Isaiah 50:4-9 / Matthew 26:14-25 (2010 / 2020)
We are always more than ready to lament that we are victims of betrayal.
There are never short of accounts of betrayal by a husband, or a wife, or a family member, or a colleague, or a fiend.
It is also never easy to forget a betrayal.
But we may not be that ready to admit that we have betrayed somebody before.
So when Jesus said : "I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray me", even Judas himself had to cheek to ask : "Not I Lord, surely?"
Somehow, Judas has become the symbol of the dark side of ourselves.
We don't like to look at Judas, because we see in him the reflections we don't like about ourselves, especially about unfaithfulness, disloyalty and betrayal.
Yet Judas' reply to Jesus "Not I Lord, surely?" can be a means of prayerful reflection for us.
Will I be unfaithful to Jesus? Will I be disloyal to Him? Will I ever betray Him?
Yet after all our reflection, we can only humbly turn to Jesus and say: Help me Lord Jesus, to be faithful to You always.