Spy Wednesday and Our Choices - Choose Wisely

On the Wednesday of Holy Week we observe the day of the greatest betrayal in the history of humankind. Spy Wednesday is the day we observe and ponder the betrayal of our Lord by Judas. It is a profound moment in history, and should resonate with all of us. We have all at one time or another, and in all likeliness will continue to betray our Lord. We do this every time we sin. When we look at the character of Judas, we see someone who had the privilege of walking with the Lord daily, physically in this world. Judas sat, slept, ate and drank with our Lord, he was a witness to countless miracles. Judas was there, front and center, for all our Lord's teachings. It is sobering to realize someone with this much opportunity and kinship with the Lord fell to the degree he did, becoming the most traitorous person in history. If Judas can fall, so can we, and we do, time and time again.

The tragedy of Judas isn't his betrayal though. The tragedy of Judas is his despair. The tragedy of Judas his lack of faith in forgiveness and redemption. Judas gave up, he lacked perseverance and courage.. Judas was prideful. Judas lacked humility and the willingness to obey. He wanted and envisioned things in his own way, and was very rigid in his ideas. He was unwilling to accept the Cross, and it is very likely he suffers for eternity because of this.

Many believe Judas was a pawn in God's plan, that he was used for God's purposes to move forward his plan of our redemption through the Cross of Christ. If this were true, that would mean Judas did not have free will, and his choices didn't matter. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We all have free will, it is a great gift from God. God respects us so much that he gives us this gift, but it does come with much responsibility and risk. Judas had free will, he could have made different choices. God is so glorious that he takes the worst choices of mankind, the most sinful and horrific and brings goodness and beauty from them. We sing about this at the Vigil Mass in the Exultant,

"O happy sin, o necessary fault, that brought us such a redeemer"

Our glory will be bigger and brighter because of the fall of Adam and Eve, not despite it. The problem is, that glory will not include everyone. It is now a choice. That choice can be difficult because it now grinds against our human nature. Many choose poorly. Judas chose poorly.

Judas could have become the greatest of all the apostles, if he had only repented and sought forgiveness and friendship once again with the Lord. He didn't. He gave in to despair and killed himself - another horrific sin, piled up with all the others. We see though, that Judas was sinful and deceptive all along. We are told he stole from the treasury of Jesus' ministry. Small sins that are not repented of, will escalate and become bigger and bigger.. That is the nature of sin, and that is the nature of our relationship with God. Each sin we commit, no matter how small, will lead us farther from God. The Grace of Confession brings us back again, but do we seek that forgiveness, do we desire redemption, or do we let Satan convince us the sin is trivial and not that big of a deal? It is a big deal.

As we see from Peter, sin can be forgiven, and it can lead us to an even closer relationship with Christ. We see this in relationships all the time. The process of forgiveness and redemption is edifying for our own spirits and for our relationships. The true tragedy of Judas is he sought neither.

The agony Christ suffers in the garden is for Judas and all those who follow in his footsteps on that path. Christ endured unbearable suffering for us, so we could be saved, yet so many souls are still lost, and so many souls don't seek that redemption. Christ is THE WAY, the ONLY WAY. We must choose him over ourselves, and so many off us are unable to do this. Judas was unable to do this

This Spy Wednesday lets reflect on this. Let's reflect on how easily we can become Judas. How easily we can loose the salvation won for us on the Cross by Christ. Let's also remember the great gift of forgiveness. Let's get to Confession. Let's grow in holiness and use the glory of God to turn our ugliness into great beauty. Let's live for Christ, and unify ourselves under the Cross. The Cross offers us eternal happiness, eluding the Cross and separating ourselves from obedience to Christ, leads to the opposite. Easter is about Redemption, and that is soon coming for some, but not for all, and probably not for Judas.