"The Prelude of What is to Come"
Kari Holt
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
John 13:21-32
21 After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ 22The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. 23One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; 24Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’ 26Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘Do quickly what you are going to do.’ 28Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, ‘Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.
The Prelude to what is to come…..
Today is Holy Wednesday, leading us up to the unfolding drama of the great three days of Holy Week: The Triduum: The liturgy of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Vigil.
In today’s reading we can feel the beginning of something, a prelude of what is to come….
I say to you, one of you will betray me. (13:21)
Did you know that in Greek the verb “betray” is also described as “to transmit or to hand over” A new insight that I began pondering was the image of Jesus handing himself over, giving his body and blood to us the people. The vulnerability of handing over, the risk of putting yourself in someone's hands.
Can you think of a time when you felt vulnerable, putting yourself in the care of some else? I recall a time of great trepidation when I did a “trust fall” where I fell from a tree stump backwards into the arms of people I had just met the day before. Yes, they caught me. And from that day forward, because of that experience, we shared a special bond, because of the trust we put in each other.
Do you feel the trust Jesus is giving us in handing himself to us? We are at the midpoint of the week. After today the drama intensifies, deepening and darkening like a starless night.
Prayer of the Day
Almighty God, your Son our Savior suffered at human hands and endured the shame of the cross. Grant that we may walk in the way of his cross and find it the way of life and peace, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.