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Gospel: Matthew 26: 14-25
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘“
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
He said in reply,
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Ever since Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the Gospels became the story – not of Jesus alone – but of him and his disciples. Even when the focus is on Jesus or his teaching, his disciples are described as being there.
This is particularly true as they begin their ascent to Jerusalem. James and John are caught arguing over who is the greatest; their mother asks Jesus to reward her sons with a coveted role in his kingdom; Jesus sends his disciples out to fetch him a donkey.
And, at last, he washes their feet and shares a meal with them in the upper room. Not just any meal, however; Jesus feeds his disciples with his own Body and Blood. Only now – after the meal has been offered – is the communion broken by Judas.
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In the succeeding hours, Jesus will become increasingly alone. Not only will his disciples abandon him; even as he cries out in agony from the Cross, his own Father will be silent.
The same Father who said after the baptism and transfiguration of our Lord, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased, listen to him,” will now say nothing. From the Last Supper until his death, Jesus enters into a rare, devastating state of loneliness.
In the ages following the crucifixion and death of our Lord, popular piety has arisen, seeking, perhaps, to re-write history; to revisit what happened; to keep Christ company in his final hours.
One such example is the popular song, Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? A song believed to have been written by enslaved African-Americans, who sang as they worked tirelessly under the beating sun.
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Were you there when they crucified my Lord? The song goes. Were you there when they nail’d him to the cross? Were you there when they pierced him in the side? Were you there when the sun refused to shine? Sometimes it causes me to tremble.
Were you there?
As we enter into the climax of Holy Week – from Holy Thursday through Easter Sunday – may our answer be, “Yes, Lord. A thousand times yes.”
We will be there with you.
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Image credits: (1) Email Meditations, WordPress (2) A Traitor in the Midst, HB Charles Jr. (3) Flickr – Waiting for the Word, Last Supper 27