The Servant of the Servants of God

Deacon Les
Homily

WEDNESDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OF LENT (C)
3 MARCH 2010

Jeremiah 18: 18 – 20

[Jer 18:18] "Come," they said, "let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word."
[Jer 18:19] Heed me, O LORD, and listen to what my adversaries say.
[Jer 18:20] Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them.

Matthew 20: 17 - 28

[Mat 20:17] As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve (disciples) aside by themselves, and said to them on the way,
[Mat 20:18] "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,
[Mat 20:19] and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day."
[Mat 20:20] Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.
[Mat 20:21] 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."
[Mat 20:22] Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can."
[Mat 20:23] He replied, "My cup 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."
[Mat 20:24] When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers.
[Mat 20:25] 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.
[Mat 20:26] But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
[Mat 20:27] whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.
[Mat 20:28] 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."


In today's Gospel, Our Lord is confronted by the mother of the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, by her request that they e granted what amounts to the highest place in the Kingdom. Our Lord's response is a model of tact for every Christian. If he had granted her request, He would have saddened the other ten apostles If He had refused her request, he would have saddened the mother and her two sons. Instead, He says, "...this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."

Our Lord makes it clear that authority in the Kingdom is not to be exercised in a pattern that is familiar to the world. He exhorts His disciples, and through them all of us, not to seek the highest place but to seek the lowest. He shows this in His own life through His incarnation and forthcoming suffering and death. The infinite God, exalted above every creature, condescended t lower Himself to the level of human nature, uniting Himself perfectly with it, without any diminution of His divinity. As we read n Chapter 2 of Philippians:

Philippians 2
3 Nothing is to be done out of jealousy or vanity; instead, out of humility of mind everyone should give preference to others,
4 everyone pursuing not selfish interests but those of others.
5 Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped.
7 But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being,
8 he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.

Our Lord is even more explicit with regard to ranking in the Kingdom, where He further states in today's Gospel:

[Mat 20:26] But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
[Mat 20:27] whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

Pope Leo I applied this passage to himself in a dramatic meeting with Attila the Hun at the gates of Rome. Attila had been threatening an imminent invasion and sack of Rome. To the emperor, the senate, and the Roman people, none of all the proposed plans to oppose the enemy seemed so practicable as to send legates to the most savage king and beg go peace Pope Leo I--trusting in the help of God, Who never fails the righteous in their trials--undertook the task.

When Attila asked Leo who he was, he replied, "I am Leo, the servant of the servants of God". This is how he showed obedience to Our Lord's command in today's Gospel.

The outcome was what Leo's faith had foreseen; for when Attila had received the delegation, he was so impressed by the presence of the high priest that he ordered his army to give up warfare and, after he had promised peace, he departed beyond the Danube.

Leo, the first among the servants of God n the Church, describes himself as last. The expression "servant of the servants of God" has been one of the titles of every Pope since Leo. The original is "servus servorum Dei". Servus is best translated as "slave"--another Latin word famulus, translates as "servant".

Whenever we seek the first place, we are seeking the approbation of men. When we seek the last place, we receive the approbation of God.

It is for each of us not to seek honor and vainglory from en, but always seek to do the good, whence God will give us His true glory in heaven. This is promised to us in Revelation 3:

Revelation 3
21 Anyone who proves victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I have myself overcome and have taken my seat with my Father on his throne.