Lent
April 4, 2020
Scripture Reading: Matthew 26:14-27:66
When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, ‘Surely not I, Lord?’ He answered, ‘The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ Judas, who betrayed him, said, ‘Surely not I, Rabbi?’ He replied, ‘You have said so.’ –Matthew 26:17-25
Why did Judas betray Jesus? Some say he was just greedy, and 30 pieces of silver sounded pretty good to him. Others speculate that he was impatient, trying to force Jesus to make his move and take over the world. The Gospel of Judas written by Gnostics, probably in the second century, portrays Judas’s actions as done in obedience to instructions given to him by Jesus. According to the book, Judas was a trusted insider helping Jesus roll out his plan. Of course, it is all speculation. Do we ever know for sure our own motivations much less the motivation of another when we commit an act that resonates negatively through the lives we touch?
This upcoming Holy Week is a good time for each of us to surrender ourselves to God seeking better understanding of our relationship with God and how that relationship can purify us from our deep-seated self-doubt perhaps even self-denigration. I firmly believe that when Jesus said love your neighbor as you love yourself*, he was sending us a message about what motivates us to do the things that separate us from God, cause us to miss the mark. I know it may sound crazy that people are greedy because they do not love themselves enough but why else would someone invest so much energy in obtaining outward wealth? Isn’t greed a deep need to fill a gap in the person’s self-worth? Jesus could heal others because he was whole himself. Wholeness leads to oneness and oneness leads to justice. We are called to facilitate each of these, and we fulfill that responsibility when our communing with God enables the work of our whole being in taking God’s love to the ends of the earth.
Prayer: Lord, throughout this time of remembering your life, death, and resurrection open us to receiving your cleansing of those things that hold us back from being fully whole. Amen.
*See Mark 12:30-31
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.