Monday, April 3, 2023

Tuesday of Holy Week, 04-04-2023

Isaiah 49:1-6 / John 12:21-33, 36-38     

There is no doubt that the ones who can hurt us the most are the ones who are closest to us.

The more we love and trust them, the deeper the hurt will be when they betray our trust and trample on our love.

At the Last Supper, when Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared that one of His disciples at the table will betray Him.

That certainly shocked the disciples as they were at a solemn meal to remember a significant event of faith. 

So, how can such a thing like betrayal happen, and it was one of them in the group that is close to Jesus.

Even Jesus felt troubled in spirit and He could also be feeling hurt.

But Jesus did not let that hurt and pain get in the way of offering His total self-giving at the Last Supper.

As for us, we might feel like what the prophet Isaiah said in the 1st reading when we felt betrayed and taken for granted:
I have toiled in vain, I have exhausted myself for nothing.

But when we follow Jesus in His way of love and to keep on loving in spite of the hurt and pain, then the 1st reading also affirms us with this:
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 is my strength.

When we respond to betrayal with love, then will we be healed by God and we will receive blessings from the Lord our God.