Low Point

Apr 4: Tuesday of Holy Week

Apr 04, 2023

The first reading and the psalm are about people who have reached the end of their rope, who fear they’ve been abandoned by God. They don’t know if they can keep going.

The Gospel, ironically, is about the apostles in denial. They think they have the resolve to stick with Jesus and not betray him. Little do they know, it’s all about to go down…

Reading 1

Is 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.

This is three days in a row we’ve heard these “servant of the Lord” oracles.1 The second verse is a little militaristic for Jesus, but the concealment metaphor works. After all, we just recently celebrated the Feast of the Annunciation; God had a plan from the beginning, although nobody knew it.

The second paragraph feels really appropriate for the end of Lent. Jesus, in Gethsemane, asks for the cup to pass his lips; dying on the cross, He demands to know why God has abandoned Him. As a human, Jesus very likely wondered if He “toiled in vain.”

But hope springs eternal. He will have reward and recompense, made glorious in the sight of the Lord.

And serving Israel isn’t enough, even for Isaiah. Isaiah prophesies that the servant will be salvation that reaches the ends of the Earth. And so He does!

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17

R. 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.

Interestingly, in the full context, this Psalm is about an old man whose enemies believe his suffering is divine judgement: “God has abandoned him. Pursue, and seize him! No one will come to the rescue!”2 Which is exactly how most of Jerusalem treats Jesus on the cross.

But even in this desperate hour, the Psalmist doesn’t abandon hope. He depended on God from his conception, all the way through his old age. As do we all.

Verse Before the Gospel

Hail to you, our King, obedient to the Father;
you were led to your crucifixion like a gentle lamb to the slaughter.

Jesus didn’t have to be a gentle lamb; He chose to, for our sake.

Gospel

Jn 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."

We’re tempted to regard Judas as a bad guy from the beginning. After all, he did pretty much the worst thing in human history. But this story tells us something different. Judas was one of the twelve apostles; he sincerely believed Jesus was Christ.

But somewhere along the line, something went wrong.

It’s not clear if we should take “Satan entered him” as literal demonic possession, which would absolve him of some guilt, or if was simply Judas’ resolve to commit the evil act.

But in any case, this is clearly a turning point. Judas had been a trusted apostle (he handled the money), and now sold his savior for 30 pieces of silver.

Notice that none of the twelve predict Judas is the betrayer. They have no idea; neither would we. Anyone can turn at any time, because we don’t really know what’s in their hearts.

It could even be us, because self-deception is real. Judas may have even thought he was doing a good thing, like Caiaphas, preventing a riot or a invasion by the Romans. None of us can say.

So we do need to be on guard, not just against others, but also ourselves.