A Reflection for Tuesday of Holy Week
Find today’s readings here.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?” (Jn 13:21-25).
In today’s Gospel, John recounts Jesus’ dramatic prediction of Judas’s betrayal. Jesus has already upended the expectations of his disciples by washing their feet—a task usually performed by the lowliest slaves—and here he comes with another blow: “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me” (Jn 13:22). I’ve always struggled with how to understand Judas: If Jesus knew what was going to happen, why didn’t he stop him? If Satan “entered” Judas, does that mean Judas could still freely choose this fate?
That is why, as is so often the case, Peter is the most relatable person in this narrative. He, too, is full of questions. He immediately wants to know who will betray Jesus. Then, when Jesus tells the disciples, “Where I go you cannot come,” it is Peter who asks, “Master, where are you going?” And when Jesus tells Peter that he cannot yet follow him, Peter responds, “Master, why can I not follow you now?”
Here is a man who knows that he doesn’t know, that is, a man who has learned a little humility. Perhaps the thought crossed Peter’s mind: Who is it? Could Jesus be talking about me? It’s an uncomfortable question to ask—but it’s one worth asking. When we look at the vast suffering in our country and our world, when we see Jesus suffering in the face of the poor, the hungry, the displaced, do we ask ourselves: Who is it that betrayed them? Could it be me?
And when we have answered that question—when we accept some share in the responsibility for our suffering neighbors—we arrive at Peter’s next questions: Where is Jesus asking me to go, and what is preventing me from following now?
At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus makes another prediction: Peter will deny him three times. But we know that is not where Peter’s story ends. While he was not ready to follow Jesus to the cross on Good Friday, after the resurrection, he would indeed lay down his life for Christ. As we approach the celebration of Jesus’ death and resurrection, let us mirror the humility of Peter, asking Jesus where we have failed him and where he wants us to follow him now.
