Homily for Spy Wednesday 2025
Tonight, we have reached Wednesday in Holy Week. Chronologically, on this day in the Gospel narratives, Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the Leper, where we read about the anointing of Jesus by Mary Magdelene. The costliness of the sacrifice is the hinge of the narrative for this Wednesday. Money was rightly sacrificed in the love of our Lord through Mary while serving money was Judas' turning point. Today is called Spy Wednesday because Judas became a spy among the disciples looking for a safe opportunity to betray Jesus into the hands of the religious leadership.
Throughout the early part of Holy Week, Jesus stayed near the Mount of Olives, going in and out of Jerusalem to teach during the Week.
On Wednesday evening, we read that the Sanhedrin, the chief priests and the scribes sought an opportunity to take Jesus with subtlety, that is, in secret away from the crowds who sang Hosanna on Palm Sunday. The English translation of the Greek blunts the intensity of the Sanhedrin's desire to rid themselves of Jesus. The phrase "they were seeking" indicates a "continuous and eager desire." They were consumed with their desire to destroy Christ. They realized that they must wait for a more opportune time because all of God's people were gathered together in Jerusalem for the Passover. We read that they were afraid to take Jesus publicly, for they feared the people, so they believed they would have to wait until after the Passover to destroy Jesus.
St. Mark and St. Matthew both record this event in the house of Simon the Leper. We know nothing about Simon other than his moniker, the Leper.
Apparently, at one point, he had been a leper and had been healed; otherwise, he could not have been host to Our Lord and his disciples. Simon is defined by what had formerly separated him from people before being relieved of the burden. There is a precedent in our Lord's dealing with people that those deemed outsiders. For with Jesus - the unclean, the outcast - found a reception.
We read that in the house of Simon the Leper a woman interrupted the meal and broke both a social convention of the Jews and the container of precious ointment. It was a breach of etiquette for Jewish male fellowship to be interrupted by a woman unless she was bringing them food. This woman's faith was an intrusion on the event - one welcomed by our Lord and reviled by the remainder of the attendees.
They were shocked by the intrusion. The value of the ointment scandalized them. Guests were aghast at the manner of its application.
This woman interrupted the meal to wash our Lord's feet with her tears, drying his feet with her own hair. She then took nard - a precious, fragrant ointment - worth a year's wages for the average worker - and anointed our Lord's head. She could have poured the contents out, but we read she broke the jar open - emphasizing her unreserved devotion, for she left nothing valuable of this extravagant gift.
For Judas and the other disciples, there was a facade of piety to their upset; Mary could have sold the perfume to benefit the poor. They were indignant at her extravagance and upset in the same manner as the other disciples were when James and John desired prominent places in the Kingdom of God. The same phrase is used for both instances.
We know from the Gospel writers what Judas' true motivation had been. He was the treasurer of the Apostles, and he dipped into the funds for his purposes. Judas believed he had missed out on a golden opportunity. The other disciples were chastised and repentant by Jesus' praise of the woman. Judas became more hardened in his convictions. So much so that the Gospel writers said that Satan entered him at that point. His love of money, and his frustration led him to make a pact with the Sanhedrin to turn Jesus over for a discount - he valued the Lord at ⅓ of Mary's gift. Judas traded the Lord of all Glory for four months wages, and he looked with the same intensity as the Sanhedrin for an opportunity to hand Jesus over.
It shouldn't surprise us that money is at the crux of the events for this Holy Wednesday. Money assigns a tangible value to things, for we trade money for necessities, time, comfort, and so on.
The love of Jesus for Mary paled in comparison to the complete gift of the nard. She loved him, and whatever the price, it was worth sacrificing for the King of Glory. Judas, on the other hand, was willing to sacrifice the innocent Lamb of God, the man whose moral perfection, extraordinary teaching, unmatched miracles, the God-man who lived with Judas for three years for a modest sum of money.
Our Lord warned us of the danger of the love of money - we cannot serve both God and money. One might even gain the whole world - and yet lose one's soul. We may look at Judas' betrayal and lament his terrible mistake, evil priorities, and misplaced affections. But let us be on guard, for we might betray our Lord for a much more paltry sum. Do we value the right things? Rather, do we love the right person? So, let us follow the example of Mary's extravagance, whose love directed her to give her very best to the one she loved so much.
Let us be mindful of the compromises, exchanging our love of Jesus for any other thing. We waste nothing if we offer ourselves completely in love to Jesus, and we reap no eternal benefit from exchanging life in Christ for anything else. Amen.