Jesus Our Shield

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟑𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐓𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐈𝐬𝐚 𝟒𝟗:𝟏-𝟔

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕𝟏:𝟏-𝟒, 𝟓𝐚𝐛-𝟔𝐚𝐛, 𝟏𝟓, 𝟏𝟕 “𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏𝟑:𝟐𝟏-𝟑𝟑, 𝟑𝟔-𝟑𝟖

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝,

𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟏) 

        Many times, when we are asked to patronize a person or a principle our first reaction is ask what I will get out of it. This is a natural tendency of a human person especially in relation to political or social affiliation and even in the workplace where our loyalty and cooperation is demanded.

        It is because that many of us think in terms of the material rewards for our loyalty or allegiance to a person or to an entity. Even in the time of Jesus, many of those who followed him must have entertained the thought that they could get something out of him and many did in terms of the numerous healing miracles that Jesus performed and, when both Jews and Gentiles alike were fed with fish and bread on two occasions.

        And how ironic that the very same people who benefited from these miracles were the ones who shouted “crucify him” when Jesus was on trial before Pilate.

        In today’s Gospel as we step deeper into the Holy Week, let us look to at least three points that we can digest from the Gospel reading. The 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 is that sin is always associated with the dark. As sin springs from the influence of the evil one, a person who sins would usually finds himself in a worthless pursuit of life.

         Why? Because sin robs man of the supernatural beauty of the soul and it makes him resemble the devil and it brings misery in life until he finds his way again to the path of righteousness. To be able to resist occasions of sin, we must be aware that our hearts are inhabited by two characters who are diametrically opposed to one another.

         Where one praises, the other blames. One is concupiscence, the other conscience. Thus, when an evil thought comes to mind, a struggle between these two characters arises with conscience holding us back while concupiscence incites our senses and moves us to sin.

         This was what may have happened to Judas on that fateful night with his conscience urging him to remain faithful to Jesus, but his concupiscence was inciting him to go ahead and give Jesus to the Sanhedrin as he probably calculated that Jesus will resist arrest and would rise and be the Messiah that he claimed to be.

         “𝐀𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟎) At that very moment, concupiscence triumphed and this was the point when the devil entered into Judas and he went out into the night. This reference to the time is significant because a person steps into the darkness that fills the night when he turns away from Christ to follow his own desires.

         Night fills a person who listens to his concupiscence rather than to his conscience. A person experiences the night when he turns his back on Jesus. This was the undoing of Judas because even at that point he had a choice to remain in the light of Christ. While God gives us wisdom to choose what is right, we can get lost as with Judas when we move away from the light and into the dark.

         The 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 that we see in this passage was Jesus never lost sense of his divinity and remained in full control of the situation. As it was only a matter of time before the greatest event in history unfolds, we see Jesus knowing exactly what was going to happen.

        He knew Judas would betray him because it was to Judas that he handed the piece of bread dipped in the dish (𝐯.𝟐𝟔). This gesture, however, could have been a last-minute appeal by Jesus for Judas to change his mind. For the master to offer to his disciple a piece of bread was a sign of affection

         But as it became evident that Judas has made up his mind to go out into the night, Jesus himself gave Judas his imprimatur when he said: “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨, 𝐝𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲.” (𝐯.𝟐𝟕) This will show that Jesus was in complete control of the situation. His arrest, suffering, his death were in his hands and not in the hands of his enemies. (𝐉𝐧 𝟏𝟎:𝟏𝟕-𝟏𝟖)

         The 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒅 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 involves Peter who, in a moment of weakness, denied him with an oath and a curse. While the decision of Judas to betray Jesus was a calculated move, Peter never meant to do what he did. But Peter was known to act on impulse, and it was out of weakness and self-preservation that he denied Jesus.

         In our lifetime, there is in us the person of Judas and Peter and this Holy Week should provide us with the opportunity to look back into how we have lived our lives. Can we count the times we stepped into the darkness of sin when we disobeyed and was discourteous towards our parents?

         Or when we refused help to those in need? How about the times we allowed pride and arrogance to manifest in the way we dealt with our marginalized brethren? Or lied or spoken ill of others or was unfaithful.

         Aren’t we guilty of betraying Our Lord Jesus Christ when we desecrated the temple of his Holy Spirit in us by indulging in vices, envy, gluttony, laziness in the exercise of our gifts, lust and infidelity, insatiable appetite to accumulate material possessions and, our refusal to give back to God what came from him in the first place.

         Weren’t we like Peter when we also speak from the heart without considering the effect of our words and actions? Take for example the times we said yes to serve in the outreach missions, but we reneged on our commitment. Just as Satan entered Judas when he betrayed Christ, we too can fall victim to the deception of the evil one who has the power to turn love into hate, holiness into pride,

         While it is always good to remain vigilant against the influence of the evil one, we should bear in mind that God will also give us the Grace and endurance whenever we are put to a test. But the greatest glory in life is the glory that comes from sacrifice and when we can overcome the testing that comes our way.

         What we can also derive from this Gospel is that we must always be on guard because the evil one is always on the prowl looking for someone to devour (𝟏 𝐏𝐞𝐭 𝟓:𝟖) and that we must not try to avoid the cross because it is through the cross that we can find the glory that awaits those who will listen and obey his Word.

         We must remember that our life is a battleground between these two forces that influence our lives but in spiritual warfare the supreme glory belongs to those who lay down their lives for others. Jesus has conquered the world and sin by his death on the cross and upon his Ascension has left us with His Holy Spirit who gives us Grace and strength that will carry us through in times when we are faced with a decision to make.

         A sure way to keep sin out of our lives is to submit to Jesus and walk in the light of his truth and love by listening and obeying the Word of God and by our regular reception of the Sacraments (Confession and Holy Eucharist) because Jesus is the only one who shield us from the machinations of the evil one. This Holy Week is an opportune time to ask: Are we ready to follow Jesus in his way to the cross? (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 31, 2026)