Tuesday of Holy Week – March 30, 2010
John 13:21 – 38
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me."
His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means."
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, "What you are about to do, do quickly." But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."
Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!"
The passage begins with a disciple about to betray Jesus. The passage ends foretelling that the disciple who is “the Rock” will disown Jesus. Betrayal and disowning are two parts of Holy Week that are difficult for us to face.
It’s hard to admit that we are capable of these kinds of things. Peter’s statement speaks for how we feel on the surface: “Lord, I will lay down my life for you.” Yet underneath the surface other things reside. The spirit to disown and betray do not necessarily live inside us. We may not naturally be disowners and betrayers.
Rather, a spirit of self-interest and self-centeredness lives at the core of most all of us. This spirit of self-interest leads us to do things that are useful and good for ourselves, as we define “useful and good.” This spirit leads us toward actions that lend themselves to our self-preservation, looking out for our own welfare. We have learned through life that no one else is going to look after us as well as we look after ourselves. Thus, most of us are very practiced at guarding our own lives.
We may not mean to betray or disown another person, but when we live in a self-preservation mode, that’s what our actions look like. We may lay aside any relationship or responsibility if we feel that our self-interest is threatened.
Judas had his eye on his own well-being. The money he was paid for the betrayal made it easier to sell himself, but mostly he was disappointed that Jesus did not fit his image of who and what a Messiah should look like.
Peter under-estimated his own needs for safety and security. He pledged devotion to Jesus when he felt secure, but when threatened by those who did not share his devotion to Jesus, he withdrew his pledge to stay true to Jesus.
The spiritual journey gives us ways to begin recognizing our self-preservations tactics, to notice the intricate inner workings that keep us orbiting around ourselves. Further, if we stay at it long enough, God gives us the tools for dismantling that self-centered orbit so that over time, our lives are adjusted to orbit more around God than around ourselves.
The ultimate goal is not to eliminate the betrayal and disowning, but rather to stop orbiting around ourselves so that we can orbit around God. In doing so, we will be less prone to betrayal and disowning, and more prone to live the new command Jesus gave in the passage:
“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me."
His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask him which one he means."
Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?"
Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
So Jesus told him, "What you are about to do, do quickly." But no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Festival, or to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night.
When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.
"My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."
Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."
Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!"
The passage begins with a disciple about to betray Jesus. The passage ends foretelling that the disciple who is “the Rock” will disown Jesus. Betrayal and disowning are two parts of Holy Week that are difficult for us to face.
It’s hard to admit that we are capable of these kinds of things. Peter’s statement speaks for how we feel on the surface: “Lord, I will lay down my life for you.” Yet underneath the surface other things reside. The spirit to disown and betray do not necessarily live inside us. We may not naturally be disowners and betrayers.
Rather, a spirit of self-interest and self-centeredness lives at the core of most all of us. This spirit of self-interest leads us to do things that are useful and good for ourselves, as we define “useful and good.” This spirit leads us toward actions that lend themselves to our self-preservation, looking out for our own welfare. We have learned through life that no one else is going to look after us as well as we look after ourselves. Thus, most of us are very practiced at guarding our own lives.
We may not mean to betray or disown another person, but when we live in a self-preservation mode, that’s what our actions look like. We may lay aside any relationship or responsibility if we feel that our self-interest is threatened.
Judas had his eye on his own well-being. The money he was paid for the betrayal made it easier to sell himself, but mostly he was disappointed that Jesus did not fit his image of who and what a Messiah should look like.
Peter under-estimated his own needs for safety and security. He pledged devotion to Jesus when he felt secure, but when threatened by those who did not share his devotion to Jesus, he withdrew his pledge to stay true to Jesus.
The spiritual journey gives us ways to begin recognizing our self-preservations tactics, to notice the intricate inner workings that keep us orbiting around ourselves. Further, if we stay at it long enough, God gives us the tools for dismantling that self-centered orbit so that over time, our lives are adjusted to orbit more around God than around ourselves.
The ultimate goal is not to eliminate the betrayal and disowning, but rather to stop orbiting around ourselves so that we can orbit around God. In doing so, we will be less prone to betrayal and disowning, and more prone to live the new command Jesus gave in the passage:
“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
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