by Rev. Dr. Mariano C. Apilado
In a world of betrayal, treachery and desertion of ideals, that our present world is often known, it is refreshing to know that love at its excellent best can happen. This is significantly demonstrated in what Jesus experienced during the last supper, which is now celebrated in the whole Christian world as the Holy Communion.
The Apostle Paul wrote about the institution of the Holy Communion, “. . . on the night when he was betrayed Jesus took bread. . .” (I Corinthians 11:23) Faced with betrayal, desertion and denial, Jesus showed love.
Before the Last Supper with his disciples, Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver; later, one by one Jesus’ disciples deserted him. Peter, the most courageous of them, denied three times that he ever knew Jesus. The people betrayed Jesus, choosing him instead of Barrabas, the thief, to be crucified. As a final act of betrayal, Pontius Pilate washed his hands of any responsibility over the decision to have Jesus crucified.
Love in a world of betrayal and desertion – that is the gospel of hope. At the cross the evil of human betrayal was disclosed. At the cross, the cruelty of human sin did its worst.
At the cross, however, the nobility of divine love was shown. At the cross, the boundlessness of divine love was revealed. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23: 34). The dream of endless human love may die. Nevertheless, the dream of divine excellence that love will triumph in the end – this dream will never die. God’s love is unending, eternally living and life-giving.
Jesus was not the first or the last to be victimized by betrayal.
There was Joseph in the Old Testament, son of Jacob. A victim of the jealousy of his brothers, he was sold, as a slave to merchants on their way to Egypt. He trusted his master, Potiphar, but Potiphar’s wife accused him of a crime he did not commit. He was forgotten by a fellow prisoner whom he had helped.
Then he eventually rose to the top leadership of Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh. When his brothers finally met him again, Joseph explained that they should not be distressed or be angry at themselves because it was God who sent him to Egypt ahead of them so that he could save lives.
Another victim of betrayal was Jose Rizal. Sometime in the 1950’s, Zoilo M. Galang wrote a novel about the love of Rizal, alias Crisostomo Ibarra and Leonor Rivera, alias Maria Clara. As Rizal bade good-bye on the night of his departure, Leonor Rivera, his sweetheart, professed, “O Pepe, I am not a poet like you, endowed with sweet words and tender phrases, but as every drop of the China Sea contains salt, so does every drop of my blood contain love – love of God, of Mother – and of you, Pepe, especially.”
And yet, in his travels, Ibarra betrayed his love to Leonor; Leonor, herself, betrayed Rizal by marrying someone else. And so, the title of the novel was, For Dreams Must Die. Rizal overcame these betrayals and the betrayal of his fellow Filipinos of the ideals of nationhood. Rizal pursued his dream of a free Philippines and was executed at Bagumbayan; and later, he was declared the national hero.
In a world of betrayal, treachery and desertion of ideals, it is refreshing to know that love at its excellent best can happen. This is because God’s love is unending, eternally living and life-giving. This can also be our love for each other as human beings.
