The Heart of Scripture: Jesus Christ and His Paschal Mystery
Feb 28, 2024 - Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent
Jer. 18:18-20; Psalm 31:5-6, 14, 15-16; Matt. 20:17-28
The liturgy of the Word begins with Jeremiah's own people plotting to harm him. In response to this plot, the prophet turns to the Lord and asks a perplexing question: "Should good be repaid with evil?" (Jer. 18:20). A similar situation is portrayed in Psalm 31, where the psalmist hears "the whispers of the crowd" plotting to take his life (see Ps. 31:14). And like Jeremiah, the psalmist turns to the Lord for help and protection, asking to be rescued from "the clutches of [his] enemies and [his] persecutors" (Ps. 31:16). This theme is taken up in our Gospel reading.
Jesus tells his disciples what is going to happen in Jerusalem. The scribes and chief priests are going to plot against him to take his life. On the cross, Jesus would entrust his destiny to the Father. According to the Gospel of Luke, the words spoken by the psalmist, "Into your hands I commit my spirit" (Ps. 31:5), were the last words spoken by Jesus before he died (Luke 23:46). The psalmist was sure that the Lord would redeem him (Ps. 31:6). Our Lord was also certain that the Father would rescue Him from the clutches of death, and so he said that He "will be raised on the third day" (Matt. 20:19).
Today's liturgy of the Word reveals to us what the apostles and the Fathers of the Church discovered under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: that at the heart of the entire Scripture is Jesus Christ and His Paschal Mystery. In the Catechism of the Church, we read: "Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God's plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover" (CCC, 112). In the suffering of Jeremiah and the psalmist, we can foresee the mystery of the cross and the suffering of Christ.
"Should good be repaid with evil?" (Jer. 18:20). We all know the answer to this question, but the mystery of iniquity is present in the hearts of human beings. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah was stoned to death by his countrymen in Egypt. We do not know what happened to the psalmist or whether his enemies succeeded in killing him. But we do know that Jesus was handed over to the Gentiles by his own people and crucified. However, His death offers a solution to the mystery of iniquity that permeates our hearts. Jesus came "to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:28). His death sets us free for a life of service, a life that emulates the life of Jesus Christ.
Throughout the history of the Church, there have been Christians who offered themselves to become slaves in exchange for the release of fellow Christians. Many of us are also familiar with the story of St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, who offered his life in exchange for the life of another prisoner. Instead of repaying evil for good, Jesus' saving grace enables us to "overcome evil with good" (Rom 12:21).
Today's liturgy reminds us that no matter the challenges or adversity we face, we are called to imitate Christ and respond to evil with love and service. The suffering of Jeremiah and the psalmist foreshadows the ultimate suffering of Christ on the cross. It is through His sacrificial death that we find redemption and the power to transform the world through acts of goodness and selflessness.