March 8, Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Jeremiah 18:18-20, Matthew 20:17-28
Lent is the annual season of penance, abstinence, and repentance in preparation for Easter Sunday, the climax of the entire liturgical year. These spiritual exercises are essential in reminding us that celebrating the glory of the Risen Christ requires a journey of sacrifice first. There is no resurrection without the passion and death, which is the central idea of the Paschal Mystery.
In today’s First Reading, we find the lamentation of Prophet Jeremiah as the Israelites turn against him. How hard must it be for a man personally chosen by God to be persecuted by the very people he was entrusted to shepherd? But instead of allowing hatred to consume his heart, Jeremiah sacrificed his pride and allowed love to overpower him. Even in his lowest point, he found a way to triumph over evil by praying for the wellbeing of his detractors.
In the Gospel, we find the mother of the sons of Zebedee imploring Christ to give her children the privilege of sitting beside Him in heaven. Instead of offering a straightforward answer, Jesus asks them: “Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” (Matthew 20:22). This is both a calling and a challenge to His apostles, and in extension, to the entire Church today.
If we truly want to take part in the fullness of His glory, we must first carry our crosses and follow Him, even with the risk of losing everything (Matthew 16:24). Our faith and desire to love must be more powerful than the noises and temptations of today’s fast-paced world that constantly pull us away from God.
The eye of the needle leading to the Kingdom of Heaven will forever be narrow and hard to pass through. There is no other way around that tiny door reserved for the holy and righteous. The only way to enter it is by living a life of sacrifice and selflessness, guided by the Ultimate Sacrifice made by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who first shed blood for the sake of our salvation.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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