1 April 2026
30 pieces of silver
As we arrive at Wednesday of Holy Week, referred to as Spy Wednesday, the tension is no longer building, it’s breaking open. The betrayal is now set in motion. What has been hinted at is now decided.
The Gospel begins with a simple line: “Judas went to the chief priests. What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” And from that moment on, everything changes. Thirty pieces of silver. A price is set. A relationship is reduced to a transaction.
And then, in one of the most unsettling moments in all of Scripture, Judas sits at the table with Jesus. He eats with Him. He listens. He remains close.
And Jesus says: “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” One by one, the disciples ask, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” And even Judas says it: “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” And Jesus answers: “You have said so.”
What is striking is not just the betrayal, but how close it happens. Judas is not outside the circle. He is not an enemy from a distance. He is at the table. He is one of His closest friends.
That’s what makes this moment so heavy.
Now, place that beside the first reading. The Servant in Isaiah says: “I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.” This is not passive suffering. This is chosen fidelity. The Servant knows what is coming, and does not turn away. “The Lord God is my help… I have set my face like flint.” Set like flint: firm, steady, unshaken.
Now bring that back to the Gospel.
Judas is making his decision. The betrayal is underway. The Cross is approaching.
And what does Jesus do?
He stays.
He does not expose Judas publicly. He does not stop the meal. He does not turn away from what is coming. He sets His face. Just like the Servant.
This is the contrast the Church gives us today.
Judas—who turns away. Jesus—who remains.
Judas moves toward self-preservation, control, and ultimately isolation. Jesus moves toward surrender, trust, and ultimately the Cross.
And here is where this becomes very direct for us.
Because Judas’ betrayal did not begin at the table. It began much earlier: quietly, gradually, interiorly. A divided heart. A growing distance. A willingness to place something else above Christ.
And by the time the moment comes, the decision is already made.
That’s why this reading is placed here.
Because Holy Week is not just about what Judas did. It’s about what happens in the human heart. It’s about the small compromises, the quiet justifications, the slow drift that can happen without us even noticing.
And it’s also about something else.
The steady, unshaken fidelity of Christ.
Even when He knows what Judas will do… Even when He sees what is coming… He remains. “I have set my face like flint.” He chooses the Father. He chooses the mission. He chooses the Cross.
And that is the invitation of this day.
To look honestly at our own hearts, not with fear, but with clarity.
Where have we drifted? Where have we divided ourselves? Where have we chosen something else over Christ?
And then to choose again.
Not perfectly. Not dramatically.
But deliberately.
To remain.
Because the difference between Judas and the other disciples is not that they were stronger or more faithful. They all fail.
The difference is that Judas leaves, and never returns.
And Jesus is still there.
Still offering Himself.
Still inviting.
Still faithful.