The light of all nations our Lord Jesus Christ has come to cast away darkness and sin, to gather us all unto the bosom of our Heavenly Father how are you prepared to receive Him?
Funny how most if not all can identify themselves with St Peter admitting that at one time or another they have denied knowing Him, even if just in a certain sense. And if they see it as a betrayal it comes across milder than what Judas Iscariot did. So almost no one will identify themselves as having been Judas!
How different then is it when we barter off Jesus for something or someone? What are the thirty silver pieces we had received? Relaxing pleasures with family and friends on Sunday instead of attending the Holy Eucharist together and keeping Sunday Holy? Not attending prayer or community meetings to share in the love of Christ, placing all else as priority? Receiving Holy Communion but treating family, friends, even strangers harshly when things don’t go our way. Many times we have sold Him off for the sake of our pride, pleasures, lusts, greed and self centredness. So just as we cannot say we have not committed murder, when we have murdered someone in our hearts, in our words actions, and killed their spirit; so too we cannot say we have never betrayed Jesus as Judas did!
The good news is that if we are contrite in heart and spirit, we will find that our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for us is waiting with open arms to embrace us in reconciliation. So let us run to Him now! Amen
First reading
Isaiah 49:1-6 †
I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth
Islands, listen to me, pay attention, remotest peoples. The Lord called me before I was born,from my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.
He made my mouth a sharp sword,and hid me in the shadow of his hand.He made me into a sharpened arrow,and concealed me in his quiver.
He said to me, ‘You are my servant (Israel)
in whom I shall be glorified’; while I was thinking, ‘I have toiled in vain,I have exhausted myself for nothing’; and 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 was my strength.
And now the Lord has spoken,he who formed me in the womb to be his servant,to bring Jacob back to him,to gather Israel to him:
‘It is not enough for you to be my servant,
to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel;I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’
Gospel
John 13:21-33,36-38
‘What you are going to do, do quickly’
While at supper with his disciples, Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, ‘I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me.’ The disciples looked at one another, wondering which he meant. The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus; Simon Peter signed to him and said, ‘Ask who it is he means’, so leaning back on Jesus’ breast he said, ‘Who is it, Lord?’ ‘It is the one’ replied Jesus ‘to whom I give the piece of bread that I shall dip in the dish.’ He dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’ None of the others at table understood the reason he said this. Since Judas had charge of the common fund, some of them thought Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’, or telling him to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. Night had fallen.
When he had gone Jesus said:
‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified,
and in him God has been glorified. If God has been glorified in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon.
‘My little children, I shall not be with you much longer. You will look for me, And, as I told the Jews, where I am going, you cannot come.’
Simon Peter said, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now; you will follow me later.’ Peter said to him, ‘Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ ‘Lay down your life for me?’ answered Jesus. ‘I tell you most solemnly, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’
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