Tradition"

Today's Mass Readings

In Christian tradition, Judas Iscariot is remembered as the great traitor, the one of whom the Lord said, “woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” The Gospel story of Judas’ betrayal may seem oddly juxtaposed to the Messianic prophecy in the first reading, but the two readings are in fact quite complimentary. In today’s first reading, the prophet Isaiah declares that the Messiah will posses a “well-trained tongue.” The Messiah will be consumed with preaching the Word of God to the weary and the downtrodden, and though buffeted by opposition, he will not shield his face from opposition but rather set it like flint. He will proclaim the truth, despite the cost to himself.

In the second reading, from Matthew’s Gospel, we are presented with two reactions to the Messiah, both of which revolve around use of the tongue. The first is that of Judas, the betrayer. Judas clearly has a poorly trained tongue. Unlike the speech of the Messiah, which seeks to comfort the weary despite opposition, the speech of Judas is turned in on himself. When Judas approaches the chief priests, he asks them, “What are you willing to give me
 if I hand him over to you?” After being given thirty pieces of silver, the story shifts immediately to the disciples, who present a sharp contrast to Judas. The disciples, who represent the early Church, approach Jesus and ask, “Where do you want us to prepare
 for you to eat the Passover?” The disciples are looking outside of themselves, towards Jesus and the Passover. meal They speak with well-trained tongues. In doing so, they evidence what Isaiah and the Psalmist both extol: zeal for God’s house, that is, zeal for God’s Church.

When we speak of zeal for God’s Church today, we are speaking about zeal for a two thousand year old tradition. In fact, even the word ‘tradition’ suggests the difficulty of faithful communication, of speaking with a well-trained tongue. The Latin root of the English word ‘tradition’ is ‘tradere.’ In ancient usage, tradere meant ‘to pass on,’ or ‘to hand over,’ in the positive sense. Thus St. Paul could speak of faithfully passing on what he has received. However, tradere also eventually developed a negative connotation. To ‘hand over’ can also mean ‘to betray.’ Thus, the Gospels speak of Judas “handing over” Christ to the authorities.

Today’s Gospel is therefore illustrative not just of individual reactions to Christ, but also of the broader witness of the Church as the keeper of the tradition. In one sense, the tradition must be preserved and faithfully passed on in zeal for Christ. On the other hand, the tradition is something to be guarded, lest the truth of what is communicated be betrayed. Thus, when we speak of tradition being received and developing (passed on from one generation to the next), there is always the equal need to preserve the tradition from error.

The Church’s job is to proclaim with zeal both Scripture and Tradition to the world, despite the cost. We know that the Church is often assaulted for its faithfulness to the tradition. In the contemporary world, where progress is promoted at all costs, the Church often seems out of step with “modernity.” Yet, the faithfulness of the Church is not rooted in individuals, science, or progress. The Church is rooted in Christ. And for its faithfulness, the Church suffers like its Master did.

- Michael Lombardo