From: Matthew 20:20-28

The Mother of the Sons of Zebedee Makes Her Request

[20] Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to Him, with her sons,
and kneeling before Him she asked Him for something. [21] And He said to her,
“What do you want?” She said to Him, “Command that these two sons of mine
may sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, in Your Kingdom.” [22] But
Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink
the cup that I am to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.” [23] He said to
them, “You will drink My cup, but to sit at My right hand and at My left is not
Mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”
[24] And when the ten heard it they were indignant at the two brothers. [25] But
Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. [26] It shall
not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your ser-
vant, [27] and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; [28] even
as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a
ransom for many.”

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Commentary:

20. The sons of Zebedee are James the Greater and John. Their mother, Salo-
me, thinking that the earthly reign of the Messiah is about to be established,
asks that her sons be given the two foremost positions in it. Christ reproaches
them for not grasping the true—spiritual—nature of the Kingdom of Heaven and
not realizing that government of the Church He is going to found implies service
and martyrdom. “If you are working for Christ and imagine that a position of re-
sponsibility is anything but a burden, what disillusionment awaits you!” (St. J.
Escriva, “The Way”, 950).

22. “Drinking the cup” means suffering persecution and martyrdom for following
Christ. “We are able”: the sons of Zebedee boldly reply that they can drink the
cup; their generous expression evokes what St. Paul will write years later: “I
can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13).

23. “You will drink My cup”: James the Greater will die a martyr’s death in Jeru-
salem around the year 44 (cf. Acts 12:2); and John, after suffering imprisonment
and the lash in Jerusalem (cf. Acts 4:3; 5:40-41), will spend a long period of
exile on the island of Patmos (cf. Revelation 1:9).

From what our Lord says here we can take it that positions of authority in the
Church should not be the goal of ambition or the subject of human intrigue, but
the outcome of a divine calling. Intent on doing the will of His Heavenly Father,
Christ was not going to allocate positions of authority on the basis of human
considerations but, rather, in line with God’s plans.

26. Vatican II puts a marked emphasis on this “service” which the Church offers
to the world and which Christians should show as proof of their Christian identity:
“In proclaiming the noble destiny of man and affirming an element of the divine
in him, this sacred Synod offers to cooperate unreservedly with mankind in fos-
tering a sense of brotherhood to correspond to this destiny of theirs. The Church
is not motivated by an earthly ambition but is interested in one thing only—to car-
ry on the work of Christ under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for He came into
the world to bear witness to the truth, to save and not to judge, to serve and not
to be served” (”Gaudium Et Spes”, 3 cf. “Lumen Gentium”, 32: “Ad Gentes”, 12;
“Unitatis Redintegratio”, 7).

27-28. Jesus sets Himself as an example to be imitated by those who hold au-
thority in the Church. He who is God and Judge of all men (cf. Philippians 2:5-
11; John 5:22-27; Acts 10:42; Matthew 28:18) does not impose Himself on us:
He renders us loving service to the point of giving His life for us (cf. John 15:13);
that is His way of being the first. St. Peter understood Him right; he later exhor-
ted priests to tend the flock of God entrusted to them, not domineering over them
but being exemplary in their behavior (cf. 1 Peter 5:1-3); and St. Paul also was
clear on this “service”: though He was “free from all men”, He became the ser-
vant of all in order to win all (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:19 ff; 2 Corinthians 4:5).

Christ’s “service” of mankind aims at salvation. The phrase “to give His life as a
ransom for many” is in line with the terminology of liturgical sacrificial language.
These words were used prophetically in Chapter 53 of Isaiah.

Verse 28 also underlines the fact that Christ is a priest, who offers Himself as
priest and victim on the altar of the cross. The expression “as a ransom for ma-
ny” should not be interpreted as implying that God does not will the salvation of
all men. “Many”, here, is used to contrast with “one” rather than “all”: there is
only one Savior, and salvation is offered to all.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States

Readings at Mass

First reading

2 Corinthians 4:7-15 ©

We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered; we see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed; always, wherever we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are consigned to our death every day, for the sake of Jesus, so that in our mortal flesh the life of Jesus, too, may be openly shown. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

But as we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.

Psalm

Psalm 125:1-6 ©