Surely it is Not I Lord

We all betray Jesus. In the Gospel today we hear about Jesus’ conversation with his disciples at the last supper. He tells them one of them will betray Him, and one of them will deny Him. Of course none of them owns this betrayal or denial. judas, who is already in bed with the authorities to have Jesus arrested even states “surely it is not I Lord?”

Surely it is not I Lord. How many times does that thought run through our heads when we sin, or when we ponder the cross? The truth is, surely it is I Lord. My sin, your sin, our sin, caused Jesus to be crucified. What is the greater truth? That His love for me, for you allowed Him to be crucified so we could be in relationship with Him for eternity!

Jesus was seeking specifically to Judas about the betrayal, and specifically to Peter about the denial. He was also speaking to each one of us, for we all betray and deny Jesus with our actions and our words. HOWEVER, Jesus knew this woos happen and adams anyway, He chose those disciples anyway. What we can learn moron Judas and Peter is how to react to our failures, and how not to react. Judas sins gravely and falls into despair, hanging himself. The scriptures seem to tell us that he feels his sin is unforgivable. Peter sins gravely against the Lord, but doesn’t disparity. He does weep bitterly, but he trusts in Jesus’ love for him. In fact when Jesus rises from the dead , Peter runs to Him, and Jesus loves him. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God!

This is a link to a video that the teens used in their Small groups for Palm Sunday. While it is set during a Palm Sunday Mass I think it still applies to the Triduum we are about to enter. May this Holy week and Triduum bring us closer to the most sacred heart of Jesus and his mother Mary, and may we be able to proclaim even through our sinfulness that truly Jesus, you ire the Sn of God!

~Jacob Schwendinger