Isaiah 49:1-6 / John 13:21-33, 36-38
In any culture, a meal is not just a social event. It is a time for bonding and deepening of relationships.
More so for the Jewish Passover meal. It is a religious meal, a time to recall and experience God's saving love for His people.
Yet at that Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus mentioned about betrayal.
Among the disciples who were around Jesus at that meal, two disciples would come to mind as we think about betrayal - Judas and Peter.
But what is the difference between them?
Well, Judas deliberately betrayed his Master, while Peter, in a moment of weakness, denied Him.
One was cold and calculated ; the other was out of fear, weakness and cowardice.
The other disciples had varying degrees of betrayal, to say the least.
We may not be cold and calculated like Judas in betraying Jesus.
Yet like Peter and the rest, we have to guard against the devil who can so easily tempt us to turn love into hate, holiness into pride, discipline into cruelty, affection into complacency and reverence into routine.
Let us turn to the cross of Christ for protection against the devil and guard against temptation and sin.
In the cross, we see that the love of Christ is selfless, sacrificial, forgiving and compassionate.
Let us ask Jesus to keep us near His cross, always.