First Reading
Isaiah 50:4-9a
The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
That I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
he opens my ear that I may hear;
And I have not rebelled,
have not turned back.
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.
The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
He is near who upholds my right;
if anyone wishes to oppose me,
let us appear together.
Who disputes my right?
Let him confront me.
See, the Lord GOD is my help;
who will prove me wrong?
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 and 33-34
R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak,
I looked for sympathy, but there was none;
for consolers, not one could I find.
Rather they put gall in my food,
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving:
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.”
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
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.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
TITLE: COME TO JESUS
"Judas Iscariot went off to the chief priests." –Matthew 26:14
Judas was accustomed to being an intimate friend of Jesus and having privileged access to Him. Nonetheless, during the most important week in the lives of both Judas and Jesus, Judas dialogued with the chief priests instead of with Jesus. Judas deferred to the chief priests as a higher "authority" than Jesus, handing his loyalty over to the chief priests instead of to Jesus, the Lord of the universe.
Adam and Eve were accustomed to being intimate friends of God in the garden of Eden. They had privileged access to the Lord. Nonetheless, Adam and Eve dialogued in the garden with the serpent (Satan) instead of with God. They deferred to Satan's "authority" over the tree of life rather than God's.
In this holiest of weeks, learn from the mistakes of Adam, Eve, Judas, and a great many people over the centuries. When it comes to the Passion of Christ, you are either with Jesus or against Jesus (Lk 11:23). Give the Lord absolute loyalty over your heart and tongue. Give Jesus your sympathy (Ps 69:21). Dialogue with God and not the forces opposed to Him. Jesus tells each one of us: "Come to Me" (Mt 11:28).
PRAYER: Father, be the Lord of my heart and my loyalties. "Keep me faithful to Your teaching and never let me be parted from You."
PROMISE: "The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced." –Is 50:7
PRAISE: Praise You, Lord Jesus, for Your constant, never-failing love for me and for all people. I worship You with my life.
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