these
words of Jesus:
The
last will be first, and the first will be last
(Matthew 20:16).
Whoever
wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first
among you shall be your slave (Matthew 20:26-27).
Whoever
exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted
(Matthew 23:12).
Now, think again about the story about Fr. A, whose
many years of pastoral service was not rewarded as some had thought, since it
did not result in a promotion to become a bishop. But, if Fr. A takes these words of Jesus to
heart, he would not cry to God as Jeremiah did.
And, Fr. A would be able to drink from the cup of suffering, if it is in
God’s will for him.
What about us? What about you?
This is a litmus test of our faith and motive of our discipleship.
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