Wednesday in Holy Week

First reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 69
Gospel reading: Matthew 26:14-25

"You have said so."

Wednesday in Holy Week is traditionally called "Spy Wednesday"
because we are given a narration of who the betrayer of Jesus will
be.

The gospel begins with Judas Iscariot asking the chief priests
what he will get in return for handing Jesus over to them. And the
chief priests said, 'thirty pieces of silver'. With that answer,
Judas then sought an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples
asked Jesus where He wants the celebration of the Passover to be.
Jesus gave instructions to His disciples and they did as He
ordered. As night time approached, they were all reclined at
table. Jesus then revealed to all, that one of them would betray
Him. One after another they began to say to Jesus, "Surely it is
not I, Lord?" When it was Judas Iscariot's turn to say, "Surely it
is not I, Rabbi?", and Jesus said, "You have said so."

"You have said so." All of the apostles said one after another,
"Surely, it is not I, Lord?". But when it was Judas who said the
same to Jesus, Jesus knew what was in his heart. Jesus can
discern clearly and see through the hidden intentions of Judas.
By Judas' own words, his heart and the darkness of his soul was
revealed.

Loyalty is not perfect. And we see this even among the apostles
of Jesus. When Jesus was arrested, his apostles all fled. Peter
denied Him three times. And Judas was the cause of all this chaos
and commotion. If all had been perfectly loyal to Jesus, then we
might have an entirely different story altogether. But our human
flesh is weak (and Judas was tempted to disloyalty because of
money). And the words we speak betray what is in our heart. Have
you ever experienced saying something to another person and then
suddenly realizing that what you said betrays an inner anger,
envy, jealousy, or enmity? Our words can betray our soul. Let
us therefore take the message of the gospel to examine ourselves:
"In what ways have I betrayed the Lord Jesus? What have I said to
others that has led me to make Jesus suffer?"