Two days before my husband and I were marrried, we went with our wedding party to the amusement park “Worlds of Fun” in Kansas City.
At one point, I sat down on a bench and discovered right beside me a Crown Royal bag.
When I looked inside, I found hundreds and hundreds of dollars, maybe even thousands. Even though Dustin and I were financial strapped, I instantly wanted to turn it in. I could only imagine this was some family’s vacation money. Whoever’s it was, they would be sick once they realized it was gone.
I’ve told this story over the years and there’s always a few people that say, “Gosh, did you really have to turn it in???”
I always respond back, “Yes, I really had to turn it in. Not only was it in a very identifiable bag, but I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy spending that money taking it from someone like that.”
In our readings today, Judas sells his soul for thirty pieces of silver. He then sneaks around trying to find a way to deliver the goods—Jesus.
Ultimately, Judas comes to realize that he’s never going to be able to truly enjoy those pieces of silver because he didn’t come by them honest. It was blood money. Those pieces were tainted with sin.
One of the greatest lies of the Devil is to try to convince us that we will really enjoy our sin and the rotten “fruits” of it. He convinced Adam and Eve and he’s worked to spread that lie since the beginning.
Judas realizes that he can’t really enjoy the money received through his sin of betrayal. Had I kept that money in the bag, I wouldn’t have been able to truly enjoy spending it on myself because it would have been taken through stealing.
The rotten “fruits” of sin are never satisfying to us, Catholic Pilgrims. They will always leave us feeling hollow, guilty, and unhappy and, in some cases, in a state of despair like Judas.
Live the Faith boldly this Wednesday of Holy Week.
**Streets of Old Jerusalem
