John 13:21-33, 36-38

Isaiah 49:1-6

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

John 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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I earnestly desire to follow your Son. Like Peter, I am willing to lay down my life for Jesus. I want to love you with all my heart and soul and give myself in service to my brothers and sisters.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Betrayal: The account of the Last Supper in John’s Gospel gives us an intimate look at the conversations that took place that night. We can see Peter nodding to John to prod him to ask Jesus a question about the betrayer, and John learning who would betray Jesus but keeping the knowledge to himself for a time. The betrayal was prophesied in Psalm 41:10: “Even my trusted friend, who ate my bread, has raised his heel against me.” “Jesus quotes this verse in John 13:18 with reference to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed and turned against him after receiving the Eucharist at the Last Supper (John 13:21-30)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 865). Psalm 41 contemplates the death of King David. It indicates that David’s enemies eagerly anticipate his eventual death: “When will he die, and his name be forgotten?” (Psalm 41:6); ‘He has had ruin poured over him; that one lying down will never rise again” (Psalm 41:9). David ends the psalm asking the Lord to raise him up: “But you, Lord, take note of me to raise me up that I may repay them. By this, I will know you are pleased with me, that my enemy no longer shouts in triumph over me. In my integrity may you support me and let me stand in your presence forever” (Psalm 41:11-13) (see Barber, Singing in the Reign, 92). By quoting the psalm, Jesus shows that he is fully aware of the betrayal by his friend Judas, of his imminent suffering and death on the cross, and of how his Father will raise him up on the third day.

2. The Darkness of Satan and the Glorious Light of Jesus: In the opening lines of his Gospel, John contrasted the glorious light of God with the pervasive darkness of sin (John 1:4-5). At the Last Supper, John brings out this contrast between light and darkness by indicating when Satan entered into Judas, “it was night.” After sending Judas on his way, Jesus speaks to his other disciples about his glory and the glory of God. In the Bible, glory often refers to the sensible manifestation and revelation of the presence of the Lord. Jesus uses the title “Son of Man,” which “designates Jesus as the one who came down from heaven to reveal the Father (3:12-13) and is lifted up on the cross for the world’s salvation (3:14-15; 8:28; 12:32-34). The cross is the moment of glorification because in the cross God is definitively revealed as self-giving love (1 John 4:8-10). The Father loves the Son and gives him for the world’s salvation (John 3:16-17), and the Son in turn makes of his life a perfect gift of love and obedience to the Father (10:17-18). Since the love between the Father and the Son is revealed on the cross, God is glorified in Jesus’ loving obedience, and the Father will further glorify Jesus, reveal Jesus’ deity, in his resurrected, glorified humanity (8:28; 20:28)” (Martin and Wright, The Gospel of John, 241).

3. The Denial: Jesus announced not only Judas’ betrayal but also Peter’s denial at the Last Supper. While Judas left boldly to go betray Jesus and reveal where Jesus would be that night to the chief priests, Peter was bold in promising to stay by Jesus’ side and to lay down his life for Jesus. When Judas realized what he had done, he gave back the money, but ultimately despaired and did not seek out forgiveness. When Peter realized what he did when he denied Jesus three times, he went out and wept bitterly. Although he denied Jesus three times, he also reaffirmed his love for Jesus three times. And, in the end, his resolve to die for Jesus came to fruition. He himself would be crucified some thirty years after Jesus in Rome for his faith.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, just as you were commissioned by your Father to bring salvation and justice to the earth, so also I am commissioned and sent. My mission is a share in your mission. Help me today to be guided by your Spirit in fulfilling your Father’s will.

Living the Word of God: How have I fallen into despair like Judas? How have I repented like Peter? When do I give in to the darkness of sin? When have I experienced the glorious light of Christ?