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.
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.”
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.”
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Have you been
betrayed already? How did you feel? You felt bad of course; you felt anger and
disappointment toward the person who betrayed you.
When Jesus
was betrayed by Judas he felt bad and disappointed same perhaps when He was
disowned by Peter not once, not twice but three times! However, after all had
been said and done Jesus forgave them all. When Jesus was dying on the cross He
said: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do (Luke 23:34).”
To be
betrayed and disowned by those whom we thought were not capable of doing it to
us is something that is very hard to accept. But that’s life, that’s how many
of us are when we are tempted by the devil disguised as an attractive person,
we easily embrace betrayal.
For example
in the Sacrament of Marriage, how many times have we betrayed our sacred wows
for those fleeting wicked self-gratification? Not knowing the immense
consequence that will befall us.
Betrayal
initially starts in the mind when we conjure images of the person who attracts
us. Until he/she completely captures us, yet betrayal is not an act by the
person alone. It is an act by the devil feed to the mind of the person. And
when the person has weak faith he/she naturally succumbs to the wicked scheming
of the devil until it completely destroy the person.
When Jesus
said on the cross: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they do (Luke
23:34).” He was not only referring to those who denied and betrayed Him during
that time of His passion. He was also referring to us who are easily swayed by
the many temptations of the devil.
In this
Tuesday of Holy Week let us ponder about the many betrayals that we’ve made to
Jesus. The many betrayals that we’ve made inside the Sacrament of
Marriage/Matrimony. Let us beg for healing and forgiveness from Jesus. And lest
we forget let us also beg for forgiveness and restoration from the person whom
we have betrayed. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
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