Word to the Wise
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 - Holy Week - Tues
[Isa 49:1-6 and John 13:21-33, 36-38]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. [Isaiah] "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." [John]
The Gospel According to John is full of adversarial and conflicting images - light/darkness, sight/blindness, above/below. belief/unbelief. These may be easier to understand than Jesus' statement that his "hour" of suffering is his hour of "glory!" The scene today recounts Jesus' challenge to Judas: "What you are going to do, do quickly!" It's hard to understand why Peter and the others didn't rise up and grab Judas before he could leave! But Judas plays a role in the Johannine drama. From the very "beginning" in the Prologue, the drama has been "scripted." The climax is when the Son of Man is "lifted up" as Jesus' says a little earlier: "Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself." [John 12:32] Isaiah's vision foreshadows this "hour."
The power of Holy Week is found in the movement of events in such a way that chronological time is suspended and we find ourselves part of the action, not just as passive spectators but as real characters and beneficiaries of what is to take place. Much as we might want to, we can't stop Judas from leaving the room to go and betray Jesus. Much as we might want otherwise, we may respond like Peter when asked if we are one of Jesus' disciples. Our "hosannas" turn into "Crucify him!" and then into Thomas' words: "My Lord and my God!" The whole week is a roller-coaster of emotion and action. Jesus, the "Suffering Servant" awaits our participation. AMEN