19 April 2011, Tuesday of Holy Week

Reading 1
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.


Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17
Responsorial Psalm

R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation.

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: John 13:21-33,36-38


“Judas took the morsel.” (John 13:27)


Jesus had just washed the feet of each of his disciples, including the one who would betray him. Then, predicting the betrayal, he reached out again to Judas, offering him a morsel of bread dipped in the common bowl. Far from using this gesture as a dismissal of a failed disciple, Jesus was giving Judas one more opportunity to recognize Jesus for who he was. It was a final outreach to a disciple who has lost his way and was consumed by bitterness and confusion.

Some Scripture scholars see in this passage a hint of the Eucharist. Judas took the morsel, but he still couldn’t perceive the gift being offered to him or the identity of the One giving it. Even after all that time he had spent with Jesus, Judas still couldn’t accept him in the way Peter and the others had. His heart, hardened by the choices he had made, was closed. As a result, he ate and drank his own condemnation.

Just as Jesus kept reaching out and offering himself to Judas, he does the same with us. Every time we receive communion, Jesus is handing us another opportunity to accept him into our lives more deeply. He invites us to put aside any obstacles we have set up to embracing his love.

Doesn’t this move your heart? Despite the choices we have made that have led us away from him, Jesus keeps on reaching out to us. Where our understanding of him is cloudy, he offers insight and clarity. Where our relationship with him is weak, he wants to deepen it. Every time we approach the altar to receive communion, we have another irreplaceable opportunity to change our lives a little bit more—and to welcome his grace and power in greater measure.

Every Mass gives you another opportunity to take the “morsel” in faith! Receive the gift of Jesus’ eucharistic presence, and accept the Giver who suffered and died for you. Let the Holy Spirit open your eyes and your heart so that you can welcome him into your life a little more. No matter where life’s choices have led you so far, it’s never too late. And as you say yes to him, you’ll find yourself rejoicing in his love and faithfulness!

“Jesus, I am overwhelmed by your love. You never stop reaching out to me and giving yourself to me. Help me to receive you with all my heart!”