Reading I
Is 49:1-6
Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The Lord called me from birth,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
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.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
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.
For now the Lord has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
And I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Gospel
Jn 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.”
Meditation: Isaiah 49:1-6
Do you ever wonder what Jesus thought about his mission?
For thirty years, he lived a quiet, ordinary life as a Jewish carpenter in occupied Israel. Then he spent three years traveling the country, preaching and ministering. And finally he was killed. Surely he was tempted to think that it was all in vain, that his time was too short to do all he wanted to do. And look at who he commissioned to continue spreading his message: fishermen, tax collectors, prostitutes—largely uneducated, untraveled, unimpor-tant people!
If everything depended on human beings, we would be in bad shape indeed. But it doesn’t! That’s why it is so important that we keep our eyes on who is in control, who has the knowledge and the wisdom and the understanding. Jesus’ life didn’t suddenly spin out of control during his final week. His Father was always in control. His plan might be beyond our understanding, but believe it: He does have a plan, and it is perfect!
The Jews had a plan: a messiah who would throw off the bonds of Rome. But the Father planned One who would light up the darkness of the world forever. God favored the Jews, promising to bring Jacob back and gather Israel to himself. But that wasn’t enough in God’s eyes! “It is too little … to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the survivors of Israel.” No, in Jesus he went much farther, ensuring that “salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6).
Even as we recall the events in which Jesus’ faithful ones betray him and fall away, as we recount the proceedings that diverged so far from what anyone thought might happen, remember this: God’s power and glory and victory are supreme. Confusion, disloyalty, turmoil, and even death cannot defeat God’s plan. He is stronger and wiser and more creative than anything that comes against him. The events of Holy Week are disturbing, but never discouraging, for the kingdom and the power and the glory belong to God alone. His perfect plans always end in victory.
“Father, I believe that you are in control of everything. Increase my perception of your power, your plan, and your victory. Let the light of your salvation reach deeply into my heart today.”
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