Look at me, serve me, I want, are attitudes and dispositions that tempt us. Fame, honor, power, prestige may be another way of making the same point, which is that we often have a hyper-focus on self and self-promotion. Social media offers more of a platform to fuel this temptation. If we think this is something new with the advent of modern technology, we can look at today’s Gospel of Matthew to see that we have been operating from this posture for a very long time.

Jesus, for the third time, was attempting to prepare his disciples for his passion. He said: “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 and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day” (Mt 20:18-19).

The response of the mother of James and John (the two brothers make the request themselves in the Gospel of Mark) is actually not that surprising if we spend any time with people. She disregards what Jesus just mentioned about his imminent death and requests that when Jesus assumes his seat of power that her two sons will be number one and number two. The other disciples were quite indignant, and I can imagine what followed was not a pretty sight.

This is a good teachable moment. When we are preoccupied with what we want to say or are thinking about, we do not hear what someone right before us is sharing with us. The mother of James and John appeared not to hear what Jesus had just shared. She is believing that Jesus is the Messiah and that he is going to claim his throne, and wants to be sure that her boys, who have given their life to his cause will be taken cares of. She just missed the point that the throne of Jesus will be the cross. The apostles aren’t any better. They don’t correct her misperception of Jesus’ messiahship, they instead start jockeying for the position that she proposed James and John filled.

Jesus doesn’t condemn the mother’s request, he directs the brothers to the truth of the request and in so doing, brings the point back to where he had started. Jesus heard the mother, James and John, and the other apostles. His response answers the question, returns to the point he is making, and offers them a participation in his passion. To give them a place at his right and left “is for those for whom it has been prepared for by my Father” (Mt 20:23). This statement addresses them all by letting them know that the preeminent place in his kingdom, whoever is to be first, is the one who serves his brother and sister. This message is for all of us.

Jesus encourages us this Lent to take the focus off ourselves and get out of our heads. To let go of I, me, and mine. Even when we let go a little, we will feel more peace. Just a few intentional breaths help so much. We can also experience quieter moments when we get outside, look up, and see the expanse of the sky (Even in the cold of the north!). We’re no longer thinking about ourselves but touching the gift of our eternal nature and call to be one with God. Instead of feeling contraction, we can experience a restful release and sense of expansion.

When we allow ourselves to breathe, we can then let go of stress and the strain and the energy we expend following the distractions, diversions, and temptations that keep us on a treadmill pace. A few breaths can also help us to stop and choose to spend a few moments with Jesus. He will then, as he did today with the apostles, redirect any ways in which our mindset is not aligned with his Father’s will. We can then place God’s priorities for our life first, properly order our own, and/or let go of any that are not of his will.

When we are able to breathe, receive, and abide in God’s love, we experience real rest, discern and make decisions from his guidance, and begin to experience more change and transformation, healing and renewal. We will begin to bear the fruit of the spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). When we let go of the desire to be first or best, to sit at the right or left of Jesus, we will rest in being who we are, God’s beloved daughters and sons. Identifying as such, we will experience more of God’s love, let go of the need to be served, experience more balance, be moved to serve and share the love we have received.

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Photo: Looking up and outward, and breathing deep, experiencing the love of God. May you also do and experience the same!

Link for the Mass readings for March 4, 2024