Judas and Jesus
Homily on Holy Wednesday; 1 April 2026, DBPH Chapel, Talamban
For the past three consecutive days of this Holy Week, the gospel has been consistently presenting Judas Iscariot taking the limelight away from Jesus. Last Monday we heard that when Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, began anointing Jesus’ feet with perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard, Judas suddenly intervened and stole away the attention.
He commented “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” He must have thought that by saying those words, he would appear better and kinder than the woman at the feet of Jesus. But we know that Jesus promptly responded to him in defense of the Mary’s kindhearted gesture of honor, love and devotion.
Yesterday Judas Iscariot took the spotlight again away from the Lord. During the last supper, Judas never said a word, but his presence at the meal made Jesus feel so distressed and deeply troubled to the point that the Lord, not being able to hold back his emotions, said with a heavy heart “…one of you will betray me.” In fact, Judas had already closed a deal with the chief priests shortly before that. And so, when Jesus told him “Whatever you are going to do, do quickly” he took the morsel offered by his master and immediately left, thus cutting short his final bonding time with him and with the rest of the apostles.
Today’s gospel presents the same episode but from St Matthew’s perspective. It opens up with Judas Iscariot closing a deal with the chief priests. And if you noticed, we heard the same words last Sunday during the opening paragraph of the Passion of Jesus. Judas asked the Jewish leaders what they were willing to give him if he would hand him over to them. In reply they paid him thirty pieces of silver, roughly equivalent to 50K up to 75K pesos (just my own computation).
And then, the day came when Jesus and the apostles gathered to celebrate the Passover meal. While they were eating, Jesus, unable to hide his deep distress at the silent but stabbing presence of Judas, said to the Twelve “…one of you will betray me.” While everyone kept saying “Surely it is not I, Lord?” Judas on his part must have ignored Jesus’ cry of distress and just went on eating, pretending to be uninvolved. And so, when he dipped his hand into the dish (supposedly containing the dip for the green vegetables and the unleavened bread), that was the exact moment when Jesus said “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.”
You see, Judas has been taking the limelight away from Jesus who is supposed to be the focus of our attention during this Holy Week. And with that seemingly innocent gesture during that Passover meal, the stage has finally been set for the Lord’s Passion.
What could the Church really mean to tell us through these gospel passages thoughtfully arranged these days prior to the Easter Triduum? I guess the Church wants to make us reflect deeply, not only on the Paschal Mystery of Jesus, but also on the dark reality of sin in our lives even as consecrated persons. We who have been closely following the Lord may not at all be different from Judas who, despite being a close follower, has shamelessly betrayed the Lord.
Could there be a “Judas” subtly working also within our community, within the heart of each one of us? How many times have we actually betrayed our Lord secretly? Or how many times have we taken the limelight away from Jesus even while serving in church?
The good news, however, is this. No matter how deep the darkness all around might be, the light from the tiniest flame of a burning candle will never be overcome by it. No sin is so big that God cannot pardon it. Even when Jesus felt betrayed and disowned by his closest friends and disciples, his love for them never changed nor faded away. He loved them till the end. And this precisely is what we shall be celebrating during the Easter Triduum starting tomorrow.
Against the darkest background of our sinfulness, the purest love from the most sacred heart of Jesus shines the brightest. And we can’t help but draw near to be ignited. GiGsss!
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