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Message of the Day
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YThere is no success without sacrifice. If you succeed without sacrifice it is because someone has suffered before you. If you sacrifice without success it is because someone will succeed after.
- Adoniram Judson
(Take time to recall
the sacrifices by others that have helped you to grow.)
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Readings of the Day
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Jer 18:18-20; Ps 31:5-6, 14,
15-16 Mt 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." USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“Return to Me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning.” “The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, who will
condemn Him to death.” —Matthew 20:18
Jesus was telling His apostles about His imminent torture and death. He told them: “They will turn [Me] over to the Gentiles, to be made sport of and flogged and crucified” (Mt 20:19). After this heart-rending conversation about tragic suffering and death, Sts. James, John and their mother approached Jesus and asked for a promotion to the right and left hand of Jesus
(Mt 20:21). They refused to relate to the message of the cross.
On another occasion, when Jesus first mentioned the cross, St. Peter said it would never happen. Jesus had to tell Peter, “Get out of my sight, you satan!” (Mk 8:33) The cross has been and still is a stumbling block to the worldly. They question how the Messiah can set people free if He was beaten and executed as a criminal. Pleasure-seekers think
the cross “an absurdity” (1 Cor 1:23). The cross makes no sense to those with the attitude: “If it feels good, do it.”
Believers and unbelievers have one thing in common: they all don’t understand the cross. However, “to us who are experiencing salvation it is the power of God” (1 Cor 1:18).
Prayer: “Jesus, keep me
near the cross.” May I know nothing except what shines in the light of the cross (1 Cor 2:2, RNAB).
Promise: “Remember that I stood before You to speak in their behalf, to turn away Your wrath from them.” —Jer 18:20
Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Three, Gift of the Spirit Chapter 2: Jesus' Teachings on the Holy
Spirit - Selected quotes Fifth Teaching: Jn. 16:12-14: summary
The Spirit . . . - Will guide us ... into all
truth - Will speak what he hears - Will prophesy - Is self-effacing - Will glorify Jesus This is a good summary of previous teachings, reaffirming the Spirit’s orientation to Jesus and Her emphasis on truth. We note the addition of the action of prophesying, which means far more than foretelling the future. The more common purpose of this gift is to speak God’s word—especially words of encouragement and correction—to the community to help them live in accordance with God’s ways. So there we have Jesus’ teaching on the Holy Spirit, presented in John’s Gospel in the context of Jesus’ departing remarks to his disciples. We see that his teaching is not complicated or highly intellectualized; the Spirit is introduced in a way that Jesus’ early followers could understand.
Questions for Reflection and
Discussion
1. What images of the Holy Spirit do Jesus’ teaching suggest to you? 2. How do you think you would feel if you were hearing this teaching for the first time? 3. How do you feel about the kind of “work” the Spirit wants to
accomplish in us?
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