[stephenkhoo]

DRAWING STRENGTH FROM THE PASSION OF THE LORD IN OUR BETRAYALS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Is 49:1-6; Jn 13:21-33. 36-38
http://www.universalis.com/20140415/mass.htm

“Night had fallen.” In just three words, the evangelist so poignantly sums up the whole mood of today’s celebration. It is the experience of the power of evil over man. Such surrender to the power of Satan speaks of man’s helplessness and tragedy. Indeed, the evangelist says, “At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him.” To think of being betrayed by someone who has shared a meal with us is tragic. Indeed, this was the case with Jesus. He was betrayed not by someone outside His circle, but by one of His chosen twelve. And to realize that your chosen friends would not stand by you, not because you have done something wrong but because you are doing something good, is even more discouraging.


Hence, we cannot but feel with Jesus who “was troubled in spirit” at the knowledge of what Judas was intending to do. Like the disciples, we, too, would certainly be shocked to hear Jesus declaring, “I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me.” Like Peter, we too would never think that we could be the ones to betray Jesus, after all, we are His chosen people. But Jesus would tell us as He told Peter, “’Lay down your life for me? … ‘I tell you most solemnly, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’”


That is why before we think of condemning Judas for selling out Jesus, we must realize that in our own lives, we are the very ones who would betray Him first. For the fact remains that those who are in the inner circle, especially those of us serving as ministers in the Church, are more apt to do greater harm than those who are outside. Our sins of infidelity harm the Church much more than ourselves. This explains why, when those of us who are holding positions of authority in the Church fall, the faithful are shaken in their faith and the world is scandalized. They certainly expect that as close associates of Jesus we would be more committed and faithful than the rest of the flock. Yes, because of our lack of fidelity to our vocation, we show ourselves to be a contradiction, not only to what we preach but what we claim to be, the Alter Christus. Consequently, we discredit the Church and Christ to the world. When Satan attacks the ministers of the Church, especially the clergy, he strikes at the very core of the Church’s foundation. He brings the battle right into the heart of the Church. He is not content with just attacking the lay faithful, who are in the front line of the battlefield in the world.


For this reason, we must be more sensitive to our weaknesses. For some of us, we might share in the obvious sin of Judas. Of course, we do not know the real reason why Judas betrayed Jesus. It could be greed, but it was probably the sin of impatience, as he wanted Jesus to seize the day. Whatever the motive for Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, we can surely identify ourselves with him. It is our greed, our desire for an easy life, for power and recognition that makes us impatient with others. Such impatience and desire for things can make us do anything, even putting at risk the people whom we love.


But perhaps the greatest sin is not the obvious ones. It is the sin of the rest of the apostles when they said, “Surely it is not I.” It is the sin of vain confidence, that we will never betray Jesus because we can rely on our own strength and will. Because we are so sure of ourselves, we fall, and fall so miserably. When we are over confident of ourselves, we overlook the need to be vigilant at all times in what we say and do.


On the other hand, if today we find ourselves so helpless against the onslaught of the temptations of the Evil One, then we must find hope and strength even in our sinfulness. Today, we are called to look at Jesus in His passion to draw strength and consolation. Only by contemplating on the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, can we come to realize that in spite of the evils of man, the last word is not evil or death, but goodness and life. For when we look upon the passion of our Lord, we know that His humiliation is also the cause of His victory and glory. Hence, immediately after Judas left with Satan to plot against Him, Jesus could say, “’Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified.” This parallels what the Suffering Servant of Isaiah felt in his sufferings, and when he was toiling in vain, until he heard God saying to him, “’You are my servant Israel, in whom I shall be glorified.” In the apparent failure of Jesus, God showed that He is God, for He is the one who brings success.


So we too should not be too let down when we feel weighed down by our sins. We must take courage and find hope in Jesus who transformed His sufferings to opportunities to manifest the glory of the Father. Like Him, we too are called to learn from our sufferings. Our sins and failures are meant to wake us up from our lethargy in our spiritual and moral life. From our sins we must, like Peter, repent, instead of condemning ourselves like Judas. Nay, we must look at Jesus and find in Him “the light of the nations”.


And for those of us who have been faithful to Jesus and find ourselves apparently at a disadvantage because in trying to please God we fail to please man, then we must remain firm in our faith and faithful to Him even in the face of ridicule. Like the Suffering Servant, we must say to ourselves, “All the while my cause was with the Lord, my reward with my God. I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord, my God was my strength.”


How can we do this? We must find strength not only by contemplating on His passion but also by waiting to receive His Spirit in the Resurrection, the spirit of power and love. Indeed, when Peter wanted to follow Jesus, he was told ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now; you will follow me later.’” Peter could only follow Jesus after he came to realize his own weaknesses and when he started to depend on the power of the Lord rather than on himself. Peter could only follow Jesus to the cross when he had contemplated His passion and resurrection. For only when we are convinced of the power of His victory over death and sin in the resurrection, can we follow Him to the cross! Truly, only when we realize that God is our strength alone; that His word is truth, His love is our consolation, His light is our wisdom and His life as our inspiration, can we remain always faithful to Jesus. In this way, like the Suffering Servant, we too will become a light to the nations and bring back those who are exiled from the Lord.

Written by The Most Rev Msgr William Goh
Archbishop of Singapore