Wednesday in Holy Week
The Gospel reading and a reflection:
John 13:21-32 (NRSV)
Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.”
After all the travel, the multitudes, the triumphal entry, Jesus withdraws to a small room to share a last supper with his 12 closest disciples. Jesus shows his humility and his love for his disciples by washing their feet at the Last Supper – an act of ritual cleansing, rather than merely of hygiene. It is something Christians around the world will commemorate tomorrow evening, washing each other’s feet. By doing so, he has set an example for them, for us all; if he, being Lord of all, consistently chooses humility, long-suffering, compassion, meekness... how much more must they should do it for each other if they want to be his disciples in truth? (v. 13)
As we know, there is one of his closest disciples, Judas, who will not follow his example, but will betray him (v. 18), as Jesus quotes from Psalm 41:9, “the one “who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me”, foretelling his actions to come. Jesus forewarns the rest of his disciples, knowing that they will abandon him and lose faith in him, when he is arrested, put on trial, tortured, and murdered (v. 19). One disciple, his closest - the one whom he loved - asks about who will be the betrayer. Jesus tells him the sign, and yet Judas’ betrayal of him will only serve God’s purpose, as all things must do in time.
The Gospel writer then gives us a touching insight into Jesus’ humanity in a moment of crisis: Jesus is “troubled in spirit” – who could not be, especially when being betrayed by a close companion.
This disciple whom Jesus loved, usually understood to be John, the one to whom Jesus entrusts care of his mother in (19:25-27); it is he who identifies Jesus in his post-resurrection appearance (21:7). At the conclusion of the gospel, the writer say that this is the disciple “who is testifying to these things and has written them” (21:24).
For Christians, the Blessed Sacrament of Jesus’ Body experienced through the matter of shared bread is seen as the fountain of renewed life in him. But on this night, the sign of giving of bread is the opposite of communion, identifying who will betray him. The power of the Sacrament can still reveal to us today our spiritual need as well as redeem us from sin. In this instance, it reveals the evil at the heart of Judas and that his heart has become hardened in order to betray Jesus.
Rather than tell the other disciples what Judas is about to do, or try to talk him out of it, Jesus urges Judas to carry out “quickly” (v. 27) his betrayal. The other disciples, like we ourselves, are confused, perhaps disbelieving that one of their friends could be false, are unable or unwilling to accept it. “Night” (v. 30) is often used as a metaphor for evil when compared to day as a metaphor for good. Earlier in the Gospel, John uses this same metaphor (3:19) writing that Jesus is “the light come into the world”. The Gospel goes on to explain that “All who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed” ( 3:20). This shared meal, meant to reveal their mutual love and oneness has instead revealed their brokenness and mutual suspicion born out of jealousy. In the following days, this broken fellowship becomes a scattered flock, a microcosm of the deep fault lines amongst the people of Israel that lead to Jesus’ death, crucifixion and resurrection, events that are now underway as they recline at supper. In the same way, the broken communion of world Christianity is a terrible wound in the body of Jesus, caused by ancient rivalries, jealousies, arrogance, and all the evils these spawn.
How great is the love of Jesus that he still endures our brokenness, betrayal, and turnings away. How majestic is the promise that even the worst of what we can do is not enough to stop the love of God! In his humility Jesus is truly glorified. How deeply we long for the return of Jesus, when his body, the Church, will be healed, reunified, and glorified.
Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
