Holy Thursday has arrived! It is an interesting day in the ending of the Lenten Season. It starts out with the Passover celebration, begins some important sacraments for our Church and ends in the tragedy that begins our life! A lot of endings, beginnings, and eternity all in one. It is a sobering feeling at the end of Holy Thursday Mass when the Blessed Sacrament is taken away as was Christ taken forcibly from the garden. You actually feel the void of an 'empty' church, especially when we arrive for the Good Friday services the next day. I have to feel sorry for people who have never experienced the entirely of this week in the Church as it truly enhances the joy of Easter.
Our pastor gave an interesting viewpoint on Judas' betrayal of Jesus. I always wondered that greed could have a long-time follower and friend of Jesus do such an awful deed. Our pastor said that to him, yes, greed was the motivating reason behind Judas betraying our Lord but he thinks that, perhaps, Judas thought it wouldn't actually be a problem. Why? Our pastor wonders if Judas wasn't figuring on Jesus 'disappearing' as He had other times when he was being sought and would do so this time, too. It would leave Judas with the 'free' money and not hurt Jesus. Judas tried to out think God and, as we all know, this was the one instant that Jesus was prepared to be 'found'. Maybe that is why the guilt of Judas was doubly great as his great desire for money caused this to happen to Jesus. Not Biblical, of course, but surely an interesting thought on the subject.
Makes me wonder how many times we have gone with the greed and turned our own backs on Jesus and shunned all that He suffered to save us.
No comments:
Post a Comment