Isaiah 50: 4-9; Matthew 26: 14-25
Today’s readings present the scene of a play that leads to its end. We are all in the expectation of the outcome. Jesus has journeyed with His disciple and, by now they are supposed to know who He truly is: The Son of God and Messiah. Yet, it is at this very crucial moment that He experiences the worst from His beloved friends: they betray Him, they abandon Him on the way, and they let Him face His Passion alone.
The gospel tells us the story of Judas betrayal. After following Jesus all this time, it is at the crucial moment that he drops the ball. He betrayed his Teacher and Master, he betrayed the other Apostles, his companions, who have confidence in him, and he betrayed himself, his own integrity, his ministry, his mission and his years of discipleship.
During these forty days, with our fellow parishioners and as a family of faith, we embarked on a journey in the desert with Jesus. Like Judas, we may be tempted to look towards other directions, as we face the challenges of fear and worries that come from the events surrounding us. We may be tempted to give up and exchange the glory of what we are called to be in Jesus Christ for something far less and even for something that can destroy us. But the first reading from Isaiah reminds us that God never forsakes us even in betrayal. His love is there for us to turn to Him in order to live. If we repent and come back to Him, Christ will restore our dignity, our mission and our self-respect.
At the crossroad of this very difficult time, we are all invited to look intently towards Jesus Christ and ask Him to give us the courage to undertake the journey of His Passion as we enter the Triduum Paschal.
Let us continue to pray for one another, for our parish family and for the world.
Fr. Emery