Tuesday of Holy Week
I’ve been reflecting lately on how difficult it is for me to imagine what it is like to have experienced what Jesus did, especially at the end of his life when so few people seemed to understand who he really was. The gospel reading speaks to this theme. In the reading, Jesus foretells his betrayal by Judas and his being handed over to suffer and to die. One line in particular in the reading strikes me. Jesus tells his disciples, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later” (v. 36).
Thinking about this statement, I see that it is indeed true. The disciples do not understand that Jesus is referring to his passion and death. Peter goes so far as to challenge Jesus, asking “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” But Jesus corrects him, saying that Peter will deny him three times before daybreak.
The events described in today’s reading occur at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry and lead into the events of his passion and death. This is the disciples’ moment either to stand by him or to forsake him. Judas has already chosen to betray him. Peter thinks that he has chosen otherwise, but he still ends up denying Jesus.
Jesus knew that what he was about to experience was something that his disciples were not ready to follow him into. And yet he seems to have known that the disciples would eventually come to more fully understand his teachings and to follow him in the way of the cross. He knows that he has to prepare the way for them to be able to do what he is doing—namely to submit themselves to God’s will and to learn to love—to love God above all things and their neighbors as themselves.
Jesus’ words apply to each of us, just as they did to the twelve disciples. Most of us will not end being martyred for our faith as Peter was. However, we are supposed to follow Jesus to the best of our ability in the situations in which we find ourselves. Jesus calls each of us to take up our cross and follow him (Mark 8; 34). In other words, we must be willing to give up all we have for the Jesus’ sake.
Holy Week offers us the chance to meditate on Jesus’ suffering and death and on the meaning of Jesus’ life and our lives in him. We look forward to Easter when we will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, but at this point in the week we are still looking forward to Jesus’ resurrection as something that has yet to occur. In our Lenten meditations, we have reflected on our own failures to follow Jesus more wholeheartedly. We have also been led through this meditation to recommit ourselves to following him. I pray that I can find in myself the ability to persevere in faith so that I can better understand Jesus’ teachings and to be like him.
I realize that this is only possible because Jesus has already achieved victory over sin and death. I pray that each of us will make progress in following Jesus this week. Let us be open to the ways that we can be changed by opening ourselves up to receiving God’s grace at this time. And let us not forget that Jesus prepared the way that we ourselves must walk.
- Joel Schickel