Read St. John 18:2–11
1. When Judas had given to his Master the traitor’s kiss, Our Lord, knowing that His hour was come, boldly advanced to meet His enemies, and told them that He was Jesus of Nazareth. At this word they went backward and fell to the ground. If this was the result of Our Lord’s presenting Himself to them in His humiliation and abasement, what will be the terror and the dread of sinners when He comes again in all His glory? O my God, grant that I may have no sin upon my soul, no debt still to pay, when I appear before the judgment-seat of Christ!
2. The soldiers then advanced to seize Jesus. St. Peter, with impetuous courage and loyalty, draws his sword and attacks the servants of the high-priest, and in the affray cuts off the ear of one of them. But Our Lord checks him, and bids him put up his sword into the scabbard. His loyalty was natural, not supernatural, and it did not endure long in the face of danger. Natural motives, however good, will not serve the cause of God.
3. When Our Lord was in the hands of His enemies, all the apostles forsook Him and fled. Not one was found to remain by His side in His abandonment. It was the will of God that He should suffer alone. “I looked about, and there was none to help; I sought, and there was none to give aid.” Christ then suffered alone, and He can sympathize with that loneliness in suffering which adds so much to its bitterness.
Source: Clarke, R. F. (1889). The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ: Short Meditations for Every Day in Lent (p. 22). Benziger Brothers.
1. When Judas had given to his Master the traitor’s kiss, Our Lord, knowing that His hour was come, boldly advanced to meet His enemies, and told them that He was Jesus of Nazareth. At this word they went backward and fell to the ground. If this was the result of Our Lord’s presenting Himself to them in His humiliation and abasement, what will be the terror and the dread of sinners when He comes again in all His glory? O my God, grant that I may have no sin upon my soul, no debt still to pay, when I appear before the judgment-seat of Christ!
2. The soldiers then advanced to seize Jesus. St. Peter, with impetuous courage and loyalty, draws his sword and attacks the servants of the high-priest, and in the affray cuts off the ear of one of them. But Our Lord checks him, and bids him put up his sword into the scabbard. His loyalty was natural, not supernatural, and it did not endure long in the face of danger. Natural motives, however good, will not serve the cause of God.
3. When Our Lord was in the hands of His enemies, all the apostles forsook Him and fled. Not one was found to remain by His side in His abandonment. It was the will of God that He should suffer alone. “I looked about, and there was none to help; I sought, and there was none to give aid.” Christ then suffered alone, and He can sympathize with that loneliness in suffering which adds so much to its bitterness.
Source: Clarke, R. F. (1889). The Sacred Passion of Jesus Christ: Short Meditations for Every Day in Lent (p. 22). Benziger Brothers.
RSS Feed