1st Reading Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Psalm 31: 2 and 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17 and 25 (R. Lk. 23:46b)
R:// "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!"
2nd Reading Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
Gospel John 18:1-19: 42
BE STRONG
Beloved, as we experience the silence of the Triduum, let us keep a few points from the Gospel passage from John 18:1-19:42 in mind to help our meditation. The Passion narrative according to John is read every year on Good Friday.
I suggest that we focus on Peter's denial. This has much to teach us about the various areas that we can also deny the Lord. In all, the final question will be, "Will I also deny the Lord?"
We need to understand that Peter is a man of extreme zeal and faith. He is like many of us. He is that person who would zealously want to stay with Jesus and go through every moment with him. However, he is faced with drawbacks to that zeal. Those drawbacks are evident in what caused his denial of Jesus. Let us look at them closely.
The first drawback occurred at the door to the court of Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas. Peter, with zeal, started following Jesus, and he was with another disciple. That disciple had access to the court and entered. Peter was brought in when the unnamed disciple spoke to the maid who kept the door. The maid's question put Peter into denying Jesus. The issue is that there will be other maids working at other parts of the court. The maid at the door would probably not depart from his post. His confrontation with Peter would take place at the door. The door is the entrance to the court. It is the first place you will pass and enter the court. In fact, the door makes us pick an understanding of the concept of gate in ancient near East where gates served as centres for socio-economic, judicial, and political activities. Whatever fresh news in town is heard at the gate. The elders sit at the gate to adjudicate cases. You would see a lot of people there. It is at the gate that defence to a case is made. Peter, at the door to the court, should be able to affirm that he was a disciple of Jesus in order to defend Jesus and stand by him. He denied him.
The door is the entrance; the beginning, the first stage in entering a person's house. Just like Peter, there are those who, just at the start of trial, dive into denial. They simply retreat. They give up. They, however, possessed zeal. There are people who want to stay with Jesus, but just at the door, at the start of the suffering, would deny him. They wished to stay. That is the first drawback we can have in our resolve to leave sin and stay close to Jesus.
The second drawback relates to the Servants and officers. This time, Peter had access to the court. The action would be in the court. Peter was warming himself with a charcoal fire, which was made by the servants and officers. This is in the court. Peter denied Jesus a second time. Similarly, there is another group that gives up along the way. When the going gets tough, they relent. They started well but could not hold on because of the warmth and company they enjoyed from the pleasures of the world, coupled with the fear of being attacked for staying with Jesus. As you resolve to follow Jesus be very conscious of the fear of being ridiculed and chastised, but do not let the fear draw you back. Be very conscious about the warmth the world offers. Do not settle for them and risk your promise to the Lord.
The third drawback also took place in the court. This time Peter was questioned by "one of the servants of the high priest, a kinsman of the man whose ear Peter has cut of". He denied Jesus. There are those who start well, are persevering through the storm and when the storms are almost over, what draws them back are their pasts. The author is very crafty to have added the information that the man who confronted Peter is a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off. This was something Peter did in the past. Yet, his past haunts him. He feared facing retaliation. Our past also accuses us when we set our minds right to follow Jesus even in suffering. There are such kinds.
We may find ourselves in any one or all these categories. What we need is sincerity of heart to face whatever draws us back from the way of truth, freedom, and liberation. At best, the responsorial Psalm will strengthen us by telling us: "Be strong, let your heart take courage, all who hope in the Lord" (Ps. 31: 24)
Pax et Bonum
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