WEDNESDAY HOMILY – HOLYWEEK / YEAR B
THEME: THE ENEMY IN YOUR FRIEND.
BY: FR. KARABARI PAUL
‘At that time: One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” (Matt 26:14-25).
ALSO RECOMMENDED: REFLECTION FOR WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK.
One character that keeps occurring in the Gospel reading is Judas Iscariot. For whatever reason, this man remains an important figure this period. It was destined that Jesus would die a shameful death to save humanity from sin. And one man who aided the plots of Jewish authorities to arrest and crucify Jesus was His apostle, friend, and finance minister Judas Iscariot.
Speaking of Judas, one author writes: ‘God sometimes manipulates the actions of our enemies to make them work as friends in order to accomplish His will in our lives. He can bless you through the worst relationships, ones that are painful or negative. The time, effort, and pain we invest in them aren’t wasted because God knows how to make adversity feed destiny into your life. I can’t stop hurts from coming, or promise that everyone who sits at your table will be loyal. But the sufferings of success give us direction, build character, and in the end you find grace to re-evaluate your enemies and realise that like Judas, they are friends in disguise.’
Sometimes the friends you count on to support you will actually try to undercut you. When God gives you a vision that is too big for them to handle, they will say, ‘you are getting too big for your boots,’ and try to cut you down to size. (Usually their own size.) And betrayal happens as often in church as in secular society.
It is fitting then to pray that the actions of our enemy in our friend may help in fulfilling God’s plans for our life.
A betrayer knowingly shares information in a breach of confidence. They violate the trust someone has placed in them. Judas was in a position to betray Jesus with very little effort because he was familiar with Him, His schedule, and His habits. The Bible says, ‘Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples’ (John 18:2). Judas used his inside knowledge of Jesus’ tendencies to hurt Him. If we have ever betrayed confidence, it’s important that we bring our actions to God and confess to Him, even if it happened years ago.
We should consider our motives: Why did we do it? What was the reward? Did we gain some advantage over the person we betrayed? Did we want to gain favour from those we shared the secret with? Were we envious or resentful at the time? Was there an unresolved conflict that led us to do it? We should lay all the circumstances before God and seek forgiveness. On the other hand, what if someone has betrayed our confidence? If so, we need to think: What valuable lesson did we learn from it? Have we freed the offender in our hearts and no longer want revenge? If not, we are still bound to them, and they are controlling part of our mind. We need to share our feelings with God and then leave the situation and the other person in His hands. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God heal our world, grant us His mercy, and bless us through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning
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