March 31, 2026
Tuesday of Holy Week
Lectionary:
258
Reading
1
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.
Responsorial
Psalm
Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab,
15 and 17
R.
(see 15ab) 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.
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.
Gospel
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."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033126.cfm
Commentary on Isaiah 49:1-6
Today
we read the second Song of the Servant of Yahweh. The prophet again
speaks in words that apply very suitably to Jesus. Jesus has been called from
all eternity to do this work of salvation. He is a “sharp sword” and a
“polished arrow”.
God
says,
You
are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
But
Jesus must surely be tempted to say, with Isaiah:
I
have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity…
Surely
it must have looked like that as Jesus hung dying on the cross, his mission a
shambles, his enemies victorious and his disciples in total flight. On the
cross, Jesus cried out with these heart-rending words:
My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matt 27:46)
Yet
he had been chosen as a servant so that “Jacob”, i.e. Israel, might be brought
back to him:
You
are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
His
God is his strength, and his moments of darkness become the moment of glory:
I
will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
As
indeed has happened. But who, standing at the foot of the cross on that first
Good Friday, could have seen the outcome of this ‘failure’? Yet, that is what
we celebrate during this week.
The
Servant says:
Listen
to me, O coastlands;
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
These
are the people of the lands along the Mediterranean and beyond the seas whom we
saw mentioned yesterday. The message of the Servant is for them—and hence for
all of us—for me.
The
Lord called me before I was born;
while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
The
language is similar to that of the call of the prophet Jeremiah (Jer 1:5) and
of Paul (Gal 1:15). And, as Christians, we believe this is true of all of us,
that:
…he
chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless
before him in love. (Eph 1:4)
Again
the Servant speaks:
He
made my mouth like a sharp sword…
he made me a polished arrow…
Later,
the Letter to the Hebrews will compare the Word of God to a two-edged sword,
which penetrates into the deepest recesses of our hearts, bringing both
consolation and wisdom, and discomfort for our wrongdoings.
And
he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
“Israel”
here is generally understood to be descriptive of, not of the nation, but of an
individual, representing the best that Israel should be. Perhaps we, too,
should be less arrogant when we apply the term ‘Christian’ to ourselves,
knowing how far we are from what Jesus is calling us to be.
I
said, I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity…
As
he hung on the cross, his mission apparently a failure and mocked by those bent
on destroying him, these words would seem to fit Jesus so well. It will be in
the third and fourth songs that we will begin to see the place of all the pain
and suffering in the mission of Jesus:
…yet
surely my cause is with the Lord
and my reward with my God.
In
spite of apparent failure, the cause of Jesus will be vindicated and his
mission will be a success.
And
now the Lord…
who formed me in the womb to be his servant…
And
the Servant carried out that call to the very end, and with wondrous results.
We, too, have been in the mind of God from eternity and been given a special
call. How do I see that call at this time?
…to
bring Jacob back to him…
that Israel might be gathered to him…
This
verse is a reference to the release from captivity in Babylon and the return to
Jerusalem. But there is the wider connotation of bringing God’s people back to
union with him. And it will not be just Israel, because a little further
on the passage says:
I
will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.
The
Servant’s mission is the conversion of the whole world to his Way. Along with
Genesis 12:1-3 and Exodus 19:5-6, this verse is sometimes called the “great commission
of the Old Testament” and is quoted in part by Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:47.
Christ is the light of the world (Luke 2:30-32; John 8:12, 9:5) and Christians
reflect his light:
You
are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world.
(Matt 5:14)
Is
that the way I see myself? Let me hear Jesus say these words to me as I watch
him on the Cross during these days.
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Commentary on John 13:21-33,36-38
Today’s
Gospel is a sad moment of a double betrayal. First, that of Judas. Judas is no
outsider, but one of the inner circle of the Twelve.
Jesus
announces solemnly:
Very
truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.
The
statement comes like a bombshell. For all their weaknesses, they cannot imagine
any one of them planning such a thing. Peter asks the Beloved Disciple, who is
closest to Jesus (in every sense of the word), to find out who it is and Jesus
responds:
It
is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the
dish.
Jesus
hands over the morsel, a symbol of sharing. It is probably part of the bitter
herb, dipped in salt water, which was a feature of the Passover meal. Jesus
hands it over to the one who will hand him over to those who wish to be rid of
him. This is an act of friendship which makes the coming betrayal doubly
treacherous. The bitterness of the morsel is also significant.
In
that very moment Judas knows he has made his fateful decision as Jesus tells
him,
Do
quickly what you are going to do.
None
of the other disciples realised the significance of these words.
As
soon as he has left, it is no wonder that the evangelist comments: “And it was
night.” Yes indeed. It was a moment of utter darkness. This is a Gospel which constantly
contrasts light and darkness. Yet at that very moment which sets the whole
passion experience in motion, Jesus speaks of his being glorified and of God
also being glorified.
To
do this, Jesus is going to leave his disciples. He will leave them in death,
but he will also leave them to return to the glory of his Father.
Peter,
well-meaning but weak, swears that he will go all the way with Jesus, even to
death. It is the second betrayal. Worse in some ways. At least Judas made no
wild promises. What will save Peter will be the depth of his repentance and
later conversion.
We
too have betrayed Jesus and those around us so many times. We have broken bread
with Jesus in the Eucharist, and then turned our back on him by the way we
treat those around us. We have promised at Confession, with his help never to
sin again, and then gone and done what we have just confessed.
Let
us pray that we, like Peter, may weep bitterly for all the wrongs we have done
and all the good left undone.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/l1063g/
LECTIO DIVINA
Season of Lent
Opening Prayer
Lord
our God,
Your
Son Jesus Christ had to undergo the humiliation of being betrayed and denied
by
those He called His friends. But He made His suffering and death into
instruments of love and reconciliation.
Make
us with Him, people-for-others, who accept difficulties, even betrayals and
misunderstanding of our best intentions, and turn them into sources of life and
joy for those around us.
Keep
us faithful to You and to one another through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 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."
Reflection
This
is the third day of Holy Week. The texts of the Gospel of these days place
before us the terrible facts which will lead to the imprisonment and
condemnation of Jesus. The texts not only present the decisions of the
religious and civil authority against Jesus, but also the betrayal and the
negotiations of the disciples which rendered it possible for the authority to
arrest Jesus and contributed enormously to the suffering of Jesus.
•
John 13: 21: The announcement of the betrayal. After having
washed the feet of the disciples (Jn 13: 2-11) and having spoken about the
obligation that we have of washing each other’s feet (Jn 13: 12-16), Jesus is
profoundly touched. And it is no wonder. He was fulfilling that gesture of
service and total gift of self, while at His side one of the disciples was planning
how to betray Him that same night. Jesus expresses His emotion saying: “In all
truth I tell you one of you is going to betray Me!” He does not say: “Judas
will betray Me,” but “one of you.” It is one of His group who will betray Him.
•
John 13: 22-25: The reaction of the disciples. The disciples are
frightened. They did not expect that declaration, that is, that one of them
would be the traitor. Peter makes a sign to John to ask Jesus which of the
twelve would be the traitor. This is a sign that they did not know one another
well, they could not succeed in understanding who could be the traitor. A sign,
that is, that the friendship among them had not as yet reached the same
transparency that Jesus had with them (cf. Jn 15: 15). John reclined near Jesus
and asked Him: “Who is it?”
•
John 13: 26-30: Jesus indicates Judas. Jesus says: “It is the
one to whom I give the piece of bread that I dip in the dish.” He took a piece
of bread, dips it in the cup and hands it over to Judas. This was a common and
normal gesture which the participants at a supper used to do among themselves.
And Jesus tells Judas: “What you are going to do, do quickly!” Judas had charge
of the common fund. He was in charge of buying things and of giving the alms to
the poor. This is why no one perceived anything special in the gesture and in
the words of Jesus. In this description of the announcement of the betrayal is
evoked the Psalm in which the psalmist complains about the friend who betrays
Him: “Even My trusted friend on whom I relied, who shared My table takes
advantage of Me” (Ps 41: 10; cf. Ps 55: 13-15). Judas becomes aware that Jesus
knew everything (cf. Jn 13: 18). But even knowing it, he does not change his
mind but keeps the decision to betray Jesus. This is the moment in which the
separation between Judas and Jesus takes place. John says at this moment Satan
entered him. Judas rises and leaves. He places himself at the side of the enemy
(Satan). John comments: “It was night.” It was dark.
•
John 13: 31-33: The glorification of Jesus begins. It is as if
history had waited for this moment of separation between light and darkness.
Satan (the enemy) and darkness entered into Judas when he decides to carry out
what he was planning. In that moment the light was made in Jesus who declares:
“Now the son of man has been glorified, and in Him God has been glorified also.
32 If God has been glorified in Him, God will in turn glorify Him in Himself,
and will glorify Him very soon!” The decisions had already been taken by Jesus
(Jn 12: 27-28) and now by Judas. The facts follow one another hastily. And
Jesus announces it: “Little children, I will be with you only a little longer.
You will look for Me, and, as I told the Jews, where I am going you cannot
come.” There is little time left before the Passover.
•
John 13: 34-35: The new commandment. Today’s Gospel omits these
two verses on the new commandment of love and begins to speak about the
announcement of the denial of Peter.
•
John 13: 36-38: Announcement of the denial of Peter. Together
with the betrayal of Judas, the Gospel also speaks of the denial of Peter.
These are the two facts which contribute the most to Jesus’ suffering and pain.
Peter says that he is ready to give his life for Jesus. Jesus recalls and
reminds him of reality: “You are ready to lay down your life for Me? In all
truth I tell you, before the cock crows you will have disowned Me three times.”
Mark had written: “Before the cock crows twice, you will have disowned Me three
times” (Mk 14: 30). Everybody knows that the cock crows rapidly. When in the
morning the first cock begins to sing, almost at the same time all the cocks
crow together.
Peter
is more rapid in his denial than the cock in crowing.
Personal Questions
•
Do I love so much as to protect someone who betrays me too?
•
Satan prowls like a lion looking to devour souls. It happened to
Judas. What do I do to prevent Satan from entering me?
Concluding Prayer
You
are my hope, Lord, my trust, Yahweh, since boyhood. On You I have relied since
my birth, since my mother's womb You have been my portion, the constant theme
of my praise. (Ps 71: 5-6)
