Judas

One of the things that always puzzles me during Holy Week is how could Judas have done what he did? He walked and talked with Jesus on a daily basis for three years!, yet still had the audacity/gall/nerves to betray him to the authorities.

However, it strikes me that this wasn't a spur of the moment decision, but it was something that was lead up to over a course of weeks and months where Judas refused to deal with the hardness of heart, refused to truly be open to the teachings of Jesus, refused to 'die to self and live for the other.'

We see the seeds of what will happen later this week with the betrayal already present in today's Gospel lection. Judas dismisses an extraordinary gift presented to Our Lord, under the guise of serving the poor. But his heart is already mal-formed, for he does not do this under true care for the poor, but because he would steal from the money bag.

The application for today is poignant. If we do not change, if we do not recognize our need for Christ's healing and grace, if we do not recognize His leadership in our life; beginning with the small areas and leading to the bigger; will we be much different than Judas when the time comes that 'our faith in [Him] will be shaken'?