Reflection for Tuesday of Holy Week

Today's Mass Readings

 

Betrayal and denial: Jesus foretells these acts of Judas and Peter at the Last Supper. The people closest to Jesus were no more loyal or faithful to him than those who plotted against him and those who would call out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” the next day. “Have I been with you for so long a time and still you do not know me?” Jesus had asked Philip when the latter asked him to show the Father to the disciples. (John 14: 9)

Isaiah speaks of God’s servant, whose mission was to summon Israel to conversion and to be “a light to the nations.” Yet his hearers have been so unresponsive that he cries out, “I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly spent my strength.” Nevertheless, he remains confident the Lord will see him through.

Jesus’ last days mirror those of Isaiah’s servant. Jesus, too must have felt that his efforts had been in vain as one of his most trusted disciples sneaks off to betray him and the leader of the apostles boasts of his loyalty, which Jesus knows will not last through the night.

Yet, as soon as Judas has left the Upper Room, Jesus says to the rest of the apostles, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him.” The fact that Judas’ betrayal will bring about the final and complete glorification of Jesus — the fulfillment of his mission on earth — shows that out of the most despicable deeds, God can accomplish his greatest work.

God is not hampered or diverted from his great plan of salvation by the evil that seems to reign free in the world. That evil comes in many forms and often seems to have a greater power even than God’s. But that is not true. Jesus’ death did not thwart God’s plan but fulfilled it. The evil that we face cannot separate us from God’s love and salvation. In fact, God will somehow use our struggle against that evil to accomplish great things.

How often have we felt our efforts to do God’s will or carry out our responsibilities have borne no fruit and our friends have abandoned us in our need? May we not give up and look elsewhere when God’s ways in our life are marked more by failure and suffering than victory and triumph.

For reflection: At present most people around the world are deprived of celebrating Mass in person or receiving the Eucharist. How has God perhaps been turning that evil I am experiencing into something good for me nevertheless?

Reflection by Abbot Benedict Neenan, OSB

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