Suffering betrayal Servant

In the Gospel from John today the Roman Catholic Lectionary offers us a view of Jesus understanding of the betrayal which would befall Him at the hands of those closest to Him. The direction to Judas to go and do what he must do is not tinged with contempt or even disappointment. It is in harmony with the sense of trust in the Will of God which is also deeply evident in the commission of the Suffering Servant from the Book of Isaiah and the trust of the psalmist in the Presence of God in his difficult circumstance in relation to those who would be unjust and cruel. Jesus addresses the declaration of complete solidarity by Peter with a reality check which tells us that the great denial of this Apostle will be followed by a return to life in harmony with the suffering servant mission. Dennis Hamm, S.J expresses the how Jesus allows the betrayal and denial to unfold without exposure or confrontation as showing the deep trust which He lives in the Father. This is our invitation to experience a path through the difficult reactions to our evangelism. Friar Jude Winkler notes two aspects of the style of the Gospel of John which relate to the text today. The statement that it was night which follows Judas departure is an example of the dualism of good and evil which are clearly flagged by the Evangelist. Works of the Evil One happen in darkness. The Love of God is visible in the light. For John, the glory of God is in the living of the Love which is the nature of the Divine. This glorification is predicted by Jesus in the text. The Love is most evident as Jesus gives all to His mission on the cross. Our mission to be light to the nations in the Body of Christ is more filled out today as we see how rejection and betrayal may lead to Love.