How would you have acted?

Wednesday in Holy Week

Is 50:4-91; Mt 26:14-25

We are all familiar with the scene we read about in today's Gospel, the dramatic account of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. It is a shocking account. Who would betray the Son of God? There are three things that are particularly striking and which are worth reflecting upon.

First, awkward though it might sound, the text reminds us that we too are capable of betraying Jesus. In fact we do so all the time. The Evil One does not tempt us with big evil deeds that we would never dream of doing anyway. But we betray Jesus when like Judas negotiating with the chief priests, we start negotiating with evil,we start making compromises. The betrayal begins with lack of trust in God, doubt in God's mercy, hard-heartedness.

Second, it is striking how Jesus has all this insight about what is going to happen to him, while those around him have no idea of what is going on. Jesus has insight not only because he is the Son of God but also on a human level, he is in touch with himself and with his friends, even with the very one who is about to betray him. He is sensitive to the human heart, to the pain and anguish that often infects and affects us. Then there is that intimate gesture, "He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me." It indicates further Jesus's constant invitation towards Judas and towards each and every one of us to change our mind and to be in constant communion with him. On the outside Judas appear to be in communion with Jesus because he dips his hand in the same dish as Jesus but his heart is away from Jesus. Do I ever find myself in the same situation?

Third, Jesus uses a logic that is completely different from ours. If we knew that someone was going to betray us, or even to offend us in any way, would we share a meal with him or her? Highly unlikely! We would probably keep that person away from us. We even expect Jesus to act that way. Perhaps we would think that Jesus should have long expelled Judas from the community since he does not adhere to the "rules of the club" that we call church. But the Church is not a club, but a relationship, and Jesus - who would have known well the text we read today in the first reading, known as the Song of the Suffering Servant - embraces the suffering that he is about to endure. It is not passive obedience but courageous and brave suffering out of love.

As we continue to go further into Holy Week, let us pray for these three graces, first that we become aware of our tendency to betray Jesus in our little acts of refusal of God's love. Second, that we may become ware of Jesus's constant invitation to communion with him. Third, that we may gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of Jesus's suffering and the extent of his love for us.