"Is it I, Lord; is it I?" That's the haunting question the disciples asked on that Maundy Thursday night so long ago and the question searches the human heart this evening. Jesus said to them, "One of you will betray Me," and immediately the room was filled with the sound of excited voices talking all at once: "Is it I, Lord; is it I?"

A well-known preacher of the last century (Phillips Brooks) remarked that the disciples showed real virtue in asking that question. They didn't try to blame one another. Peter didn't ask, "Is it Phillip?" Andrew didn't ask, "Is it Matthew?" No one asked, "Is it Judas?" When Jesus said that one of His disciples would be a traitor, they first looked at themselves and not at their neighbor: "Is it I, Lord; is it I?"

Indeed, maybe they all asked about themselves b…