HOMILY OF THE WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK — YEAR A
HOMILY THEME: THE BETRAYAL
BY: Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Isaiah 50:4-9, Ps 68:8-10,21-22,31,33-34, Matthew 26:14-25
Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”’” The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”
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“And from that time on, he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.”
This Gospel verse is the reason why Wednesday of Holy Week has been traditionally called ‘Spy Wednesday’. Obviously, the main protagonist of the day is Judas, the Son of Simon Iscariot (Jn 13:26).
The big question is: What happened to Judas Iscariot? He personally witnessed everything: His deeds, His miracles, His teachings, His acts of kindness, mercy and love – for three years, that is. It is quite difficult to comprehend that a faithful disciple can turn against his Master. What drove him to betray the Lord?
Let us just consider two points in answer to this question.
First, Judas lusted for money. In last Monday’s Gospel, he complained that anointing Jesus with the expensive oil was a big waste of money that should have gone to the poor. The Apostle John sized him up accurately: “He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions” (Jn 12:6).
Perhaps some of us may dismiss this as trivial, but it must be pointed out that desire and obsession for money and material things is very dangerous to one’s spiritual life. In his Letter to Timothy, St. Paul declared, “For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Tim 6:10). Unbridled materialism, “the root of all evils”, is the devil’s entry point to the soul of a person.
Exorcists around the world support this point. They are one in saying that most of the persons possessed by demons were believers and practitioners of feng shui and other occult practices. For a lot of people, feng shui is just a harmless natural philosophy and belief. But at the bottom of this, and all the other occult practices, is the desire for material wealth. They have chosen their Master, and it is not God but money. Satan uses materialism as his most potent weapon to deceive and entice people to his side.
This is clearly shown in what happened to Judas Iscariot. He received the thirty silver coins from the chief priests, and “Satan entered into Judas” (Lk 22:3). At the Last Supper, the Gospel of John says, “After he took the morsel, Satan entered him.”
It was Satan all along that drove Judas to betray the Lord, but it all started when he chose money as his master. For in fact, Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money”. And Judas clearly made his choice.
Secondly, Judas betrayed the Lord because he failed the test of the Eucharist. It was during the Last Supper that the Lord instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist. But before it is over, Judas left to consummate his sinister plan. Earlier, in the course of the long Bread of Life Discourse of Jesus, the betrayer was already alluded to in the Gospel of John. Towards the end of the Discourse, many did not believe and left. “Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him” (Jn 6:64).
The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love. It is the Real Presence of Jesus. Receiving the Eucharist is receiving Jesus. Rejecting the Eucharist is rejecting Jesus and His Love. This, unfortunately, is what happened to Judas Iscariot. He could not believe in the Eucharist. He could not accept the Love of Jesus because he rejected the Eucharist.
Indeed, we cannot but be deeply saddened to see a lot of Catholics drifting away from the Eucharist. During the pandemic, people have to stay at home for health and safety reasons. So, they just content themselves with the Mass live-streamed on the internet. But many of them have already lost the desire to come to Church and receive the Lord in Holy Communion.
But worse still are those Catholics who have already joined other sects or religious groups where there are no more sacraments, particularly the Eucharist. They have willfully rejected the Eucharist, the sacrament of God’s Love, very much like what Judas Iscariot has done.
It is infinitely scary to think and realize that anybody can become like Judas Iscariot, and can do what he has done. This can happen if we are not mindful enough of the dangers of materialism and continue to neglect our devotion to the Eucharist.
Tomorrow, Holy Thursday, we will commemorate the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper of the Lord with His disciples in the Upper Room. May this celebration give us the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us in our resolve to love and serve the Lord, and Him alone, especially in the most august Sacrament of the Eucharist.
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