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| “Last Supper” by El Greco, c. 1568 |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
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 gathered to him;
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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Commentary on Is 49:1-6
In this passage, the beginning of
the second of the four “Servant of the Lord” oracles, the Prophet Isaiah speaks
of his own call of 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”), 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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Commentary on Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15
and 17
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 all 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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Commentary on Jn 13:21-33, 36-38
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 the Lord’s prediction of his own death. There is 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
and 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, “[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 lever, 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 what he was doing was 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 always to be faithful to Christ and never fall into betrayal as Judas
did, who was from that moment accursed throughout history and indeed all time.
Pax
[1]
The picture
used is “Last Supper” by El Greco, c. 1568.
[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 republication is not authorized by USCCB and is
for private use only.
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