Tuesday of Holy Week
Isaiah 49:1-6 | Psalm 70(71):1-6,15,17 | John 13:21-33,36-38
‘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.’ (John 13:26-27)
When we sin, we are often forewarned.
Rare is the occasion when we decide, on the spur of the moment, to cheat someone, or deny elderly people a few moments of rest for their tired feet on the train. It’s more often a learned process over the years, of not caring about the welfare of others, of not placing any worth on others.
We can see it coming…and choose to continue down that path anyway.
Judas was forewarned about his fate. He knew that Jesus knew, yet he did the deed anyway. John’s Gospel paints a disturbing picture about how others could see the change come upon him, the point at which he committed himself to betraying the Christ.
Jesus commanded him to “do [it] quickly,” so as not to delay His Passion. For us, however, hesitation gives us an opportunity to rethink a sinful course of action, a chance to pull back from the brink, to step away from temptation.
For us, slow is steady, and it helps us win the race to salvation.
Lord, as we go through life beset by temptation on every side, remind us often to stop and think about what You went through for us, and what staying on Your Holy Way means for our future reunion with the Father, of whom we are and for whom we long. Amen.