Jeremiah seems to have been a younger man than we today imagine a prophet to be. I picture him in the peak of strength and resolve, speaking with authority to the people of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.  They predictably were unimpressed by the fervent words of the young man. Rather than heed his warnings to hear God’s word and change, they became even more recalcitrant.  They “contrived a plot” against him.  They decided to take down every word he said, and to “use his tongue against him.” Jeremiah, perhaps thinking of David’s words in Psalm 31, “ I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life”, or from Psalm 42, “ why must I walk so mournfully, oppressed by the enemy?” Jeremiah did not fully realize at the time that he was going through a small part of the trials that Jesus would one day experience.  It is easy to transpose the difficulties of the two young men. Both could ask the Father why people were repaying their good works with evil plots. Both would have their words turned against them by people who were set in their ways. We are now part of a saved and blessed people because we have, in fact, noted every word of Jeremiah, and more importantly, the words of Jesus.  As we progress through the days of Lent, let us struggle to replace evil with good works.

Jesus brings us together in today’s gospel with his twelve closest friends, and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.  Jesus essentially laid out their itinerary for the near future.  He told them:

We will be going up to Jerusalem; I will be handed over to the Priests and Scribes; I will be condemned to death and handed over to the Romans; I will be mocked, scourged, and crucified; after three days, I will be raised again.”

There it was. This was about to happen, and there was little conversation. They were committed. There was, however, another dialog going on.  James and John brought their mother.  She humbly approached Jesus. She had been thinking ahead to the kingdom of God; she wanted her sons to be placed at the right and left hands of Jesus.  “This is not mine to give,” he said.  “My Father has prepared those places.” I remember reading for the first time in this passage Jesus stating that this favor was “not mine to give.” Jesus held himself subservient to his Father.  It was a turning point for me.  I felt that we too must take this example to heart.  If we want to be exalted in the Kingdom of God, we must be servants. Jesus, himself, came to serve, not to be served.  Jesus also asked his friends to accept the cup-the suffering- that he would undergo in the coming days. Pray that we can answer with them, “ we can.”