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Jesus and JudasTuesday, April 15, 2014
John 13:21 Two men, both about to die, their earthly worlds crumbling around them. But Jesus enters this liminal space in silence; Judas enters his in protest, shouting his objections. We're told, in the "Apostle's" Creed, what happens to Jesus. We only guess about Judas. Jesus "descended into hell and then the third day he rose again." Judas died at the end of a rope, hung almost certainly by his own hand. And then ... In a contemporary play, "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot," (which starred Philip Seymour Hoffman off-Broadway and was written with input from spiritual consultant James Martin, SJ) Judas finds his way to purgatory, where Jesus comes to minister and witness to him. Augustine's mother Monica is there as well, taking care of him and hollering at him to figure out his self-pity. But Judas does not relent in his bitterness toward Jesus. Judas is convinced that Jesus not only betrayed his own call to be Messiah, but also abandoned Judas himself. Jesus' attempts at making peace do not sway him but only make him more angry. Finally Judas retires to his corner. Jesus does too, but only for a moment. He takes off his shirt, fills a basin with water, soaks his shirt and wrings it out, and walks toward Judas in the corner. As Jesus begins to wash his feet, the lights go black. The play is done. Jesus is not. The Judas in me cries out in wonder and gratitude, and I am consoled. Jesus looked at Judas and loved him. That is just the way of God. Nothing's going to ever change that. Jesus, your glory - the death of your body and triumph of your will - becomes our own glory and we can climb our ash-hills to the sun. We might burn up what you give us and act scornfully toward your gifts, and still you take time to lift us up, look into our eyes, wash our feet and love us. Thank you. |
Unlike Mary, who anointed Jesus with nard, Judas had no idea that Jesus was about to be killed. But he was the betrayer. Jesus was not the only deeply troubled man reclining at that table. Judas' own agony was just beginning.