Mosaiek Church Lent 2025: Jesus' Questions in Sufferingنموونە

“Who would you rather be: the one who eats the dinner or the one who serves the dinner? You’d rather eat and be served, right? But I’ve taken my place among you as the one who serves. And you’ve stuck with me through thick and thin

-Luke 22:27-28 (MSG)

Henry Nouwen says that he hears two voices. One says: “If it’s gonna be, it’s up to me.” I will have to do a lot to be independent, to make myself interesting so that other people admire me, and so that I get to a place where I have the freedom to do what I want, when I want, how I want. On the other hand, he hears a voice that tells him that he must stay close to the Lord, follow Him, and that this is how he will find life.

These are also the two voices that the disciples hear. On the one hand, the voice of their culture says that it depends on them. That they must do good to be respected by people, to get positions of power, which will then give them life. On the other hand, there is the voice of Jesus that says, look at Me, follow Me, trust Me. What you are looking for is something you already have. You have prestige, you have value, and you do not need to have those important positions. Jesus shows us how He took off His royal robes by letting go of His search and need for power and prestige. He emptied Himself by taking the form of a servant (Phil 2). By losing His life, He gained it back. The Father exalted Him and gave Him a name above every other name.

Reflection: When do you hear the two voices most strongly? What do you tend to do with them?

Prayer: I ask for the grace of deep insight and conviction that my obsession with self is robbing me of life.