Holy Week Reflections - Wednesday

Confronting us in the readings for today are several contrasting directives that place before believers and sincere seekers radical choices: obedience or rebellion in Isaiah; humility or vanity in Psalm 69; repentance or betrayal in Matthew 26.

Teachers of truth identify with the Servant whose tongue sustains those like himself who refuse to rebel against the Lord; who suffer humiliation for doing good; who forge faithfully ahead despite misunderstanding and persecution.

We cannot help but see through the window of this Servant-song an image of our Savior, for did he not give his back to those who scourged him? Was he not insulted and spat upon?

The servant who trusts and believes in God’s promise of help, who stands his ground despite opposition, will be a recipient of grace. He will not be disgraced, however fierce a foe may attack him. Under all circumstances he will persevere and never forego his loyalty to the Lord. With the might and majesty of God at his side, vindication, not vilification, will be his. Despite being unjustly accused of wrongdoing, this servant of God will overcome every adversary.

In these few verses from the prophet, we derive an excellent picture of what discipleship really means and why suffering inevitably accompanies a true calling in Christ. In The Ascent of Mount Carmel (2.7.8), Saint John of the Cross says, “I should like to persuade spiritual persons that the road leading to God does not entail a multiplicity of considerations, methods, manners, and experiences…but demands only one thing necessary: true self-denial, exterior and interior, through surrender of self both to suffering for Christ and to annihilation in all things.”

Psalm 69 illumines this mystery in a firm yet gentle way. The psalmist prays in anguish that God will hear the cry of a rebellious penitent and restore his hope of salvation. He begs God to overcome any semblance of estrangement between them. He dares to make this plea, not because he feels himself to be worthy of divine protection but because he has done his best to serve the Lord and to take upon himself any insult hurled at him. His pious practices were not ways of showing off his zeal but of giving glory to God by acts of obedience, fasting, and enduring many bodily discomforts.

This psalm opens a window through which we view years later some of the sufferings of Jesus, such as his being given on the cross “vinegar to drink.” Confidence in God’s promise of redemption prevails, for divine fidelity never fails. The Lord does hear the cry of the poor. How, then, can praise not be on our lips? Why would not all of creation bow to God in worship?

So enamored was she of the might and majesty of the Most High that Saint Thérèse of Lisieux made repeated acts of self-abandonment to God amid times of great physical and spiritual desolation. The more she lived under the shadow of the cross, the more obedience to God’s will became her chief concern. With great discernment she prayed, “It pleases You to cause the rays of Your grace to shine through even in the midst of the darkest storm!” For Thérèse, the cross, in the words of Saint John of the Cross, “is a supporting staff, which greatly lightens and eases the journey” (AMC 2.7.7).

The Gospel for today reveals the way in which Jesus attempts to convince Judas to reconsider his intentions before he crosses the bridge of no return and betrays his Master. It is significant that this scene takes place at table. Eating together suggests companionship, friendly exchanges, and genuine hospitality—not adversarial plotting, double talk, and hostility.

In the background of this sacred meal, when Jesus himself is about to bless and break the bread, one of the Twelve hatches a plot to trap him. His remuneration for doing so will be an agreed upon thirty pieces of silver (the price of a slave, Exodus 21:32). With a heart hardened by consent to his own nefarious act, Judas would carry out this heinous betrayal.

How distressed the Apostles must have felt when the conversation around their Passover table shifted from warm-hearted exchanges to the poignant prediction Jesus makes that one of them will betray him. Naturally, no one wants to be that person, so consternation ripples around the table, but to no avail. Judas has already done the deed in his heart and soon it will happen in actuality. Rebellion has wiped away any possibility of repentance on his part. He does not even honor Jesus by addressing him as Lord. Instead he uses the formal term, Rabbi.

In the words of Saint John of the Cross, this deed has darkened his intellect, defiled his soul, and rendered him lukewarm in the practice of virtue. He says that “while growing within [his soul], these [vipers] eat away at [his] entrails and finally…result in killing the soul in its relationship with God…” (AMC 1.10.3). Is this not exactly what happened to Judas?

From these readings, we learn that the only road to freedom of spirit is to forego rebellion and choose obedience; to bow to God in humility and never succumb to vanity; and to opt for repentance over betrayal. Judas, blindsided by greed, failed to see the purpose for why the Lord had come—not to slay his oppressors but to surrender to the will of the Father for our salvation. By this suffering, says Saint John, “…he accomplished the most marvelous work of his whole life…he brought about the reconciliation and union of the human race with God through grace” (AMC 2.7.11).

Questions for Reflection

1. In circumstances not of your choosing, do you try to discern their deeper meaning with trust in the Lord and confidence in the Spirit’s leading?

2. Has this Lenten season become a time in your life for growth in the virtues of compunction, surrender, and receptivity to the will of God?

3. With the saints of the Carmelite tradition, do you see the rays of God’s grace shining “even in the midst of the darkest storm”?