Holy Wednesday

Holy Week is unlike any other week in the Church's year. It begins with the illusory triumph of Palm Sunday, when Jesus is hailed as a celebrity in his own city of Jerusalem. It leads through the betrayal of Judas (remembered on 'Spy Wednesday'), and the farewells of Thursday (called 'Maundy Thursday' after the Mandatum, the command to love one another), the humiliations, tortures and death on Good Friday, to the victory over death on Resurrection Morning. Nearly every human life will include some of those experiences. This week we can identify with the Lord each step of the way from the Mount of Olives to Calvary. When it comes to the resurrection, the imagination boggles, yet it is the centre of our faith.

Matthew 26:14-25

Then one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What will you give me if I betray him to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.'" So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal. When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me." And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, "Surely not I, Lord?" He answered, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born." Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Surely not I, Rabbi?" He replied, "You have said so."

What feelings arise in you as you read this passage: anger, disgust, sadness?

What would you want to say to Judas if you knew what he was doing? Jesus did know, yet he treated Judas gently. He did not try to stop Judas.

How does Jesus look at you when you betray the love of Jesus? What do you want to say to him when you ponder this story of Judas?

This week is the most difficult of all the weeks for Christians. We are guided to ask ourselves hard questions that fly in the face of conventional wisdom. Open your hearts to God during this week. Seek guidance from our savior and find out what unconditional love is all about.