20240326 GOD IS GLORIFIED IN THE SUFFERING AND DEATH OF CHRIST
26 March 2024, Tuesday of Holy Week
First reading | Isaiah 49:1-6 © |
I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth
Islands, listen to me,
pay attention, remotest peoples.
The Lord called me before I was born,
from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.
He made my mouth a sharp sword,
and hid me in the shadow of his hand.
He made me into a sharpened arrow,
and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, ‘You are my servant (Israel)
in whom I shall be glorified’;
while I was thinking, ‘I have toiled in vain,
I have exhausted myself for nothing’;
and all the while my cause was with the Lord,
my reward with my God.
I was honoured in the eyes of the Lord,
my God was my strength.
And now the Lord has spoken,
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
to gather Israel to him:
‘It is not enough for you to be my servant,
to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;
I will make you the light of the nations
so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 70(71):1-6,15,17 © |
My lips will tell of your help.
In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, free me:
pay heed to me and save me.
My lips will tell of your help.
Be a rock where I can take refuge,
a mighty stronghold to save me;
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
Free me from the hand of the wicked.
My lips will tell of your help.
It is you, O Lord, who are my hope,
my trust, O Lord, since my youth.
On you I have leaned from my birth,
from my mother’s womb you have been my help.
My lips will tell of your help.
My lips will tell of your justice
and day by day of your help.
O God, you have taught me from my youth
and I proclaim your wonders still.
My lips will tell of your help.
Gospel Acclamation |
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Hail to you, our King!
Obedient to the Father, you were led to your crucifixion
as a meek lamb is led to the slaughter.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Gospel |
John 13:21-33,36-38 © |
'What you are going to do, do quickly'
While at supper with his disciples, Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, ‘I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me.’ The disciples looked at one another, wondering which he meant. The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus; Simon Peter signed to him and said, ‘Ask who it is he means’, so leaning back on Jesus’ breast he said, ‘Who is it, Lord?’ ‘It is the one’ replied Jesus ‘to whom I give the piece of bread that I shall dip in the dish.’ He dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’ None of the others at table understood the reason he said this. Since Judas had charge of the common fund, some of them thought Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’, or telling him to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. Night had fallen.
When he had gone Jesus said:
‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified,
and in him God has been glorified.
If God has been glorified in him,
God will in turn glorify him in himself,
and will glorify him very soon.
‘My little children,
I shall not be with you much longer.
You will look for me,
And, as I told the Jews,
where I am going, you cannot come.’
Simon Peter said, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now; you will follow me later.’ Peter said to him, ‘Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ ‘Lay down your life for me?’ answered Jesus. ‘I tell you most solemnly, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’
GOD IS GLORIFIED IN THE SUFFERING AND DEATH OF CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 49:1-6; PS 71:1-6,15,17; JOHN 13:21-38 ]
In the second song of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, once again, the universal mission of the Servant is underscored. The Lord said to the Servant, “It is not enough for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” Who is this servant? Whilst the identity of this servant is ambiguous, after reflecting on the teaching of Christ and the way He assumed His role as a servant of God, Christians have come to conclude that Jesus is that Suffering Servant prophesied by Isaiah, as Christ’s identity, role and His conduct and service reflect very much what was prophesied in the four songs of the Suffering Servant. (cf Isa 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12.)
In this second servant song, the mission of the Servant is revealed. His task is to glorify God. The prophet said, “You are my servant (Israel) in whom I shall be glorified.” In John’s gospel, in His Priestly prayer, the Lord made clear the ultimate purpose of His mission. “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (Jn 17:4,25f) Jesus is called to be the revealer and personal presence of God to His people, to reveal His love and mercy by His teaching and life. This is why the Lord told Philip when he asked, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” (Jn 14:8-10)
For that reason, the Lord spoke of His imminent glorification. ‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified. If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon.” Again in the Priestly prayer, the Lord said to His Father, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (Jn 17:1f, 24)
However, this glorification comes about through His suffering. When Jesus spoke of His glorification, it includes both His suffering on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead. As He said, “just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” (Jn 3:14) Christ will be lifted up twice, that is, raised up twice, once at His passion on the cross and again at His resurrection. Accordingly, when Judas took the bread from our Lord, we read that Satan entered him. Jesus then said, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Why did Jesus say these words? This is because by taking the bread from him, Judas made the decision to betray Him. By taking the bread without accepting His friendship and His love, Judas had already betrayed him. This explains why the evangelist remarked that Satan entered into him when he took the bread. With sadness, the evangelist noted, “As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. Night had fallen.” In other words, the devil had taken over him and darkness would prevail.
But the suffering of Jesus was not just on account of the betrayal of Judas. At the supper, “Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, ‘I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me’. The disciples looked at one another, wondering which he meant.” Why was our Lord troubled in spirit? He was troubled in spirit because He knew that not just Judas, but the apostles too, would abandon Him. Of course, in the case of Judas, the betrayal was malicious, planned and deliberate, whereas in the case of the other apostles, it was due to human weakness and lack of courage. Peter, who was very presumptuous of what he would do to defend our Lord and lay down his life for Him, was told, “Lay down your life for me? Before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.” But the Lord understood their weaknesses and did not condemn them. He is certainly patient with us as with His apostles. He is love, mercy and understanding. He will strengthen Peter later on and all of us who turn to Him for guidance and correction.
However, Jesus was troubled in spirit not because of Judas’ betrayal but because he rejected His love and mercy. Jesus must have felt so sorry for Judas. He tried to embrace him by loving him and extending a hand of friendship by offering him a piece of bread. It was Jesus’ magnanimous love, even for a traitor like Judas who was with him for three long years, that caused him to feel sad for Judas. Jesus knew the tragic end ahead of him, but love cannot be forced. Until the last minute, Jesus was hoping that Judas would change his mind and do the right thing. Indeed, the love and mercy of Jesus was truly reflective of God’s love for us. When we reject Him and His love, God feels troubled and sad for us rather than for Himself.
But the real reason He was troubled in spirit was because He was to carry the sins of the world in His body. Jesus could feel the immense weight of sin that He carried upon His shoulders. He knew that at His death on the cross, He would be separated from His Father simply because sin and holiness are not compatible. For Jesus to be separated from God was unthinkable, because He is one with God. As a man, therefore, he suffered the silence of God at the cross as He carried upon Himself the sins of the world. As St Peter wrote, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.” (1 Pt 2:24f)
Yet, our Lord showed us the way to find peace in the midst of betrayal and hostility. He continued to trust in His Father even though doing His will was difficult. The only way that we can find peace, as Jesus taught us, is not to trust in the loyalty of men, not even His own apostles. Even the weaknesses of His apostles could not dampen Jesus’ commitment to doing the Father’s will. The betrayal and abandonment of His disciples did not lead Jesus to fall into despair, but became the means by which He teaches us where true security lies. The only way to find real hope and confidence is to trust in God and be focused on Him rather than on ourselves. As the psalmist wrote, “In you, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, free me: pay heed to me and save me. Be a rock where I can take refuge, a mighty stronghold to save me; for you are my rock, my stronghold.”
For this reason, the Lord said to His disciples who were anxious and worried that He was going away, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” (Jn 14:1) So long as our hearts trust God and our Lord, we will not be disturbed. The way to find rest in our restlessness is not to focus on our feelings, which will lead to self-preoccupation, but to keep our eyes focused on the Father and the Son. Only when we ground our confidence in God can we overcome, as the disciples did when they had to confront their own weaknesses when they saw how our Lord was killed by the Romans. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, we must know that God is our loving Father. We will overcome by living in God rather than our own feelings or that of the world. Indeed, like our Lord, let us be focused on His Father and doing His will to find true peace and security. Perfect love casts out fear. (1 Jn 4:18)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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