Posted on 03/04/2026 8:46:07 AM PST by fidelis
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.” Matthew 20:20–21
What a bold move by the mother of the sons of Zebedee! A common misconception at that time was that the Messiah would usher in a new political and earthly kingdom and those who held positions of power in this kingdom would bask in earthly glory. However, Jesus’ mission as the Messiah was to establish a far superior Kingdom through His Passion and Resurrection. These two disciples, along with their mother, did not yet understand this.
Just before this passage, Jesus took the Twelve aside and prophesied His Passion and Resurrection: “...the Son of Man will be handed over… they will condemn him to death… be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” This is the third time in Matthew’s Gospel that Jesus predicts His Passion. It’s surprising that, immediately after this prophecy, the mother of the sons of Zebedee asks Jesus to give her two sons the most prominent positions in His Kingdom. Jesus initially responds, “You do not know what you are asking.”
In many ways, Jesus says the same to us. When we pray and seek to grow closer to God, we don’t always understand what we are truly asking for. Like these two disciples and their mother, we might think that growing in holiness means God will protect us from all illnesses, difficulties, crosses, and problems—replacing them with consolations, a comfortable life, family unity, success at work, notoriety, and even wealth. But that’s not the Gospel. The Gospel always points us to the Cross, while promising God’s grace to carry it, not avoid it.
As Jesus said to these two disciples, He also says to us when we pray for greater holiness: “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” In other words, the path to holiness is the Cross. It’s the only way. Jesus tells us this in many ways, just as He told His disciples three times. They did not understand or chose not to believe what He was saying. The same is true for us. When we seek holiness, our Lord tells us that we must be willing to be “handed over,” “condemned,” “mocked and scourged and crucified,” so that, with Jesus, we can be raised up. Each person’s path to the Cross will be unique, but we all must accept it if we want to share in Christ’s Kingdom. It is the only way.
Reflect today on Jesus looking at you with love and asking, “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” Try to understand what that means. What does the Cross look like in your life? Often, when we encounter crosses, we flee from them, presuming they are bad, and even pray for them to go away. Yet our Lord lovingly tells us to carry that cross with His strength, peace, and joy. That is the only way to authentic holiness and the only way to true greatness in the Kingdom of God. Do not fear Christ’s Cross. It is the answer to all you long for in life.
My gentle Lord, like Your disciples, I often want my crosses removed from my life rather than carry them with the aid of Your grace. I desire to drink from the Sacred Chalice of Your Passion so that I may share in Your Resurrection and glory. Give me courage when I encounter the crosses You wish me to carry and the wisdom to discern Your path to glory. Jesus, I trust in You.
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The Month of March is Dedicated to St. Joseph
“And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.” (Luke 2:51-52)
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intention for the month of March, 2026:
For disarmament and peace
Let us pray that nations move toward effective disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, and that world leaders choose the path of dialogue and diplomacy instead of violence.
Today’s First Reading
From: Jeremiah 18:18-20
Jeremiah’s Fourth “Confession”
------------------------------ [18] Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not heed any of his words.” [19] Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to my plea. [20] Is evil a recompense for good? Yet they, have dug a pit for my life. Remember how I stood before thee , to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them. *********************************************************************** Commentary:
18:18-23. Jeremiah feels hemmed in by his enemies when he proclaims the word of the Lord, and in this fourth “confession” he expresses how he feels. His situation causes him great pain. God called him to intercede for the people, and he has done so; but, although he has sought only their good, they plot against him (v. 18). These words have been interpreted as an announcement of how the Jewish authorities schemed against Jesus, seeking to arrest him (cf. Mt 22:15; Mk 12:13; Lk 20:20). And the resistance that Jeremiah encountered in his preaching is interpreted by St Jerome, in the light of the New Testament, as a prefiguring of the difficulties that Jesus would encounter from people “who spread calumnies and slander to frustrate the work of holy men. So that the truths that these disciples taught would be rejected as lies, they made the law and the plans of God the property of their priests and wise men and false prophets (cf. 18:18)” ("Commentarii in Ieremiam", 4, 18). The harsh things that Jeremiah says in this prayer (vv. 21-23) are not so much a desire for vengeance on his part as an assertion of the respect that is owed to God and his word, which no one has a right to mock (cf. Ps 6; 79; 109).
From: Matthew 20:17-28
Third Prophecy of the Passion
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[17] And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way He said to them, [18] "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, [19] and deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day."
The Mother of the Sons of Zebedee Makes Her Request
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[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 servant, [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."
***********************************************************************
Commentary:
18-19. Once again our Lord prophesies to His Apostles about His death and resurrection. The prospect of judging the world (cf. Matthew 19:28) might have misled them into thinking in terms of an earthly messianic kingdom, an easy way ahead, leaving no room for the ignominy of the cross.
Christ prepares their minds so that when the testing time comes they will remember that He prophesied His passion and not be totally scandalized by it; He describes His passion in some detail.
Referring to Holy Week, St J. Escriva writes: "All the things brought to our mind by the different expressions of piety which characterize these days are of course directed to the Resurrection, which is, as St. Paul says, the basis of our faith (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:14). But we should not tread this path too hastily, lest we lose sight of a very simple fact which we might easily overlook. We will not be able to share in our Lord's Resurrection unless we unite ourselves with Him in His Passion and Death. If we are to accompany Christ in His glory at the end of Holy Week, we must first enter into His holocaust and be truly united to Him, as He lies dead on Calvary" ("Christ Is Passing By", 95).
20. The sons of Zebedee are James the Greater and John. Their mother, Salome, 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 responsibility 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 Jerusalem 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 fostering 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 carry 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 authority 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 exhorted 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 servant 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 many" 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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