By Lou Occhi
“The lord is my salvation, my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27). The verse tells us that there’s no need to be afraid. Even when evildoers come at me, or an army of camp encamp against me. Even then, I will trust in the Lord and that I shall see the bounty of the lord in the land of the living.
Monday of Holy Week
Isaiah 42:1-7
John 12:1-11
Today's readings set the scene for the approaching suffering and crucifixion of Jesus. Isaiah reveals the Lord’s pride in his chosen one in whom he has put his spirit.
He will not cry out, nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the street.
He shall not break a bruised reed nor quench a smoldering wick. Until he establishes justice on earth. The Lord has set him as a covenant of the people. He will be a light to the nations. He will not fail or be discouraged until he has brought justice to the earth. (Isaiah 42:2-4)
The Psalm’s responsorial verse from Psalm 27 is, “The lord is my salvation, my light and my salvation.” The verses tell us that there’s no need to be afraid. Even when evildoers come at me, or an army of camp encamp against me. Even then, I will trust in the Lord and that I shall see the bounty of the lord in the land of the living.
This is what Jesus felt and did as he faced his coming passion and crucifixion.
The Gospel of John recounts Jesus’ visit with Lazarus in Bethany. In it, Martha is busy serving Jesus and the other guests. Mary, Lazarus’ sister, brings in a liter of aromatic nard. Nard is an oil from a plant that grows in the Himalayas, China, and India.
Needless to say, it’s rather expensive.
She then anoints Jesus’ feet with the oil and dries them with her hair. Judas is shocked at the waste for two reasons. It could have been sold for money, and the money given to the poor. He could have skimmed some for himself.
Jesus silences Judas and tells him that Mary anticipated anointing Jesus’ body for burial.
In the gospels, there were three other events similar to this. In Matthew, a woman goes into the house of Simon the leper while Jesus is there. She anoints Jesus here with expensive oil. The disciples thought the oil should have been sold and the money given to the poor.
In Mark, there’s a similar account to that in Matthew.
Finally, in Luke, we have a more detailed story in the house of Simon. Jesus is dining with a Pharisee. A woman of the city walks in. Weeping, she wipes Jesus’ feet with her tears. Dried them with her hair, and kissed his feet. Then she anointed his feet with expensive oil.
Simon thought that if this man were truly a prophet, he would have known the woman was a sinner. Jesus, knowing what Simon is thinking, tells Simon that when he entered the house, no water was offered to wash his feet. But she washed his feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed his feet with oil. And, she has not ceased kissing his feet. Jesus then tells the woman that her faith has saved her. And her sins are forgiven.
There’s one thing that we need to clarify at this point. Mary, Lazarus’ sister, is not the same woman as the one mentioned in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, despite the similarities of the stories.
At this time in Hebrew history, Jesus, as a guest, would be provided with water to wash his feet. In elegant settings, a servant would wash the feet of the guest. When Jesus washed the apostles’ feet, he was simply taking the job that a servant would normally do.
The stories of Matthew, Mark, and John have one key similarity. All three refer to Jesus’ burial and to the fact that they would always have the poor with them, but they would not always have him. He tells them that.
Shortly after the stories of the anointing, Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem on a donkey that had never been ridden before. This fulfills the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. The king arrives triumphantly on a donkey, a colt, the foal of the donkey.
Judas was elated over the reception of Jesus, fulfilling the prophecy. The chief priest decided to try to meet with Jesus privately in order to have him killed. They knew Judas and approached him to arrange the meeting. I imagine they told Judas that they just wanted to talk to Jesus. And it would get him thirty pieces of silver for his help.
They wanted to have this meeting when there would not be a crowd. Ultimately, Judas made a personal decision to betray Jesus. Although I am not sure he fully understood the impact of his action or Caiaphas's intent.
The Passover meal was a perfect setting for the betrayal. Jesus would be with his apostles at the meal. After the meal, they would go to the Garden of Gethsemane outside of Jerusalem to pray. Only his apostles would be with him.
Judas had made a deal with the chief priest that for thirty pieces of silver, he would lead them to Jesus. And identify him with a kiss. Jesus led the soldiers to Jesus, and they arrested him. Jesus was brought to the chief priest. It’s quite possible that Judas did not suspect the chief priest wanted to find a reason to have Jesus crucified, because when Judas saw what was happening, he threw his thirty pieces of silver to the ground and announced that they had put the blood of an innocent man on his hands.
Judas went out and hanged himself out of guilt.
And so the passion begins.
There are many lessons to be taken from these readings. Most of them are obvious. Jesus’ generosity in forgiving sins is paramount. He forgave the woman of the city of her sins. He forgave Peter for denying him three times.
What is important for us to realize is that Jesus would have forgiven Judas if he had simply asked. After all, Jesus forgave the thief on the cross. The thief merely asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom.
Perhaps the most important thing to remember is from the first reading, the first reading, and the song we opened our talk with. Both foreshadowed Jesus’ passion and death.
In our lifetimes, we will have many great times. Will also have many difficult times. There will be deaths of loved ones, and times when we must go to war or have children who go to war. Illnesses cause much sorrow and pain. The list is too long to enumerate.
For the wonderful moments, and even the awful ones, we need to give thanks to God, for they are gifts.
In times of distress, as Isaiah stressed in the Psalm, we must have faith and trust in our Lord regardless of the severity of the difficulties. And the threats we face in our lifetime.