Daily Nourishment for Wednesday of Holy Week: On Betrayal
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 50 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 12 minutes
Palm Sunday marked the beginning of Holy Week in the Christian tradition. SDW Daily Nourishment will provide Pauses, Prompts, and Practices to help readers explore the meaning of this liturgical season and notice personal connections between these specific days and our present realities. All are welcome to engage with the art and ideas below.
“Human beings characteristically see patterns and make connections. Christians ought to celebrate that faculty and receive it as part of how we find our way to God.” - Lauren Winner, “Encountering Art and Encountering God”
Pause.
Take deep breaths while looking at the art below—
A medieval panel painting showing Judas betraying Christ with a kiss accompanied by snarling soldiers and St Peter. In the background, birds sweep dramatically through the glowering sky.
The Betrayal of Christ, by Guercino—from The Christian Century: “The Baroque artist Guercino (1591–1666) depicts the moment Judas betrays Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. Judas cowers in the left foreground with a bag of silver as the soldiers lay hands on Jesus. Typically, artists of the scene depict the kiss of Judas. Guercino instead focuses on the emotional exchange between Judas and Christ, as Jesus says, “Friend, do what you are here to do” (Matt. 26:50). Judas watches, horrified, as the soldier to his left drops a rope around Christ’s neck. Only Matthew’s Gospel mentions Judas’s later remorse (27:3–10). “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood,” Judas told the religious authorities. He threw the pieces of silver in the temple, then went and hanged himself. Like Matthew, Guercino portrays Judas’s painful loathing for what he has done. Guercino invites viewers not only to recognize their selfish motivations but to return to the compassionate and forgiving Christ.”
Photo © Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge / Art Resource, NY
Practice.
Take 10 minutes to respond to the art and poems. Take notes, journal, draw a picture. Or freewrite about a betrayal you have experienced.
Want More?
Here’s another poem titled “Betrayal.”
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Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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