The Kiss of Betrayal: Choosing Christ Over Division

The Kiss That Divides the Soul

MASS In nómine Jesu
LESSON Isaias 63:1-7
LESSON Isaias 53:1-12
GOSPEL St Luke 22:1-71; 23:1-53
HOMILIST Mt Revd Jerome Lloyd OSJV

Beloved in Christ,

Today is the day of the kiss.

Not the kiss of love—but the kiss of betrayal.

The liturgy places before us a terrible contrast: “At the Name of Jesus every knee should bow”—and yet, on this very day, that Holy Name is sold, despised, and delivered into the hands of sinners. Christ humbles Himself unto death; Judas calculates, bargains, and betrays.

And we must not look at Judas as though he were a stranger.

He was a disciple. He walked with Christ. He heard His voice. He received His gifts. And yet—he allowed his heart to grow divided. That is how betrayal begins: not in one great act, but in small infidelities, in compromises, in a love that slowly cools.

“Judas, dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”

That question is not only for him. It is for us.

How often do we approach Christ with divided hearts?
How often do we choose convenience over fidelity, silence over truth, self over sacrifice?
How often do we, in small ways, exchange Him for something less?

Yet even now, the Church does not leave us in despair. For the same Passion that reveals betrayal also reveals mercy: “He was wounded for our iniquities… by His bruises we are healed.” Christ is not only betrayed—He is offered. Not only rejected—He redeems.

There are two ways to kiss Christ.

Judas kissed Him in treachery.
The penitent soul kisses Him in adoration.

As we prepare to approach the altar, let us choose well.

Not the silver of Judas—but the Cross of Christ.
Not the kiss of betrayal—but the kiss of repentance.

For the Name of Jesus, profaned today, is still the Name that saves.

Amen.

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