TLDR: The reading from Matthew 20:17-28 assigned to the Second Wednesday of Lent is filled with rich lessons as appropriate for us as they were for disciples in the First Century. Read on for more.
This is the Second Wednesday in Lent and the Revised Common Lectionary has assigned Matthew 20:17–28 as the Gospel reading for today. This is a very important lesson that applies well to our world today. Let me summarize the passage: Jesus and the twelve are walking towards Jerusalem, where he will be killed. Jesus takes the disciples aside and reminds them of what will happen in Jerusalem. He “will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.” What happens next is surprising.
The Gospel of Mark has James and John themselves ask Jesus, “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory” (Mark 10:38-39). In Matthew, it is their mother who asks for this special favor. There is absolutely no indication that the woman means a spiritual, heavenly, ever-after kingdom. The term “Glory” has earthly, empire, political, connotations. What this means is that either these two disciples and their mother did not take seriously Jesus’ third announcement of his impending passion and death (Matthew 20:17–28,) or they thought that after the announced resurrection Jesus would return as a mighty political leader in charge of a powerful Israeli earthly kingdom.
We then hear that the other 10 disciples became angry at the sons of Zebedee for their mother’s request, but they are hardly innocent or free of ambition themselves (Mark 9:33-34, Luke 9:46, Luke 22:24-27, etc.) In each of these passages, the political ambitions of the disciples lead Jesus to teach about the leadership differences between the secular world and the followers of his movement. In the secular world, leaders lord their authority over their subjects and use intimidation tactics to impose their will. But in the Jesus’ movement, “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave.” Service, love of other, and humility are pre-requisite aptitudes for those who wish to exercise positions of authority within the Church.
In each of Jesus’ announcements about his death in Matthew (16:21-28, 17:22-23, 20:17-19, 26:1-2) we see a clash of two different versions of the kingdom. The disciples are thinking of a glorious earthly kingdom where Israel becomes the center of power and they act as knights of the round table, sharing power with King Jesus. On the other side, Jesus wants them to know that his way to glory goes directly through Golgotha. His power will become manifest in suffering and sacrifice. He will drink a cup of wrath on behalf of humanity because, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Now, a bit of reflection. 2026 marks my fortieth year in the United States. I came as a young and idealistic college student to finish my bachelor’s degree in Southwest Miami. Since my entire family was fortunate enough to receive “Green Cards” upon entry, I chose to remain in this country after graduation and after additional studies in Belgium. One of my clearest memories of that first week in December of 1986 was going to an American grocery store in New Jersey, where I lived with my parents until college started in August of 1987. I was outright overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices: 11 different types of milk, at least a dozen choices for bread, yogurts of every kind and flavor, more cheeses than any French specialty store, meats of every eatable animal, and an overwhelming amount of snacks and sodas. I felt I had arrived at heaven’s own grocery store and there would be no higher place to go from there. Like Peter, I wanted to build three tents, and I hoped there would be enough space for me in one of them.
Americans (And I am one of them) love choices. We want to have options as we make all sorts of decisions about life: family, vocation, health, religion, housing, etc. This passage from Matthew is presenting us with two different options about the type of Church we can choose. The disciples want a glorious kingdom without the necessity of suffering and sacrifice. They want a Church that can help them live their best life now, a Jesus that will grant them unending prosperity, without the necessity of sacrifice. They see no value in the cross during Jesus’ ministry. It is only after the resurrection that they understand its place in salvation history. They want limitless opportunities for power, glory, prestige, and political influence; to be blessed by the numerous blessings of wealth and status. On the other side, Jesus presents a different option. He is building a kingdom of reconciliation and forgiveness; a kingdom of love and sacrificial service to others; a kingdom where God’s people are on the side of those who suffer the afflictions of poverty, war, illness, injustice, and exploitation; a kingdom where the gap of separation between humanity and God has been repaired through the cross of God’s servant.
We too are presented with these same two options. We can accept the type of Christianity that strives for political power, influence, wealth, unlimited prosperity, and religious entertainment. We can seek to live our best life now, which often means a life lived within comfortable, climate-controlled, unincumbered, disengaged, self-preoccupied environments. A life filled with entitlement and high expectations of others. A life filled with entertaining technology and fascinating distractions. A life of comfort and excess. Many feel that this type of religion is our right as Americans! And I honestly do not blame anyone for wanting this type of Church. After all, this is the type of movement the disciples wanted.
But there is another option which the disciples discovered after the resurrection. We can belong to a Church that preaches and lives out the Gospel of Jesus, that accepts the sinfulness of our human condition and reaches out to God for forgiveness in the Messiah, that accepts servant leadership and love of the other as unshakable tenants of our discipleship, and that calls for a transformed life in which the cross of Christ is central to our corporate life. We can choose a Church that firmly stands with and for those who suffer, and who sees in God’s abundant gifts a call to serve all of our neighbors regardless of class, race, culture, or language. We can choose the type of Church we want to belong to. That is the beauty of life in this great country.
May our Lord continue to bless you,
Fr. Roman+
