REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK 25TH MARCH 2024

REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK 25TH MARCH 2024

Isaiah 42:1-7; Ps.27; John 12:1-11

Use your best to gain the Best

It pained Judas that Mary used such an expensive ointment of pure nard to anoint the feet of Jesus. For Judas, a cheaper ointment would have served the same purpose. Obviously, the justification Judas gave for his complaint was that the costly ointment would have been sold and the money given to the poor. Scripture helped us to understand that Judas made this statement because he would steal from what was given him to keep for the poor. Invariably, Judas was not happy with the gesture of Mary because the value of that ointment would have come to him rather than Jesus.

So we see that the betrayer of Judas did not start the day he approached the Jews for a bounty if he delivers Jesus to them. The betrayer started with a mindset that the best is not good enough for the Lord. Like Judas, some of us are not against giving ourselves and our resources to God but not the very best of ourselves and our resources. We have placed ourselves above Jesus such that he has become a pet that is fed only after we are satisfied.

When we pray only when we are less busy, we betray like Judas; when we go to Church only when we feel like, we betray like Judas; when we give to others only out of our super abundance, we betray like Judas; when we help others only with what is no longer useful to us, we betray like Judas; when we can afford to live outside of the sacraments, we betray like Judas; the list goes on. The summary is: if God is not first in our lives, then we stand the chance of being another Judas. God deserves the very best of us: of our time, talents and treasure. On this, Abraham becomes a model we must emulate: he was willing to give up his all (in Isaac) for the sake of God. Whatever it is that we find difficult or impossible to handover to Jesus, that thing is already giving us a Judas identity. See, giving yourself the best rather than Jesus is futile because you cannot save yourself. So, why not use your best to gain the best (your salvation)!

From the response Jesus gave to Judas, we understand that we will not always have the opportunity to give Jesus our best. So, while we can, let us not hesitate. The good you can do today, do not postpone it; tomorrow is never assured. In Jesus, God gave humanity his all; we cannot reciprocate this love with part-commitment. Only the best is good enough for God.