July 25, 2025 // Feast of Saint James, Apostle
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: Matthew 20:20-28
Reflect on the Word //
I am a Mama Bear. I admit it. There have been numerous occasions when I have had to stand up for my kids to advocate on their behalf. However, there have also been times when my children have pleaded with me, “Please, Mom! Don’t get involved.” It is heartbreaking to watch your child stumble and even fail when you know that you could have helped. In the last few years, I have been discovering that there is a balance, which I haven’t yet mastered, of leading, guiding, facilitating, and encouraging, without taking over completely.
In the spiritual life, I also wish I could fix everything for them. If I could only wipe away every little vice or imperfection that is keeping my child or children from growing closer to the Lord! And yet, I have my own imperfections that I can be so ignorant of when they are glaring me in the face.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks the mother of James and John, “What do you wish?” This mother of Saints desires not just that they enter the Kingdom, but asks the Lord when He prompts her to share her wish with Him: “Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom” (Matthew 20:21).
In this mother, I see another Mama Bear, desiring greatness for her sons. Had I been in the same circumstance, would I have asked the same thing? Or would I have simply been content to be in the presence of our Lord? Would I be focused on fixing things for others in the future, or would I have invited the Lord into a conversation that led to a deeper conversion within me? In the end, the Lord’s plans were greater for her sons than she could have possibly imagined.
Jesus asks us the same question that He asked the mother of James and John: “What do you wish?” And I ask that same question. While I can’t control much, I know that holiness is the only answer in my heart.
Relate to the Lord // Hear the Lord asking you today, “What do you wish?” How do you answer Him?
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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