April 7, 2020 - Tuesday of Holy Week

Gospel Reading:  Is 49:1-6; Ps 71; John 13:21-33, 36-38

Betrayal.  Today’s Gospel reading, in which Jesus foretells Judas’ betrayal and Simon Peter’s denials, is a lesson for us to not judge others for their failure to live up to promises of faithfulness, but to pray for our own strength to live true to the people and principles of our own lives. None of us feels that we would ever be the betrayer. That is why betrayal is so devastating. It shows our weakness, a weakness that is contrary to how we see ourselves.

Do we have the strength to stay true in our life’s relationships? The first reading gives an answer. Isaiah says God called him from birth to be God’s weapon, hidden like a sword under a soldier’s arm or an arrow in a quiver. We are called by God to service and equipped with great strength — God’s strength. But with that strength, that weapon, the servant is called to great things. To be “a light to the nations, that [God’s] salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

I pray for us all to be strong, in service to light and truth, for then we will be “made glorious in the sight of the Lord” and we will be witnesses to that light in each other. Isaiah’s words tell us to be a light to others — to live in the light with no compensation except God’s love. A servant is not powerless, but equipped with the tools to do great things.