Isaiah 50:4-9; Ps 69 Lord, in your great love, answer me; Matthew 26:14-25
"What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?"
These words are the most haunting words of all of scripture. Judas, a chosen one of Christ to lead the church upon his ascension, turns aside and sells him out.
And what a cheap price at that: 30 pieces of silver to betray a friend. To treat a person as an object is unheard of, right?
How often have we discovered the very words of the disciples upon our lips we hear in today's gospel, "surely it is not I, Lord."
Surely we would never do such a thing! But we have done such in our life. We have objectified others to our own gain, whether it be material gain or emotional gain. We Judas others in and throughout our life.
Think about pornography or don't think about it. But rather the business of pornography is objectification for the sake of gain, fleeting as it is.
Think about entertainment in general. Much of it consist in objectification of others and the art is some how lost in the process.
No it is real. We have all done it. We are guilty. Judas isn't the only one who sold someone out for personal gain.
Yet like Judas we continually treat Jesus as if he were existing simply for our gain. How often is our attitude one of demanding when we go to Jesus? We demand this or that? How often we demand for ourselves from him only to find ourselves turned aside from him. When we seek ourselves in love, eventually we find ourselves alone and distant from love itself.
If we treat Jesus in this light, then when the going gets rough then we leave altogether. We don't stick around much. We see this in marriages as well.
Judas can teach us much if we are willing to learn.
Judas was never grateful. Thus he found himself backed in a dark corner with no way out.
We too find ourselves in that same corner when we approach with selfish attitude rather then one of gratitude.
Betrayal is often founded upon the inability to be grateful for the gift that is and we shift our focus to the gift we think it ought to be.
It is good to ponder Judas. It is good to examine our lives. It is good to reevaluate how we love and how we give thanks.
Who have we taken for granted in our life? Betrayal often shows itself in this reality of taking for granted, not truly appreciating the value of the other. Something to be mindful of as we journey to calvary.
Today be grateful. Today show appreciation. Today recognize the true worth of another apart from what we gain from it.
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