“I am the light of the world, says the Lord;  whoever follows me will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Today, the Gospel is from Matthew Chapter 20, Verse 17-28. I am putting this in as a reference because it is a lot to copy over… and plus, I find it more fun when you go and read items on your own. I usually get more out of reading that way. However, today, I am having a hard time narrowing down a topic. There are so many things going on in these few verses, that it is really hard to come up with a single theme to talk about, but here is my shot.

The first few lines are Jesus telling the Twelve that he will be handed over, crucified and rise up again on the third day. I can only imagine being one of them, listening to this, and wondering what exactly was going on here. If someone was to come up to you right now, and say those exact words to you, you would probably want to make sure they took the right dose of medication this morning. I know that it would be a shock to me, that is for sure. These guys have been with him, followed him, and have been trying to figure him out since the early stages of his ministry. For us, seeing is usually believing. Jesus knew what was going to happen, he didn’t shy away from it, but it must have been really hard to be on the receiving end of the message.

Then, the second part talks about James and John’s mother asking for her sons to have privilege in the kingdom. Jesus flat out told her that is not his to give. In everything he said or did, he always made sure that he gave the glory to the Father. Simply amazing. What he asked her was, do she believe they are worthy to drink from the same chalice? She said yes. He was asking her if they were willing to take part in his passion, albeit in a round about way. Then he went on to say, “whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.”

Here is what all of this has said to me today. Even though sometimes we do not understand fully the message God is sending to us, we must try to be of service to him anyway. If we allow ourselves to serve, he will direct us down the path we are supposed to be on in due time. I know I have experienced this, and it has been really apparent to me this Lent especially.

Lord, help me to walk down the path you have laid out before me, and let you be my guiding light. Amen.