April 6, 2004 - Tuesday of the Holy Week

A Sense of Mission

Readings:
Is 49:1-6; Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17; Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Introduction

Today's gospel presents three persons to us.

The first is a man preoccupied with himself, his own interests and needs, his selfish satisfaction. He is not a free person; he is not open to Christ, for he serves money and greed. He will betray Jesus. This man is Judas.

Then there is a second man, a good person, open to Christ, but weak. He tries to hide his frailty with impetuous, self-reliant bravery. He cracks in the hour of the test. He will deny Jesus. This person is Peter.

The third person is Jesus. He is totally unselfish, completely open to God and to everyone. He is the perfect servant, the person-for-others, described again today in the first reading in the words of the second song of God's servant. And because he was the perfect servant he could save us all.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
your Son Jesus Christ
had to undergo the humiliation
of being betrayed and denied
by those he called his friends.
But he made his suffering and death
into instruments of love and reconciliation.
Make us with him people-for-others,
who accept difficulties, even betrayals
and misunderstanding of our best intentions,
and turn them into sources of life and joy
for those around us.
Keep us faithful to you and to one another
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Scripture Readings

First Reading: Is 49:1-6

Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17

R (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.

In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R I will sing of your salvation.

Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R I will sing of your salvation.

For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother's womb you are my strength.
R I will sing of your salvation.

My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R I will sing of your salvation.

Gospel Reading: Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Jesus was distressed in spirit and said plainly, "Truly, one of you will betray me." The disciples then looked at one another, wondering who he meant. One of the disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining near Jesus; so Simon Peter signaled him to ask Jesus whom he meant.

And the disciple who was reclining near Jesus asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "I shall dip a piece of bread in the dish, and he to whom I give it, is the one."

So Jesus dipped the bread and gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And as Judas took the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus then said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."

None of the others reclining at table understood why Jesus said this to Judas. As he had the common purse, they may have thought that Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or, "Give something to the poor." Judas left as soon as he had eaten the bread. It was night.
When Judas had gone out, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. God will glorify him, and he will glorify him very soon.

My children, I am with you for only a little while; you will look for me, but, as I already told the Jews, so now I tell you: where I am going you cannot come.

Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but afterwards you will." Peter said, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I am ready to give my life for you." Jesus answered, "To give your life for me! Truly, I tell you, the cock will not crow before you have denied me three times."

Commentary

JOHN (or rather the Johannine school) places himself as near to Jesus as he places Judas away. Such dualism is characteristic of John's gospel: light/ darkness, above/below, etc. John is "reclining near Jesus," whispering to him; but Judas goes out, and "it was night."

But notice that there are two betrayers in this reading; the other is Peter. "The cock will not crow before you have denied me three times," Jesus said to him; in other words, "before morning." But Peter had the courage (or perhaps the opposite) to wait for forgiveness; and he was forgiven (Jn 21). Tragically, Judas didn't wait; he too would have been forgiven. If he was just greedy for money he should have been happy; but he was plunged into despair; he must have had some plan that went wrong-some plan to speed things up. It was typical of him, then, not to wait. In a tragic twisted way he died for his Master. The writer of these commentaries in 1998, Fr. Fernando Torres, wrote, "Without doubt, God the Father, slow to anger and rich in mercy, had pity on him."

General Intercessions

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to save us and bring us life by his death and resurrection. Let us pray to Jesus for all who suffer and say: Lord, by your cross you have redeemed the world.

- For those whose ideals have faded, that they may still see and accept the novelty of life and constantly renew themselves, we pray:

- For the perpetual losers of their personal struggles against the forces of evil, that they may trust in Christ, whose grace is mightier than sin and death, we pray:

- For those who are lonely, deserted, or shut up within themselves, that they may accept the companionship of Christ and through him open themselves to others, we pray:

- For all of us, that we may learn from our Lord himself to bear our crosses in patience and humility, that somehow they may bring life to us and to our neighbor, we pray:
- For this community, that with Jesus our Savior it may be poor and serving and open to all needs, we pray:

Lord Jesus Christ, your cross remains to us a mystery, as does all pain and want. Yet we rely on your word and example that it is a way to joy and freedom. Turn our crosses into bearers of happiness and life now and for ever.

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord God, loving Father,
the evening before he gave up himself to death,
your Son Jesus gave himself to his friends
in the form of bread to be eaten
and a cup of wine to be shared.
As we are gathered here for his holy meal,
let your Son give himself again to us
that we may learn from him
to give ourselves for one another
and that our strength to do so may come
from Jesus Christ our Lord.

Prayer after Communion

Our God and Father,
we have eaten the bread of faithfulness
at the table of Jesus, your Son.
We too have at times betrayed him
when we broke our friendship with you
and when we denied to our neighbor
the right to be happy and free.
From now on, let him be our strength
in bringing justice and dignity
to even the last and least of our brothers and sisters
and in building up together
your community of joy and hope,
in which lives Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever and ever.

Blessing

One of the saddest experiences in life is to see one's love and trust misunderstood, denied, or even betrayed. This was the lot of Jesus. He suffered from it, yet accepted it in order to undo our disloyalties and betrayals. This is why his own love and loyalty to the Father and to us went as far as it can go: death. And this is how he won for us the courage to love without counting the cost and to be faithful to the end. May God fill us with his blessings: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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