Power of sin ends up on Jesus’ cross

Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.

A reflection on the daily readings, for Wednesday of Holy Week, by Father Perry.

By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.

+ Well, the stage is set! Everything is ready and prepared. We are at a supper with Jesus. We have gone over the same material several times with several different narrators narrating the story. We know it well.

The point is we are ready to celebrate the central story of our faith. Jesus the Christ — the messiah — the one promised for ages untold, and now here and among us. He faces his betrayer, and like the Suffering Servant in Isaiah’s prophecies, recalls the sufferings and struggles of the servant.

And Jesus the servant faces all on the cross. We are ready for this moment. The great thing (and not in a nice way) in the air is the great betrayal of Judas.

Jesus is betrayed by Judas.

Jesus answers him directly when Judas asks —

“Surely, it is not I, Rabbi?”

And Jesus’ clear answer was simply —

“You have said so.”

Really! How are you and I with all of this? Yikes! Terrible! But it is the story. Together we face hatred, ugliness, ignorance, jealousy and — doesn’t the list go on and on and on and on?

The power of sin! And somehow, all of this ends up on the cross. What a story indeed!