THE KEY & SIGN

The readings for today continue to reflect on the Holy Servant Songs of Jesus. The mention of being called even from a mother’s womb, the 2 edged sword and polished arrow are symbols of God’s words. The Word that reaches to the ends of the earth, penetrates the hearts of people and able to separate soul and spirit. What we are going to witness these coming days are not just a series of special events in our faith but the fulfillment of prophecies more than 500 years before the event took place. It is part of the plan that God revealed to the world. We have to develop an awareness of these things and Jesus Christ Himself. Today’s gospel from John begins after the foot washing and Christ has already told them and given them a clue that there’s betrayer. Jesus was deeply troubled of this betrayal and bothers him. We might think that this disturbance started in the agony in the garden but the greater disturbance begins in the last supper and just continued to the garden. This betrayal is not something that He takes lightly. The fact that His betrayer is one of His chosen to lead Israel must be very hard on Him. He kept on mentioning that one of his chosen will betray him even in His teaching of the Eucharist, He mentioned that Judas will betray him. Nobody knows whom He meant for Jesus never mentioned his name. Peter & John are frequently in the Lord’s presence and can read and indicated in today’s gospel that they are the only ones who knew as it is mentioned, that Peter instructed John to find out who the betrayer is. John 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. We can see written in John 1 that Jesus is in the bosom of the father and we can see that the same word is used in the gospel today. This closeness as in leaning back against Jesus’ chest is key to understanding why it is to John that he gives the sign. In the Middle East it is a sign of friendship if someone gets a piece of bread, dip and offered it. Christ does this sign to Judas as a last attempt to win him back over. But when he takes and eats the bread, satan entered him and it did not become a source of friendship but an alliance with satan. We have to be careful when receiving the Eucharist and always be in a state of grace and maintain a position of closeness as in the bosom of God. This is a sign for all of us to stay away from darkness. Judas took the morsel and left and it became his hour of darkness. We need to avoid that and enter into reconciliation with true repentance. This should be our attitude. Peter also betrayed Christ because he said that he will always be faithful but denied Christ. The difference is that Peter repented but Judas despaired of forgiveness. This should never be our attitude rather always have hope of reconciliation and be a penitent. Amen. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 49:1-6
...The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. 2 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. 3 You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. 4 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. 5 For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb,...


Psalms 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17
R: I will sing of your salvation.
...On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength...


John 13:21-33, 36-38
21 Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. 23 One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side. 24 So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. 25 He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” 26 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. 27 After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. 29 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. 30 So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. 31 When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. 33 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. 36 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.” 37 Peter said to him, “Master, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 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.”