Homily: Wednesday of Holy Week
Wednesday of Holy Week (Mt. 26:14-25) “Why did Judas Do it?”
What was Judas’ motivation for betraying Jesus? This has been the question that Christians have asked for two thousand years. There have been several theories put forward.
The first motivation might have been that he was simply greedy. Judas is portrayed in the Gospel as someone who was always worried about money. It is said that he kept the purse for the band of disciples that followed Jesus and it is said that he dipped into that purse. He was a thief. When he had an opportunity to make a dollar, he took that opportunity. If that were the case we might ask, then why did he fall into despair and kill himself?
Another theory is that he was trying to force Jesus to act. Judas was a revolutionary. He wanted Jesus to use his power to restore Israel’s independence. Judas had witnessed all the miracles of Jesus. He knew what Jesus was capable of, but Jesus was not using his abilities in a way that Judas wanted. Jesus seemed to hesitate to fulfill his destiny as the savior. Judas had run out of patience. He wanted Jesus to rule Israel and to do it as soon as possible.
Judas, then, was not interested in the bounty on Jesus’ head. When he realized that Jesus was going to die, he was horrified. That is why he did not take the money and run. He fell into despair and wallowed in shame and guilt. This led to his suicide.
Judas had another problem. He could not believe that Jesus would ever forgive him. Peter and the other apostles were able to experience the mercy of God. They were able to live through darkness of the passion of Jesus and experience the joy of resurrection and new life.
Judas lost all confidence in the Lord. He had seen others forgiven, but he could not believe he might be. His despair cannot be our despair. We have all been saved by the Lord. We can always count on this.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I ever betrayed Jesus? How so?
- Does Jesus always forgive what I do? Am I confident in the Lord?
Dear Parishioners,
We celebrated the Chrism Mass in Peoria today. I would like to thank Cathy and Greg Schneider for going to Peoria to represent our parish and to retrieve the Holy Oils that will be used to celebrate sacraments the next year.
These oils will be symbolically accepted by our parish at the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This happens at the very beginning of the Liturgy. At this liturgy, we will also wash feet as Jesus did and we will celebrate the Eucharist as Jesus did the night before he died. Please plan on being here at 7 p.m.
May Our Lady the Queen of Peace bring an end to violence and war in our world.
Fr. Mark