Reflection for April 15 Tuesday of Holy Week: John 13:21-33, 36-38

Gospel: John 13:21-33, 36-38

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.”

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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, perhaps the same way when He was disowned by Peter—not once, not twice, but three times! However, after all was 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 incapable of doing such a thing is very hard to accept. But that’s life. That’s how many of us are—when we are tempted by Satan, we easily embrace betrayal. 

For example, in the Sacrament of Marriage or Matrimony, how many times have we betrayed our sacred vows for fleeting, wicked self-gratification—without knowing the immense consequences that will befall us? 

Betrayal initially starts in the mind, when we conjure images of the person who attracts us—until he or she completely captures us. Yet betrayal is not just an act by the person alone; it is an act planted by the devil and fed into the person’s mind. And when that person has weak faith, he or she naturally succumbs to the wicked schemes of the devil—until it completely destroys them. 

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 His passion. He was also referring to us—those of us who are easily swayed by the many temptations of the devil. 

On this Tuesday of Holy Week, let us ponder the many betrayals we’ve committed against Jesus—the many betrayals we've made within the Sacrament of Marriage. Let us beg for healing and forgiveness from Jesus. And lest we forget, let us also beg for forgiveness and restoration from the person we have betrayed. – Marino J. Dasmarinas