In The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Edmund betrays Aslan for a piece of Turkish Delight. In today’s Gospel, Judas betrays Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. And so I wonder, “What about me? What did I exchange when I chose to follow my own path and turn from Christ. What was the value of my betrayal?”
On this day, the eve of Holy Triduum, I turn my gaze to Christ upon the cross and realize that I betrayed him. My sins are the nails that pierced his hands and feet. What was so important to me that I exchanged it for the life of the Son of God? My own pride? My personal desires to grab all I can, to have the biggest toys, to follow my own heart regardless of the cost? Are any of these things really worth his life? Am I all that different from Edmund, from Judas?
—Howard Craig serves as Provincial Assistant for Advancement on behalf of the Chicago-Detroit and Wisconsin Province Jesuits.