Falling into Sin
“After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.”
John 13:27a
What a chilling verse of Scripture, “Satan entered him.” Judas had planned to betray Our Lord. He went to the chief priests and asked what he might get if he were to hand Jesus over. Judas’ action was not one of those “on the spur of the moment,” last minute nervous decisions. He knew what he was doing — handing over his Teacher, friend, and Lord. And when approached by the Lord at the Last Supper, Judas remained silent, took the dipped morsel from Jesus’ hand, and left. This departure from Christ was the moment Satan entered him.
When we choose to do evil knowingly, we choose to leave Christ. And when we do so, we allow the enemy to influence our thoughts, actions, and even desires. That is what happens when we fall into sin. For Judas we are told that Satan entered him. For us, we might even say something similar happens to us — we listen to his promptings and walk away from God. We fall into temptation and we walk into near occasions of sin. However, unlike Judas who did not choose to return to Jesus, we can. We are still here on the earth, and we can still make amends, running back to the Lord and seeking His mercy and forgiveness.
Unlike the angels (good or bad), the effects of our decisions are not instantaneously definitive. We can look back, reflect, and choose to do otherwise. Even after an act has been committed we can still choose to reconcile and do penance. This is the gift given to us so that Satan might not enter into us. We will fall, and at times we may even choose to leave Christ. But we must always remember that Christ never leaves us, and He is right there when we choose to run back to Him. Let us fall not into sin, but rather fall in love with Christ so that it is God Himself, and not Satan, who enters into our entire being.
