Scripture Scribbles: March 29, 2026
the Gospel
Matthew 26:14—27:66
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity
to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?"
He said,
"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
'The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples."'"
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And 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?"
He said in reply,
"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born."
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so."
the scribble
“What are you willing to give me, if I hand Him over to you?”
As I sit here reflecting on the Gospel this week, I find this question ringing in my ears.
It’s easy to read the Holy Week readings and gasp at the horror and the betrayal of Judas. And, good, we should, I think, find his actions horrific and gastly, as they are. However, if that is all we do, I think we are missing the deeper point. The deeper call of the readings that Jesus has for us, right now, today, for you.
I think the Lord is asking us to reflect on our own lives, our own hearts, to see where there may be places in which we want to trade Him in for something else. Something we deem as “better.” Maybe something more immediately satisfying. Something clearer. Something tangibly easier to define. Something easier to understand and control.
“What are you willing to give me, if I hand Him over to you?”
The truth is, I think, if we’re honest, each of us in our own ways ask this very same question at different times throughout our life. Don’t we? We may not realize we are doing it, but every time we choose something the world may offer us over something the Lord is inviting us to we fall prey to the very same mindset as Judas.
Maybe it takes the form of something like this:
Spend five minutes of prayer time with the Lord or another night scrolling on my phone?
Go to Mass or attend the kids’ sporting event?
Visit my sick, lonely relative or avoid it with a shopping trip?
Call that person and apologize or push it off for another year of silence between you?
Trust in the Lord and His timing for my life (and the lives of those I love) or force/manipulate things to get what I want?
I think the truth is we often trade in the Lord and His ways for something easier, quicker, and more immediately “rewarding.”
We, so often, are no better than Judas, handing Him and His ways right over for a quick thirty pieces of silver.
I wonder if today we could spend a little time reflecting on our tendencies.
Our desires. The things we want. The things we avoid.
The places God may be patiently waiting to be invited in.
Let’s sit and ask the Holy Spirit to identify where we may be currently trading Him in for our own personal versions of thirty pieces of silver.
Give Him some time and silence.
Trust that He wants to reveal these places to you. Let Him gently and ever so slowly reveal these places in your heart, in your life. And, when a few things do come to mind…Trust that it may just be God, inviting you to drop the silver and come running back to Him and His merciful embrace.
"I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
(strike breast) through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints, and you,
my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God."
Today’s devotion was written by Rachel Smith
