Wednesday in Holy Week

Readings
Sentence
Collect
Reflection by the Reverend Ross Downes
Anthem: Judas Mercator Pessimus

Readings

Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 70
Hebrews 12:1-3
John 13:21-32

Sentence of the Day

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1

Collect of the Day

Most merciful God,
by the passion of your Son Jesus Christ
you delivered us from the power of darkness;
grant that through faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may be found acceptable in your sight,
through our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Reflection by the Reverend Ross Downes

It is Wednesday in Holy Week and today, the focus goes onto the scheming of Judas. He connives with the authorities who offer him thirty silver pieces to betray Jesus.

It is difficult to be entirely accurate, but in today’s terms, a reasonable estimate of the value of those coins is that they equivalent to 120 days pay.

But Judas had walked the talk with Jesus and the disciple. Now he plots. He now places a greater value on the thirty pieces of silver than he does on his fellowship with Jesus and the disciples.

Worse, this is not a momentary thing. Having arranged a fee for his services of betrayal, he now returns to sit at the table at the last supper.

Karol Wojtyla, (later Pope John Paul 11) when teaching in a Polish university, was being ‘watched’ by a communist infiltrator who was looking for evidence to convict him of subversion. Here was a teacher and a student, albeit a student in disguise. The eventual outcome was the student was converted. Describing the event later, the student said, “little by little, Wojtyla’s compassion and love, seeped through the cracks in my mind. My Communist foundations became untenable”.

Not so for Judas. So totally not so for Judas, that one is encouraged to view Judas as a kind of Metaphor for a part of our human behaviour that needs to be expunged.

This thought, fits neatly with our Holy Week Journey. Just ahead, but over a terrible hill, lies the coming resurrection The journey however is still harrowing. It needs to be. There is still much blindness to heal on our part.

Anthem: Judas Mercator Pessimus