5TH FRIDAY HOMILY OF LENT: YEAR A

5TH FRIDAY HOMILY OF LENT: YEAR A

HOMILY THEME: BETRAYAL FROM FAMILIAR FRIENDS

BY: Fr. Paul Karabari 

Jeremiah 20:10-13, Psalm 17:2-7, John 10:31-42

‘I hear many whispering. Terror is on every side! “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” say all my familiar friends, watching for my fall.

The First Reading of today (Jeremiah 20:10-13) focuses on betrayal. We all need friends in our lives. And when we don’t have them, we can feel lonely, isolated, and like we have to go through life on our own. Sometimes, we don’t have the best experiences with our families and so our friends can become our family. They support us, comfort us, encourage us, and advise us, just like a family would. We trust them. However, betrayal from friends brings injuries that hardly heal. We can bear certain pains caused by people who are not familiar with us, but it is difficult to accept betrayal from friends. And some people have destroyed families, careers, marriages, etc. of their friends. It is painful to know that the battle against you is led by your most trusted friend. It shatters the heart to see that the one who lends false witness against you is the same person you have shared your bread with. Betrayal leaves us vulnerable. But we don’t have to change in the face of it.

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At some point in our lives, we will experience betrayal and be hurt by others. They might start a friendship with good intentions but gradually become infected with jealousy and greed, or they might deliberately set out to mislead us into believing we can trust them. During his ministry, Paul wrote about how he was ‘in danger from false believers’ (2 Corinthians 11:26). And even the psalmist wrote: ‘My best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.’ It is often the people we love and trust the most who have the greatest power to hurt us. That is why it is so important for us to pray about every relationship to make sure it is where God wants us to be.

It is really difficult when someone we have trusted, loved, or looked up to betrays us. But if it happens, the first thing to remember is that God won’t betray us. Although we might not understand His ways of working or what He is doing, ‘in everything God works for the good of those who love him’ (Romans 8:28). He will bring something good out of every bad situation we go through. We also need to deal with the hurt and anger we feel so we don’t become weighed down with bitterness or let it put us off any future friendships. After lamenting about his friend who betrayed him, the psalmist said to God, ‘I know you are pleased with me, for you have not let my enemies triumph over me. You have preserved my life’ (Psalm 41:11-12). We will feel bruised for a while, but we need to get back up again and allow God’s love to heal our wounds. So as not to feel disappointed, no amount of goodness from you can really stop people who have decided to be evil towards you. Jesus asked those who decided to turn evil towards Him, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?” (John 10:31-42). Unknown but close enemies are dangerous enemies. We must pray that we are protected from them. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God shield us from every evil plot and betrayal and keep us from harm through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning

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