Tuesday April 15th: Betrayal

“Before the cock crows you will betray me three times.”

John 13:21-33; 36-38

Betrayals come our way when we least expect them. They come from different places – from our friends and loved ones, our leaders, our communities. We are never fully prepared for them, but know they are painful experiences.

Even Jesus had to walk down that traumatic road. St. John recalls that fateful night when Jesus ate his last meal with his twelve closest friends. By then, he knew Judas was about to sell him out to the Jewish authorities. Yet Jesus did not reveal that Judas was the informer. He never accused him. Instead, he offered him bread – an intimate gesture.

However, the deepest cut came from his closest friend Simon Peter. Jesus predicted, this time in front of the brothers, that Peter would deny him three times.

Jesus never condemned his betrayers but continued on his chosen path. We, too, are called not to condemn others when they hurt us, but to continue our struggle even in the face of such negativity.

Dear Lord, give us the courage to pick ourselves up even when others pull us down, betray us. Amen