Daily Gospel Reflection April 7th 2020
Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled
and testified,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
When he had left, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”
See reflection below.
Dear Friends,
Did you
ever wonder why Judas did it? After
spending three years with Jesus, why would Judas turn on him and sell him out
for thirty pieces of silver? The money
is significant; it is the price one is paid for returning a runaway slave to
its owner. But let’s focus on Judas’
motivation. Judas is looking out for
Judas. He wants to be a part of the
inner circle in the new Kingdom that Jesus is building. He has put in the time and now Judas want to
see some results. He forces Jesus’ hand.
The time is right for revolution, the city is full of Jews at Passover and
Jesus has the power to lead them all. Of
course, this is all speculation. But it is clear that Judas has put his will
before everything else. Jesus on the
other hand puts God’s will first and that makes all the difference. Judas is self centered and selfish; while
Jesus is God centered and self sacrificing.
One path leads to destruction, the other to salvation.
This
invites us to consider our motivations, what moves us to action. It is not too difficult to slip into Judas’
shoes and put our will before God’s will.
We might even think we are doing something good. We can imagine that Judas’ vision was the
Sanhedrin would see Jesus as a King, they would rally Jewish forces behind
Jesus and they would run the Romans out of their Holy City. Judas is truly stunned by the condemnation of
Jesus. Judas’ vision is not realized and
he is lost with no one to lead him. The
shock of it all turns to despair and that despair leads to Judas’ self-destructive
act. The mistake Judas makes is of
course the betrayal, but an even bigger mistake is what he does after the
betrayal. Judas could have been the
greatest of Saints if he had just turned back to Jesus and said he was
sorry. This is lesson for us all. The best motivation we can have is the one
Jesus modeled, do the will of your Father in Heaven. But, if we find we have put our will before
God’s will, as soon as we realize our poor judgment we can return to our God
and say I’m sorry. This is the path that
leads to redemption and salvation. This
is the path that Peter takes and look at where he is today, a Saint in
Heaven. This is the path God desires for
us all. So let us pray that our
motivations follow the example of Jesus Christ and if they fall short may we
repent and let God’s Mercy and forgiveness reorient our lives and lead us home
to our God.
No comments:
Post a Comment