By Martin Madalai Muthu csc –
Readings: Is 50:4-9, Mt 26:14-25
Today is Wednesday of the Holy week, which in some places is known as Spy Wednesday, just because of the projection of Judas as a betrayer. Reflecting on today’s Gospel and the life of Judas in the journey of Jesus’ life on earth, I realize that Judas’ greatest mistake was not that he betrayed Jesus, but that he had no confidence in Lord’s mercy to recover from his betrayal of Jesus. Peter denied Jesus three times, yet he repented and gained the mercy of God. We can never deny Judas’ betrayal as a key moment in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus which brought salvation to all.
So, let us keep the word ‘betrayal’ as the central theme of liturgy and reflect on it with our lives today. Let us take a moment to recall an experience when we were betrayed or let down or criticized by a friend or a trustworthy person. It is very painful to accept as well as forgive at that moment. One may keep worrying about the person’s actions and get disturbed by what one does. But I have come across one of my superiors and a priest-friend who thanked the persons who criticized and betrayed them. They found that the actions of their betrayer helped them to improve themselves in their ministry and to better serve God. Today, like Jesus, we are invited to pray for the people who may have hurt us in different ways and especially thank them because our victory gets tuned through other’s criticisms and comments.
Just as we may get betrayed by our dear ones, there are times we may have betrayed others. In the gospel, Judas betrayed Jesus because of the desire for a sum of money which was ultimately not worth or equal to the life of Jesus. We too betray Jesus by criticizing, gossiping, and fooling others in our family, community, and society. And we do it out for our ambition, greed, hatred, revenge, and even for our own personal gain. There are always choices before us like Judas had: to repent and believe in the mercy of Jesus like Peter or end our lives in a desolate and faithless manner like Judas. Let us become renewed persons with the mercy of God and prepare to face Easter joyfully.