Betrayal

In today’s gospel, we hear Jesus prophesy two different episodes of betrayal by His disciples. He tells Judas “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Then He tells Peter, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

Imagine the tension as Jesus calls out these two followers. Though not all of the disciples knew what was happening with Judas, John must have known because he asked Jesus who was to hand Him over. What must have the disciples thought after hearing of the betrayal? There must have been anger, confusion, and despair.

Jesus is present in our lives. The opportunities for grace are indeed frequent for us. We can witness to others about the Lord, our Savior, but do we? Let us take every opportunity to bring Jesus to others, even if we will be ridiculed, persecuted or cast out for our beliefs. Our message will be heard if we have conviction and confidence in our words. We must not allow ourselves to betray our Lord the way Peter did, or worse still, as Judas did. Pray for strength, that we may not withhold our witness to Christ.