20150401 FORGIVING OUR BETRAYERS
4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are
taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. Morning
by morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. 5 The
Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward. 6
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the
beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7 For the Lord GOD
helps me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face
like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; 8 he who
vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who
is my adversary? Let him come near to me. 9 Behold, the Lord GOD
helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a
garment; the moth will eat them up.
14 Then
one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15
and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” And they paid
him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an
opportunity to betray him.
17 Now
on the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying,
“Where will you have us prepare for you to eat the passover?” 18 He
said, “Go into the city to a certain one, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My
time is at hand; I will keep the passover at your house with my disciples.’” 19
And the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the
passover.
20 When
it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples; 21 and as
they were eating, he said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22
And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him one after another,
“Is it I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “He who has dipped his hand in the
dish with me, will betray me. 24 The Son of man goes as it is
written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It
would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Judas,
who betrayed him, said, “Is it I, Master?” He said to him, “You have said so.”
FORGIVING
OUR BETRAYERS
01
April 2015, Wednesday of Holy Week
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISAIAH 50:4-9;
MATTHEW 26:14 –
25
When
Jesus prophesied that “The Son of Man is going to his fate, as the scriptures
say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! Better
for that man if he had never been born!” was He also saying that Judas would go
to hell, as some have suggested? Well, one thing is certain, and that is
that although the Church has canonized many saints, she has never declared that
anyone is in hell, even though the doctrine of hell is an article of
faith. This is because we never know the depth of God’s mercy and
forgiveness. The final judgment is left to God alone. So we must
not pass sentence on Judas as if we know the mind of God. That would be
too presumptuous of us!
The
remark of Jesus that it would better for Judas not to have been born must be
seen in perspective. Jesus said it because of the consequences that
Judas’ pride, impatience and perhaps greed would lead him to. We are not
certain why Judas betrayed Jesus. Greed, perhaps, could have been a
motive, since he was paid for the information he gave to the Jewish religious
leaders. The evangelists all recorded in different ways that Judas did ask for
a price of thirty silver pieces to betray his master. But some theologians
also hypothesized that it could be because of Judas’ ambition for a political
revolution against the Roman conquerors and his impatience with Jesus for not
taking more radical steps to overthrow the Romans.
But I
think the biggest cause of Judas’ downfall was his pride. He wanted to
have things done his way. He could not wait for Jesus to establish the
kingdom of God but wanted to agitate Him to take action. He was too
proud even to acknowledge his evil intention when confronted with Jesus’ last
appeal to repent of his evil plan. Instead, without batting an eyelid, he
joined the rest in responding to Jesus’ statement that “one of you is about to
betray me” with “Not I, Rabbi, surely?” The counter-response of Jesus
“They are your own words” was not one of judgment but a call to sincere
examination of his words. So proud was Judas that even after betraying
Jesus and stricken by his conscience for what he did, he was not humble enough
to even ask for forgiveness. Instead, so ashamed was he that he sold out his
master that he took his own life. Judas indeed died a tragic death, not
just physically but most of all in his soul. Jesus’ remark that it would
be better that Judas not be born was thus perhaps uttered in realization of the
tragedy that would eventually befall the latter.
What
about us, how do we react to those who betray us? Of course we cannot but
feel hurt, especially when those who betrayed us are closest to us, such as our
spouse, family members, friends and associates in the workplace or partners in
business. The thought of the pain and suffering they caused us make it so
difficult to forgive them and to forget. Such betrayals are many.
Most of the time traitors are tempted by influence, power and money.
Instead of reacting with anger, vindictiveness or curses, we should come to
realize that the betrayers who cheat us will, in the final analysis, cheat
themselves most. Those who do evil will eventually be like Judas,
destroyed by their treachery. So they are more to be pitied than to be
condemned. By sinning against us, they will only cause greater harm to
themselves, especially when we have loved them and sacrificed so much for
them. Their greed and pride will overwhelm them and their conscience will
condemn them for their deceitful ways. They will have no peace, joy or
true freedom of heart. This is true for all those who betray their spouse
or their friends. Truer still for those who do not live a life of
integrity because their conscience is being hurt and it will take its revenge
subtly by manifesting itself in anger, agitation, restlessness, fear and
anxiety. Their conscience will condemn them and the consequences of their
guilt will bear themselves out in daily life events and a repetition of
history.
Indeed,
because their sins will punish them already, we are called to show compassion
as Jesus did to Judas and His enemies. Rather than taking things into our
own hands, we are invited to be like the Suffering Servant in the first
reading. We read how the Suffering Servant dealt with his
adversaries. He said, “For my part, I made no resistance, neither did I
turn away. I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who
tore at my beard; I did not cover my face against insult and spittle.” By
not retaliating, he showed himself to be stronger than his opponents. But
how can anyone of us take injustices done to us lying down?
Well,
in the first place, we must recognize that we too have, many times in our
lives, betrayed the people we love, our friends, colleagues and our superiors
and most of all, God Himself. How many times have we cheated on our
friends? How many times have we broken our promises? How many times
have we betrayed the trust given to us, whether it is with regard to
confidential matters or responsibilities? Even if one thinks that he or she has
been faithful, surely, we cannot say that it is true when it comes to fidelity
to Christ and to our faith! By the evil and sinful actions and words in
our lives, we have betrayed Jesus again and again, more than what Peter and
Judas did. By failing to live up to the faith we profess, we are counter
witnesses to Christ and therefore in a real sense, we too have betrayed the
Lord, for because of us, He is not believed and loved less. So let us not
pretend to be innocent of betrayal! In fact, we have hurt Jesus so deeply
a thousand times more than anyone else who has betrayed us. We deserve a
more severe punishment than anyone else, but the Lord did not retaliate.
Instead, He accepts our “insult and spittle.”
Secondly,
if people have betrayed us, let us commend them and our sufferings to the Lord,
as the Suffering Servant did and as Jesus did on the cross. The former
said, “The Lord comes to my help, so that I am untouched by the insults.
So, too, I set my face like flint; I know I shall not be shamed. My vindicator
is here at hand. Does anyone start proceedings against me? Then let us go to
court together. Who thinks he has a case against me? Let him approach
me. The Lord is coming to my help, who will dare to condemn me? They
shall all go to pieces like a garment devoured by moths.” So long as we are
faithful to God and to our conscience, the Lord will avenge us. We need
not take such matters into our own hands. Let the Lord vindicate us and
He will do so in His own time. Our enemies, detractors and traitors will have
to answer for their sins. So there is no need to take revenge. At
any rate, the punishments that come from their sins are already too heavy for
them.
Thirdly,
when we suffer, let us remember that we do not suffer for ourselves
alone. That would be self-defeating. If the sufferings can purify
us, make us stronger and more compassionate, then that suffering is not carried
in vain. But beyond suffering for our own sanctification, let us suffer
for the sinners and those who hurt us, so that through our redemptive suffering
they might be converted. For this reason, we are called to suffer for
Jesus and with Jesus for the salvation of the world. Like the psalmist,
we share in His spirit saying, “It is for you that I suffer taunts, that shame
covers my face, that I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my
own mother’s sons. I burn with zeal for your house and taunts against you
fall on me.” (Ps 69: 7-9)
Yes,
those who trust in the Lord more than themselves will always find help and
strength from the Lord. Like the psalmist, we can then pray, I will
praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving: “See,
you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the
Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” God
will be on our side. The death and resurrection of Christ shows us that
truth and justice have the last word, not falsehood and evil. In the
final analysis, good will triumph over evil, life over death. Prayer and
faith in God is the way to transcend those who hurt us.
Finally,
let us also pray that in such difficult and painful moments in our lives, we
will respond correctly and not cause the situation to become worse, especially
by falling prey to their traps. When we are angry, resentful and
revengeful, we are simply perpetuating, or rather, accentuating, the wrongs
others have already done to us. Let the past be past. Instead, let
us live in the present and make the most of the situation as a learning curve
and means for our purification in life. For that to happen, we must always
bring our problems to the Lord like the way the Suffering Servant did.
“The Lord has given me a disciple’s tongue, so that I may know how to reply to
the wearied. He provides me with speech. Each morning he wakes me
to hear, to listen like a disciple. The Lord has opened my ear.” Truly,
listen to the voice of the Lord and obey Him and we will find peace in our
soul.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh
Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Singapore
© All Rights Reserved
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