TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK - Gospel (John 13:21-33. 36-38) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
- NHA CHUA CHA
- Apr 1
- 5 min read
FIRST READING - Is 49:1-6
"I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."
A reading from the Book of Isaiah
1 Hear me, coastlands,
listen, distant peoples.
Before birth the Lord called me,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
[b]2 He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword,
concealed me, shielded by his hand.
He made me a sharpened arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
3 He said to me, You are my servant,
in you, Israel,[c] I show my glory.
4 Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
for nothing and for naught spent my strength,
Yet my right is with the Lord,
my recompense is with my God.
5 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;
I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my strength!
6 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.[d]
GOSPEL OF THE DAY - Jn 13:21-33, 36-38
"Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me. The cock will not crow before you deny me three times."
✠From the Gospel according to John
21 When he had said this, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. 23 One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,[a] was reclining at Jesus’ side. 24 So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. 25 He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel[b] after I have dipped it.” So he dipped the morsel and [took it and] handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. 27 After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 [Now] none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. 29 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. 30 So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
31 [c]When he had left, Jesus said,[d] “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 [If God is glorified in him,] God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. 33 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.
36 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.” 37 Peter said to him, “Master, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 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.”
TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK - Gospel (John 13:21-33. 36-38)
THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE
Dear people of God,
Today's Word of God reveals to us that God is the Almighty and Holy One; in Him, there is no stain of sin, only fullness of joy, happiness, and peace.
Yet, the Gospel reading today tells us that Jesus' heart was troubled and deeply distressed when He foresaw that His closest disciples would betray Him.
Jesus possesses two natures: the divine nature and the human nature.
Why and for whom did He bring His divine nature into human flesh?
It was for His love for humanity.
It was solely out of love for mankind that He descended to become man, enduring all sorrow, humiliation, condemnation, suffering, and death to atone for the sins of humanity.
He loved mankind to the utmost. Yet, the human heart remains indifferent, failing to recognize or give thanks to God, and instead betraying Him.
This betrayal occurred among His very own trusted disciples, namely Judas Iscariot and Peter.
Jesus foresaw Judas's betrayal, and thus His heart was deeply grieved and troubled to the utmost; no sorrow or anguish could fully express the depth of His sadness.
Alongside Judas, who betrayed his Master, there was also Peter, who denied Him.
Peter was a beloved disciple of Jesus, trusted by Him to lead his brethren, and he was the one who swore to lay down his life for his Master.
But when Jesus, his Master, was being arrested, condemned, beaten, spat upon, and marked for death by wicked men, the very disciple He trusted most was the first to deny knowing Him.
Seeing the image of Peter denying Him, Jesus' heart was filled with ultimate sorrow.
Today, God is still present among humanity, and He is deeply saddened and troubled to see mankind living increasingly far from God, living in passions and sins, and living in disobedience to God.
Humanity is sinking deeper into the path of sin, falling into the many temptations and snares of Satan. God loves us and calls upon humanity:
to repent, confess, convert your lives, abandon the path of sin, and return to reconcile with God to make amends for all the sins and weaknesses by which you have offended Him.
Do not thrust more spears into the side of the Lord.
not to drive more thorns into the head of the Lord. Do not drive more nails into the hands and feet of the Lord.
Always to give thanks to God throughout your life for His great love, which led Him to sacrifice Himself to become man, suffer, and die to save humanity from sin and death, and to grant mankind eternal life.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
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