Word to the Wise
Wednesday, April 13, 2022 - Holy Week - Wed
[Isa 50:4-9a and Matt 26:14-25]"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me." [Matthew]
Betrayal can take many forms. A love or spouse cheats. Someone considered a friend reveals a confidence entrusted to them. A disciple turns against the teacher. A promise on which one relies is broken. There are others.
The feeling of betrayal is a hard one - disappointment, sadness, grief, guilt, even despair. We don't know what led Judas to decide to betray Jesus. The motives for betrayal are as varied as the forms of betrayal.
The accounts of the Last Supper and Jesus' statement that one of his closest followers would betray him vary slightly in their description. Leonardo Da Vinci captures the moment in his famous fresco on the wall of a Dominican dining room.
Tomorrow, on Holy Thursday, we will commemorate the Last Supper. The focus will be on its Eucharistic meaning - Jesus' gift of himself in the form of bread and wine: "Take and eat, this is my body.... Take and drink, this is the chalice of my blood...." But there is more to the Last Supper. There is that statement: "The one who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me." Could that be all of us? Is it only Judas, and later, Peter? Could we be guilty of betrayal in our relationship with Jesus when pieces of the world's silver are dangled in front of us?
The power and richness of Holy Week are there for us to partake, but we cannot be choosy or romantic about it. The Lord's forgiveness of betrayal also challenges us to forgive and ask for forgiveness for the betrayals in our own lives. AMEN