On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week our first readings at Mass contain Three Oracles from Isaiah the Prophet concerning the Servant of the Lord. An oracle is an utterance that is made or received as authoritative, extremely wise or infallible. In this case these oracles are all three.
The oracle for this Wednesday concerns the one with the well-trained tongue who knows how to speak a word to the weary to rouse them. He will be the one who gives no resistance to physical attack: who gives his back to be beaten, his beard to be plucked, his face to be spit upon. In all of this he will not consider himself disgraced at all – for he will know that God is his help and he will uphold his cause. And he will be right!
For the one being prophesied about is clearly Jesus: the one with a very well-trained tongue, who knew full well how to speak a word to the weary to rouse them. When his hour had finally come: the hour he anticipated and looked forward to with determination and even joy: he, then, gave himself to physical attack. He was shamefully treated the night before his death – and yet he felt no shame at all – for he knew that God, his Father, would uphold his cause and he would help him do what it was that he came to this earth to do: to suffer and die an ignominious death on a cross for all of us!
Jesus, how we adore you, for so willingly and lovingly living out the conditions of our salvation!
In the gospel passage we see one of his own inner circle who resisted every offer that Jesus ever gave him to "turn towards him and his way of life and live" – Judas Iscariot. Jesus knew that Judas was a narcissist. He was totally taken with himself! He was self-absorbed to an extreme point! And he was a thief! Who better to be the one to hand Jesus over than a near-sighted thief?
Jesus thought perhaps after spending three years with him as a disciple within close range – maybe Judas could have allowed the light of Jesus Goodness and Truth to shine into his mind and heart so that he could see himself as he really was – and how off-track he was – and how willing Jesus would be to embrace him and reconcile with him, if only he would say the word.
But Judas had such a thick armor of selfish self-centeredness that nothing could penetrate it – and he died a tragic death because of it!
There are many who are stuck in the muck of selfish self-centeredness – and it is for these - in our own locality and throughout the world – that we pray as we enter the Holy Triduum – the Holiest Three Days of the Church Year. May the grace and mercy of God penetrate their minds and hearts so that they can bask in the light of God's mercy, love, forgiveness and redemption.
Jesus died especially for those who need him most!
May each of us tell Jesus these next few days how much we desperately need him – and then be ready to receive all of the amazing gifts that he has to give us because of our love for him and our love for others!
Hail to you, our King: you alone are compassionate with our errors!
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