Christians have always called this "Spy Wednesday."

Wednesday, 3/28/18

Mistakenly perhaps, Christians have always thought of it being two nights before the death of Jesus that Judas sealed his master's betrayal . We have always referred to today as "Spy Wednesday."

While Jesus, on his final day, is pictured as going silently to his slaughter, the Scriptures portray him beforehand as preparing himself for his death. Isaiah quotes Jesus as saying, "I have set my face as flint, knowing I shall not be put to shame."

Sixty years ago, when in was a young priest in Korea, I experienced a sad Spy Wednesday. Over there, with flocks of girls having no opportunities for schooling, we had them eagerly snapping up our catechisms leading to baptism. Our policy called on us to refuse Baptism to any girl whose parents would not promise to keep her from a bad marriage.

However, on a Spy Wednesday, a girl we baptized Louisa came up saying her father, in grave need for money, had just sold her to an older man who already had a wife.

I suppose it didn't make the misfortune any worse, but it seemed awful that Louusa was being sold on Spy Wednesday,