Is 50:4-9a Ps 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34 Mt 26:14-25

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

“Surely it is not I, Lord…” Matthews 26:22

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, we see Judas Iscariot’s plot to betray Jesus begin to unfold. It is just a mere thirty pieces of silver that persuades Judas to betray He whom he calls his Lord and Savior in favor of those who will ridicule, condemn, torture, and ultimately murder Him. I could not help but wonder the way in which Judas must have rationalized such a betrayal. Did he not devote his life to following Jesus? Did he realize He whom he was handing over was in fact the Son of God? Could he have imagined that such a betrayal would crucify Christ? As I sat and thought about Judas’ betrayal, I began to think of the ways we too betray and crucify Jesus in our own lives. On our final day, will we like Judas ask, “Surely it is not I, Lord, when have I betrayed You?”

Author and Jesuit Priest Jon Sobrino frequently calls the poor and oppressed of our world the “crucified people.” In His brief period of ministry, Jesus made quite clear that in the face of the poor and oppressed, the faces of the crucified people, should we see His face. Do we? Do we see Christ in the homeless man we see on our morning commute? Do we see Christ in the face of the Haitian mother preparing mud cakes for her children to eat? Do we dare say, or rather admit, that we have betrayed them, like Judas betrayed Jesus? Have we squandered our affluence and free opportunities on selfish desires? Have we too, like Judas, found some way to rationalize such a betrayal towards our fellow man and woman?

Let us not forget the deep remorse Judas eventually felt when he realized the grave consequences of his betrayal. Let us instead reflect during this time of Holy Week on the ways in which we might use our gifts to serve those crucified people in our world. Let us continue to see the face of God in everyone we meet, and ask ourselves how will we take Jesus down from His cross?