Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Matthew 20: 20-28
July 25, 2025 | Friday

Today’s Gospel

Then the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down, to ask a favor. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?” And she answered, “Here, you have my two sons. Grant, that they may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”

Jesus said to the brothers, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They answered, “We can.” Jesus replied, “You will indeed drink my cup; but to sit at my right or at my left is not for me to grant. That will be for those, for whom my Father has prepared it.”

The other ten heard all this, and were angry with the two brothers. Then Jesus called them to him and said, “You know, that the rulers of nations behave like tyrants, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you: whoever wants to be great in your community, let him minister to the community. And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man, who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life to redeem many.”

Today’s Reflection

It is usual for parents to desire advancement for their children, as shown by the mother of James and John, who asked Jesus to seat her sons to His right and left in His Kingdom. She did not understand the teaching of Jesus, which Jesus directly told her, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink?” Jesus added that the best position “is for those for whom it had been prepared by the Father.”

We live in a world where many strive to possess positions of power, prominence, prestige, or popularity. Most do not want to serve others; if they do, it is due to the potential for personal profit or preeminence. Thus, Jesus reminds us that “whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant, whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.”

Slaves subordinate their freedom of action in obedience to that of their master. Servants are called to perform services for another. These are what Jesus requires of His disciples – to surrender our will to God’s will and completely comply with His command to love God and one another. To love others means that we devote our time and resources and serve them in the name of the Lord. It is to subordinate and suppress our self-love, self-adoration, and self- adulation. It is to “drink the cup” that Jesus drank, to be humiliated and suffer as He did, to humbly renounce our worldly aspirations and transform ourselves to be charitable, caring, considerate, and compassionate. We may not be faultless or flawless, but with God’s favor, we can be fruitful followers who faithfully fulfill His fiat to be fishers of men.

/Vulnerasti, 2025