Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
(Jeremiah 18:18-20; Matthew 20:17-28)
At the heart of today’s gospel lies a critical question for
the spiritual life. Do we love God for
Himself or do we love Him for the spiritual rewards that He promises? The mother of James and John does homage to
the Lord to seek high places in his Kingdom for her sons. Is her piety enough to secure what she asks?
Asking spiritual gifts of Jesus presupposes faith in him to
give it. Although Jesus does not assign
table order, believing in him will lead to places at the celestial banquet. God
cannot be separated from the spiritual gifts that He alone provides. However, if we center our focus on God’s
gifts to us, we may become distracted and begin to believe because of the earthly
gifts that He also provides. Then when
things turn against us, our faith may falter.
God in Himself is perfectly lovable. He created the universe and sent His Son to save
humankind from folly. We love Him for all
His magnificence, including His goodness that we will eventually see up close. If we suffer want now, let it be. We know that following the Lord Jesus will
not leave us disappointed.
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