With Joy and Confidence

A Sermon for Wednesday in Holy Week

The Rev. Robin Teasley

April 1, 2026

 

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

At supper with his friends, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples-- the one whom Jesus loved-- was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the festival"; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

 

When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once."  John 13:21-32

 

 

I am still thinking about, still stuck, on our collect for today. 

I don’t know about you, but I am not very good at

accepting joyfully the sufferings of the present time, 

and not always so confident of the glory that shall be revealed. 

We are halfway through Holy Week now, 

and things are getting darker in the scriptural narrative.

John makes that clear to us by saying And it was night.

 

And I suspect that most of us, in our own lives, have experienced darkness, 

or perhaps, are experiencing some darkness, even now. 

When it is night … where do we find our joy and our confidence?

And what about betrayal? 

We have most likely been betrayed, 

and perhaps, have betrayed another at some point. 

 

The gospel for Wednesday in Holy Week 

begins in the middle of the last meal Jesus will share with his disciples,

and today is sometimes referred to as Spy Wednesday, 

because Judas is a spy among them; 

and he will betray the whereabouts of Jesus to the authorities. 

 

Jesus is troubled in spirit. 

He has washed the feet of his disciples, even the feet of Judas. 

“Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me,” says Jesus. 

We know this story, and we already know Jesus is talking about Judas. 

When the disciples heard those words they “looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking.” Their uncertainty betrays the possibility that it could be any one of them. 

Because if you have to wonder if it might be you, then it might be you.

 

In John’s gospel, Jesus is in control of everything. 

He knows who will betray him and when. 

Judas also knows, because he’s already made a deal - with the powers that be. 

Neither Judas nor Jesus is surprised or caught off guard. 

The other disciples are trying to figure out what’s going on, 

and they are getting worried. What happened? Did we do something?

 

That last supper was one of love and betrayal. Likewise, our relationships with Jesus and with one another are ones of love and betrayal, existing side by side. 

We have all been where Judas found himself, enticed by promises of more, or better; sacrificing love for a betrayal.

 

We have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved God with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.

 

We confess this each week because we need to.

 

As this final meal began, earlier in the text, the gospel writer tells us that Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. 

Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 

 

This is an unconditional, all-encompassing love, 

and yet, like Judas, we are prone to wander, to stray from it.  

Even so, Jesus loves us and gives himself over to us, again and again. 

Authentic love always risks betrayal. In giving Judas the bread 

Jesus has handed himself over to Judas, risking betrayal.

 

I imagine the other disciples are relieved 

when the bread is dipped - and given to Judas. 

He’s the traitor. He’s the one to blame. Judas makes it easier not to look at ourselves. The truth is we have all been given the bread of life, the love of Jesus.

 

On this day, it is Judas who betrays Jesus. 

In the courtyard the next day it will be Peter – three times.

In times and places ever since, someone betrays the love of Jesus. 

 

Judas is not so much the culprit as he is a reflection of our betrayals. 

We will betray Jesus, and we will betray one another, 

going out into the night, far from the light and love of Christ. 

And Jesus? He will love us all the more, and will wait for us to return.

 

As we receive the bread life, the love of Jesus, on this Wednesday in Holy Week, may we reflect on our own betrayals; the ways we have betrayed Jesus, betrayed others, betrayed ourselves. And may we consider forgiveness and grace for those who may have betrayed us. 

 

As we wait in hope for what has been promised, may we remember 

that even when we find ourselves in a dark world,

wondering what is going on and what will happen next, 

and considering whether we might be choosing darkness, 

may we remember that Jesus loves us, he loves us to the end. 

For that is where we will find our joy and our confidence.