Matthew 20:17-28

Lectio (Reading)

Read the passage twice and get a sense of what it is saying. Pay attention to what strikes you.
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.”

Meditatio (Reflecting)

Slowly read the passage again, pausing on words or phrases that stands out. Take time to consider the meaning. particularly in your life.

You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?

Oratio (Responding)

Read the passage again, slowly. Consider how God has spoken to you and respond back to Him. You may want to consider how this passage is asking you to act differently.

These two apostles definitely did not fully understand what Jesus was saying here, The apostles were refering to seats of power and the trappings of being close to the king, while Jesus is referring to His passion and the torturous death that He would experience. There is no way they would have responded “we can” if they actually fully knew what He was saying. They all would have cowered and retracted in fear.

But Jesus knew something that they didn’t. That in the months and years after Jesus’ death the Holy Spirit would be working on them, and strengthening them, and preparing them for the martyrdom that they too would all experience. Except John, he was not martyred, but was tortured all the same. I often muse to myself about this moment, and wonder if their answer here determined their destiny to martyrdom. Jesus asks “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” Why else would he have asked this question in this way? I wonder, if they had said no, if Jesus would have protected them from this fate. Jesus’s response that “My chalice you will indeed drink” is almost a surprise, and almost as if He did not know if they would have the courage to die in defense of His truth, until that moment. In either case, I dont know that they fully understood, but I do believe that their lives were forever changed after that moment.

Nevertheless, any time Jesus asks a group of people a question in the bible, He is also asking all of us readers even today. He is asking us today, can you drink my cup? It has been incorrectly believed, for a long time, that the age of martyrs was over, but it is becoming clearer and clearer that we are right now, in greatest age of martyrdom that the church has ever known. In fact, there have been more martyrs in the last 100 years then in the previous 1900 combined, greatly due to the murderous rampage of communism all around the world. Are you able to stand by Jesus, and die for what you believe in? This is a question that may soon become a real question in your life.

But take heart, the bible promises that in that time, if you are faithful, that He will give you the words and the courage you need to stand up for God’s truth. To die a martyr is not a sad thing, it is a gift from God, and if you are so blessed with this gift, you will be rewarded with a crown in heaven, and will be scooped up straight into Gods pressence. I think that we could all be grateful to go this way. I just pray that, if this is what is asked of me, that I will have the courage to listen to the Holy Spirit and to witness to God’s greatness and truth.

Contemplatio (Contemplating)

Take time to simply remain in the presence of God.

Resolutio (Resolving)

Make a resolution that will improve your life, your relationships, or your faith. Make it small and attainable, and do it.

Today as we ponder this question, let us have the courage to accept the cup that Jesus offers us, and to live out his plan for our lives.