Betrayal . . . a word and action none of us want to experience, but cannot avoid. When my youngest daughter Taylor was 14 years old, she experienced the ultimate teenage betrayal. Her crush on the blond-haired, blue-eyed quarterback freshman year was every girl's dream guy. The first week of school he saw her in between classes and asked if she needed help finding her class. Boom! That's all it took to become her first high school crush. Excited about him approaching her, she rushed to tell her best friend. She described him to a tee, every detail she could remember. A few weeks later, her best friend was dating him. Taylor was devastated. Time heals, but when I asked her to recall the memory, it all came rushing back. The fact that someone who knows you better then anyone else can turn on you in what seems like overnight is unbelievable. If we struggle with it, imagine how our Savior must have felt.
In todays Gospel (John 13:21-33, 36-38), Jesus identifies his betrayer:
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.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Whispers From the Cross, she sees betrayal in a different light:
"There is something beautiful about betrayal. It can be an exquisite thing, a breath-stopping moment for an apostle. The reason betrayal can be exquisite is because it is a ‘call to follow’ of the highest order. How did Jesus handle betrayal? Jesus handled it like a lamb. This does not mean that He was not tempted to bitterness but we know that He successfully overcame these temptations because one of his last statements was a plea for the Father to forgive those who were hurting Him. We must do the same. The reason a moment of betrayal must be breath-stopping is because in every betrayal the enemy has seeded a plan of destruction. At the very least, the enemy hopes to destroy our peace. At the very most, the enemy hopes for alteration of a heavenly plan. If our breath stops in the face of a betrayal, let that be a good thing because we want to move oh-so-carefully. We want to examine each possible course of action and separate our personal reaction from the response God should be able to expect from a holy apostle."
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.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Whispers From the Cross, she sees betrayal in a different light:
"There is something beautiful about betrayal. It can be an exquisite thing, a breath-stopping moment for an apostle. The reason betrayal can be exquisite is because it is a ‘call to follow’ of the highest order. How did Jesus handle betrayal? Jesus handled it like a lamb. This does not mean that He was not tempted to bitterness but we know that He successfully overcame these temptations because one of his last statements was a plea for the Father to forgive those who were hurting Him. We must do the same. The reason a moment of betrayal must be breath-stopping is because in every betrayal the enemy has seeded a plan of destruction. At the very least, the enemy hopes to destroy our peace. At the very most, the enemy hopes for alteration of a heavenly plan. If our breath stops in the face of a betrayal, let that be a good thing because we want to move oh-so-carefully. We want to examine each possible course of action and separate our personal reaction from the response God should be able to expect from a holy apostle."
Lay apostles, as you contemplate the last days of Jesus this week, think about how you have handled betrayals in the past. And after reading the quote from Anne's book, how will you face them in the future? See it for what it is . . . the enemy using whatever it takes to draw you off the path to heaven.
Thank you, Lord, for Your suffering in the last days of Your Life. Help us to remember the pain and betrayal You encountered from those who were the closest to Your Sacred Heart. And forgive them as You did.
God bless,
Bonnie
No comments:
Post a Comment