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| “Last Supper” by Carl Heinrich Bloch , c. 1880’s |
Reading 1: Isaiah
49:1-6
Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The Lord called me from
birth,
from my mother's womb he gave
me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged
sword
and concealed me in the
shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said
to me,
Israel, through whom I show
my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled
in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly,
spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the Lord,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the Lord has spoken
who formed me as his servant
from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought
back to him
and Israel
And I am made glorious in the
sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my
strength!
It is too little, he says,
for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of
Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel
I will make you a light to
the nations,
that my salvation may reach
to the ends of the earth.
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In this passage, the
beginning of the second of the four “Servant of the Lord” oracles, the Prophet
Isaiah speaks of his own call to service to God. It presents him as “another
Jeremiah.” He is called from his
mother’s womb (see Jeremiah 1:5).
The prophet has a vocation to the gentiles (Jeremiah
1:10; Jeremiah
25:15ff) to bring a message of both
doom and happiness (Jeremiah 16:19-21)[4].
We note that God sets his servants on their course from before their birth (see
also Luke 1:15
(St. John the Baptist), Luke 1:31
(Jesus) and Galatians 1:15
(St. Paul the Apostle))
The servant learns that even at times when his effort seems to have failed (“Though I thought I had toiled in vain…”) that it is God’s strength and plan that succeeds (“…my recompense is with my God”)(see also 1 Corinthians 4:1-5). The prophet’s role is expanded at the end of the passage to “…reach to the ends of the earth.” A revelation further elaborated in Genesis 12:3; Luke 2:31-32; and Acts 13:47.
The servant learns that even at times when his effort seems to have failed (“Though I thought I had toiled in vain…”) that it is God’s strength and plan that succeeds (“…my recompense is with my God”)(see also 1 Corinthians 4:1-5). The prophet’s role is expanded at the end of the passage to “…reach to the ends of the earth.” A revelation further elaborated in Genesis 12:3; Luke 2:31-32; and Acts 13:47.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17
R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take
refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me,
and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and
save me.
R. I will sing of your
salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me
safety,
for you are my rock and my
fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the
hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your
salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my
youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother's womb you are
my strength.
R. I will sing of your
salvation.
My mouth shall declare your
justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me
from my youth,
and till the present I
proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your
salvation.
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Psalm 71 is an individual
lament. In this section we hear a
profession of faith in the saving power of God.
In the third strophe we also find another reference to the idea that God
calls his servants from before they were born; from their mother’s wombs. In both cases the servant is known by God and
prepared for his service from the womb.
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Gospel: 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."
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This selection
from the narrative of the “Last Supper” continues the story of the final hours of
Jesus’ time with the disciples following the washing of their feet. First we hear of Judas’ departure from the
table to betray the Lord. We note with
interest St. John’s use of imagery as Judas is led by the devil to his actions;
“So Judas took the morsel and left at
once. And it was night.” Then we are told of
Jesus’ discourse with Peter and his prediction of Peter’s denial. Again we see in the description not only the
Lord’s prediction of his own death but also the indication that Peter would follow
him in death for God’s greater glory.
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Reflection:
The betrayal of Judas sets
the stage for all that takes place during Holy Week. Like a game of Chess superbly played, Jesus
sets up his own sacrifice as he allows Judas to do what must be done. He did not induce Judas to betray him, but
that betrayal must happen if final victory is to be achieved.
Judas is not, as some
literature would have us believe, an unwitting dupe in this saga. Judas was called, just as Peter, just as the
disciple Jesus loved. Judas was loved
just as all of Jesus’ closest friends were loved. However, at some point a flaw in his
character rose to the surface. It could
have been, as some have suggested, that he felt the only way to force Jesus to
take up the mantle of the Royal Messiah was to put him in harm’s way. If Judas was a Zealot, this would have made
sense because the Zealots wanted to throw off the Roman yoke of domination
through any means possible.
Judas’ betrayal could also
have been a result of pure greed, as the Gospel of St. John suggests when the
Lord was in the house of Lazarus; “…he [Judas] was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the
contributions.” Although thirty pieces of
silver, the supposed price he was paid for the betrayal seemed rather low for
such a deed.
The leaver
pulled by Satan that turned Judas will never be known. It died with him when he too fulfilled the
Lord’s prophecy when he said; “but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is
betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." (Matthew 26:24) What becomes clear is that as
in all wicked actions, there was one who had been cast out of the Heavenly
Kingdom who was cheering him on, making it sound like the right thing to do.
For us, as
we reflect upon Judas’ deed and how events will unfold as a consequence, we
pray fervently that we will have the strength to always be faithful to Christ
and never fall into betrayal as Judas who was from that moment accursed
throughout history and indeed all time.
Pax
[1]
ALTRE
[2]
The picture used is “Last Supper” by Carl Heinrich Bloch , c. 1880’s
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
[4]
The Navarre Bible: “Major Prophets”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002,
pp.267-68
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