Surely, It Is Not I, Rabbi? April 4

Wednesday of Holy Week, April 4

by Diane Bayne

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.
Psalm 69: 21-22

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?” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.” Matthew 26: 21-22, 25

Piety

If one is ever tempted to question the love and mercy of Jesus, meditating on Matthew 26 should resolve all doubts. Despite provocations of every kind, the behavior of Jesus is full of light and love and life. To the disciples' righteous indignation that costly perfume has been used to anoint His feet, Jesus responds patiently, explaining that the woman has anointed His body for burial, an act of love which will be remembered throughout history. At the Passover supper He identifies the one who is to betray Him, watches him go off on his deadly mission, then lovingly gives His body and blood to His disciples. Moments after the supper is ended Jesus goes to the Garden of Gethsemane where the disciples are unable to watch even one hour with Him. Then Jesus is arrested, the disciples flee, Peter denies him, and Jesus is left to face the calumny of false witnesses and the spite and cruel mockery of the Sanhedrin alone.

Study
http://www.usccb.org/nab/040407.shtml

Read all of Matthew 26 prayerfully.

Of the moment of Judas' betrayal, William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, states:
“(this was) the calculated, callous sin of deliberation, which in cold blood knows what it is doing, which is confronted with the bleak awfulness of the deed and with the love in the eyes of Jesus, and still takes his own way. Our hearts revolt against the son or daughter who cold-bloodedly breaks a parent's heart – which is what Judas did to Jesus – and the tragedy is that this is what we ourselves so often do.”

Yet, this is so often what we ourselves do. But the good news is that in spite of our numerous rejections of Him, God never tires of forgiving us, taking us back, and showering us with blessings! Because of what Jesus did, all of us have been brought back into right relationship with God. He now leads us all, and the universe, in a cosmic dance that brings us back to harmony and oneness with God. As Jesus accomplished His mighty work, He stood face to face with evil and triumphed over it. As Sidney Carter's hymn, “The Lord of the Dance” so eloquently proclaims, Jesus is the dance, and “the dance goes on.” Alleluia.

Refrain

Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on the Sabbath when I cured the lame,
The holy people said it was a shame;
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me high;
And they left me there on a cross to die.

I danced on a Friday and the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back;
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone,
But I am the dance and I still go on.

They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

Action

Make a list of things you could do to thank Christ for all He has done for you. Then pick one and do it today.