Betrayed by a Kiss - Holy Wednesday 2026

Loyalty is celebrated among us, and rightly so. It is easy to see its virtues. Loyalty inspires confidence. Loyalty is the proper reward for good leadership. Loyalty deserves every praise we can muster for it.

The opposite, betrayal, is horrific. It is cowardly, the product of a weak constitution. It is demeaning; it repays good with evil. It shocks because it is so undeserved. No doubt, we have all experienced its icy grip. Whether it was a playground scuffle that led to the betrayal of a friend, a stolen romantic interest, or being taken advantage of in business by someone thought of as a friend, the stab of pain in the bowels is unmistakable.

Worse, the more goodness we find in someone, the more horrible the betrayal. A good man who is left behind to die in war by a cowardly soldier is a tragedy. Turning the very Son of God over to cruel men who seek His ruin is indescribable in its wickedness.