| Wed Apr 1 | am: 55 pm: 74 | Lam 2:1-9 | 2 Cor 1:23-2:11 | Mark 12:1-11 |
WEDNESDAY IN HOLY WEEK – SPY WEDNESDAY
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: This day in Holy Week recalls the agreement that Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, made with the Jewish leaders who were members of the ruling order called the Sanhedrin. He promised to identify Jesus so that he could be arrested in return for 30 pieces of silver. The sign would be a kiss. This is recorded in Luke 22:1-6. When Jesus reveals Judas as the one who would betray Him, the fate of Jesus was at hand. Jesus orders Judas to be quick about what he intends to do. Then Judas goes out into the loneliness of the night, aware that Jesus knows of his infidelity.
The name, “Spy Wednesday” seems to have its origin in the Celtic Church and reflects the untrustworthiness of this poor soul. This day for some Christians raises deep emotions. For example, In Poland, the young people throw an effigy of Judas from the top of a church steeple. Then it is dragged through the village amidst hurling sticks and stones. What remains of the effigy is drowned in a nearby stream or pond. Why all this energy? Well, Judas’ role in the story seems to set into motion the drama of the Passion. He is God’s inscrutable instrument, that once “Satan entered him” all was doomed. Perhaps these Christians grasp that the allowance of Satan no matter how tempting will doom humanity?
BIBLICAL MEDITATION OF THE DAY: Mark’s Parable of the Tenants offers a haunting mirror to the betrayal that unfolds in the shadows of Holy Week. Jesus paints a picture of a landowner who plants a vineyard, builds a wall, and leases it to tenants before traveling away. This is Israel—God’s beloved people, carefully tended and entrusted to human care. The owner’s patience is remarkable; he sends servant after servant, hoping for fruit despite repeated rejection. The tenants respond to each messenger with increasing brutality—beating, killing, stoning. This mirrors the history of Israel’s prophets, many of whom were persecuted for speaking God’s truth. But the pattern points forward: the owner still has one to send—”my beloved son.” The tenants reason among themselves: “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” Their logic is tragically flawed. They think eliminating the son secures their power, but they cannot escape the owner’s justice. This is the blindness of those who reject Christ—they believe they can control the outcome, but they cannot thwart God’s purposes.
Jesus concludes with a question: “What will the owner do?” The answer is judgment and replacement. Yet he ends with Psalm 118:22-23: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” The very act meant to destroy Jesus becomes the foundation of salvation. Judas’s betrayal fits into this parable’s darker logic. Like the tenants, he sought to control Jesus’s destiny. Like them, he miscalculated—thinking he could profit from betrayal without consequence. The religious leaders who conspired with him believed they could eliminate a threat to their authority.
ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “When a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy, and prosperous. Now, if that man when he gets all he can and saves all he can, does not give all he can, I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that man!” – John Wesley
PRAYER OF THE DAY: Father deliver us from the illusion that we can manipulate your purposes for our own gain or security. Where we have betrayed trust, broken covenant, or turned away from the light you offer, meet us in our darkness with mercy. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
HOLY HYMN FOR THE SEASON- Why? by Michael Card
HOLY WEEK DISCIPLINE – Who have you been betrayed by in the important moments in your life? Make a list of those you have felt this by and take steps today to forgive them by writing a thoughtful note that says you have come to this place in the journey because of Christ’s disposition towards Judas.