WEDNESDAY OF THE HOLY WEEK IS CALLED "SPY WEDNESDAY"

Today is celebrated as Spy Wednesday to call to mind the betrayal of Jesus by Judas. A person who's given charge of money is one of the most trusted because in human relationships you never know a person until you trust them with money and power. So Judas was obviously in the top class when it comes to trust but for the love of money he betrayed that trust to become a petty spy.

One aspect of this story that touches me is the fact that it had to take a spy (insider job) to identify Jesus from amongst His followers. It means Jesus as a Shepherd did not only smell like a sheep (in the words of Pope Francis) but also looked like a sheep that's why it was difficult to point Him out in the crowd without help.

I compare this scenario with the shepherds of today. It's quite easy to point out amongst a congregation who the pastor is. Of course he is the man everyone is bowing down before him, he is the one with body guards falling over one another to protect, he is the one to arrive in the most expensive automobile machine, chaffuer driven, sitting in the owner's corner. He is the one looking well fed amongst his malnulrished congregation and wearing expensive designer clothes and perfumes. No one will need a spy to pick out today's shepherds.

It's not only pastors, the same applies to us who run businesses or are bosses at work. It's easy to pick us out because we are the ones doing well with big houses, cars, foreign trips and fine clothes, looking fresh and well fed while our staff are living hand to mouth. We are many who are paying staff peanuts like N10K a month in expensive cities like Lagos and Abuja while we spend N50K on a bottle of wine in high class bars. On top of this we talk down and bully our staff and belittle them in front of guests/visitors such that they don't need to ask who the Oga is.

At home it's the same thing. No spy is needed to point out our children from our domestic staff. With the schools they attend, the chubby looks, fine clothes and lording over the domestic staff, it's easy to know them.

The lessons to learn from this encounter today is that to be true followers of Christ, we must treat people who come under our care to the point that it has to take an insider job to point us out.

Will this be easy? Not at all. It requires a mindset of servant leaders - we have come to serve not to be served, the one who wants to be the first must be the last (e.g. paying staff first before we pay ourselves), washing the feet of others - before we can even begin to contemplate getting to level Christ teaches us today.

We pray for grace to abound in us to be true followers of Christ to not only smell like the sheep we flock but so blend with them to understand their pains, anxieties and sufferings especially at this most difficult times.

Lord Jesus come into our hearts today! Amen