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BREAD AND BETRAYAL (MARK 14:10-16)

Judas betrays Jesus. 

REFLECTION 

Bread and betrayal is the theme for our reflection. Passover is a great feast that commemorates the day God delivered the Israelites from death in Egypt but visited calamity upon the house of the Egyptians where their firstborns died. It is an annual feast of joy, merrymaking and family reunion. It is a day where families eat together and partake in the sharing of the unleaved bread and the Passover lamb after it has been sacrificed. It is a feast dedicated to remembering God for his wonderful deeds of deliverance in the past and His maintenance of family unity and national identity. 

Bread is the symbol of prosperity and satisfaction, it is for this reason when Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray, He said “Give us each day our daily bread.” (Luke 11:3).  One of the ways to express love to the people we care about is to share our daily bread with them. The bread may not be big or sufficient yet by sharing it you are in more than a thousand words saying to the person it is being shared with that “I love you and wish you well.”  A person who invites you to his or her table to partake in his or her bread is the person who truly trusts and loves you. It is therefore interesting and ironic to note the Passover feast which is the time of breaking bread and sharing in the Passover lamb as a symbol of love and unity among family and the entire nation will be the time Judas will betray Jesus. “Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over (Mark 14:10-11)

No one deliberately shares bread with his or her enemies and that is why it is usually disheartening and painful to learn that the one who is your betrayer is the very person you have shared your bread with from the bottom of your heart. It goes to reason that sharing your bread with friends and family members makes you vulnerable because these people are close to you, you trust them and therefore you are likely to share with them to the point that they have access to your bakery where the bread is coming from so that it becomes easy for them to destroy you and your bakery. When your bakery is destroyed you will no longer have the bread of love and prosperity to share therefore you will become a laughing stock or an object of ridicule to your enemies. This is exactly what Jesus went through when Judas betrayed Him.

The big question is, should a Christian stop sharing his or her bread of love and prosperity because of the evil intentions of some of the people he or she cares about? The answer is no. God is our bakery and provider, the enemy may come to our table many times to betray and destroy us through the partaking of our bread but David reminds us that God “prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies. God anoints your head with oil; your cup overflows. Surely His goodness and love will follow you all the days of your life, and you will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalms 23:5-6).  My dear friend, your bread is the testimony of God’s faithfulness, do not stop sharing, let your enemies who are wolves in sheep’s clothing come and partake of your bread of love, prosperity and satisfaction, for God has promised that “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.” (Psalms 91:7-8). Betrayal will come but do not be discouraged for the grace of God is ever sufficient.  Shalom.

PRAYER 

ALMIGHTY GOD EVEN WHEN WE ARE BETRAYED BY THE VERY PEOPLE WE LOVE AND SHARE OUR BREAD WITH CONTINUE TO BLESS OUR TABLE WITH THE BREAD OF LOVE AND PROSPERITY SO THAT THEY MAY KNOW THAT LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS (1 PETER 4:8) AMEN

Jean-Paul Agidi (Rev.)

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