March 28, 2018

Gospel: Mt 26:14-25
Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “How much will you give me if I hand him over to you?” They promised to give him thirty pieces of silver; and from then on, he kept looking for the best way to hand Jesus over to them. On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?” Jesus answered, “Go into the city, to the house of a certain man, and tell him, ‘The Master says: My hour is near, and I will celebrate the Passover with my disciples in your house.’” The disciples did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, Jesus sat at table with the Twelve. While they were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you: one of you will betray me.” They were deeply distressed, and they asked him, one after the other, “You do not mean me, do you, Lord?” He answered, “The one who dips his bread with me will betray me. The Son of Man is going as the Scriptures say he will. But alas for that one who betrays the Son of Man: better for him not to have been born.” Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “You do not mean me, Master, do you?” Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

Reflections
IF THE LORD YAHWEH IS MY HELP,
WHO WILL CONDEMN ME?
This is an unwavering conviction of one’s security if we are in God. One of the basic instincts of the human being is security, not only physical security but also psychological security. We want to be in good relationship with everybody. We want to be thought of as good and innocent. One of the worst experiences of a person is the experience of condemnation, not necessarily of a court or a judge but just condemnation of any other human being but most especially those one holds in high esteem. Sometimes a person feels helpless to protect himself or herself from the unjust judgment of others. We need people to support us when we are in that situation, people who will side with us, people who will agree with us, people who will not condemn us. But if we have no one, does that mean we are completely helpless? That is when we have to fall back on the assurance that God is with us, God will help us, God will deliver us from our situation. And even if the whole world is against us, if we are with God, then we feel secure and
the world’s condemnation will count for nothing.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2018