A Holy Week Reflection

John 13:21-32 “Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” 22 The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. 23 The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. 24 Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” 25 So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot.

27 When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” 28 None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. 29 Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor.30 So Judas left at once, going out into the night. 31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. 32 And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once.”

Today is the Wednesday of Holy Week. Only a few short days and Jesus will be lifted up on the cross. Each day, Jesus draws closer and closer to his death. When Jesus first arrived in Jerusalem, he was greeted with the waves of palm branches and the shouts of “Hosanna!” The people cried out to Jesus and asked him to “Save them.”

But very soon Jesus will hear that same crowd cry out, “Crucify him!” The shadow of death, denial, and betrayal is starting to loom and encroach upon Jesus. The light begins to dim as Jesus moves forward and embraces what is to come. He has gathered his disciples in the Upper Room for the Passover Celebration. There is nothing strange about this. This is a Jewish custom that is lived out by all the people of faith in Jerusalem. But then Jesus does something unusual. One by one, he has washes each of the disciple’s feet. Then together, Jesus and his disciples share in the Last Supper.

Like most family style dinners, there is an element of drama involved. You almost always have one person around the dinner table at Thanksgiving who is determined to cause a scene. This Passover Supper is no exception. Jesus is troubled. Jesus is troubled because someone is going to betray him. And it’s not just someone, but Jesus will be betrayed by a very close friend. Jesus turns to his twelve disciples and says, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples are completely shocked. “How could this be?” they think to themselves. “How could one of us, one of the Twelve, betray Jesus? After all, we are his biggest fans. We are the ones who have supported his ministry. We are a part of his inner circle. Which one of us could possibly betray him?” They look around at one another, trying to identify the culprit. They are unable to do this just by looking.

Finally, the disciple whom Jesus loved speaks to Jesus and tries to get some information out of him. Jesus tells them that the betrayer is the one will eat the bread that he dips. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus knows his betrayer and even names him. He knows what Judas Iscariot will do.

Jesus offers Judas the bread, and Judas takes the bread from Jesus. Then he runs out and proceeds with his plan of betrayal. The disciples heard Jesus explain what would happen. They watch as Judas accepts the bread and runs out of the room. But somehow, they still don’t seem to understand what is going on. They cannot fully understand what Judas is going to do. Judas is the treasurer. So, the disciples think that maybe he has gone to pay for the food or maybe he has gone to give money to the poor? But they cannot imagine that Judas would actually go and betray Jesus.

Betrayal is always a shock. I think that is why betrayal is always so hurtful. It is unexpected. It is surprising. It comes from someone you least expect – from a close friend or from a beloved family member. Someone who has been betrayed will often say something like, “I expected this from others, but I never expected this from you. How could you do this to me?” The most tragic aspect of Julius Caesar’s death was that it came at the hands of his best friend, Brutus. As the knife was plunged into his back, Caesar cried out, “You too, Brutus?” It is as if the pain of the knife paled in comparison to the pain of betrayal from his friend. Betrayal is always unexpected.

It is easy for us to look back and think, “Oh, of course it was Judas. It is so obvious that Judas will betray him.” But the disciples give no indication of knowing this. They never say, “Oh, yeah. That makes sense. Judas was always an outcast. He was the only one that was from a big city. Not only that, but he was the one who looked after our money. He never really fit in. He showed all the sings of mental illness. He was a bad apple from the very start. Of course, he would be the one to stab Jesus in the back.”

But no, the disciples are shocked at the possibility of this happening. After all, the disciples have walked with Jesus. They have watched Jesus heal the sick and cast out many demons. They have watched him heal lepers, debate religious leaders, and teach with incredible authority. They have watched him calm storms, walk on water, feed thousands of people, and raise the dead! These twelve men have spent countless hours with him. Talking to him. Looking at him. Traveling with him. How could one of the Twelve betray Jesus? Even with Jesus’ warning, the other disciples don’t see this coming.

It would be easier for us if we could paint Judas Iscariot as an evil and horrible human being. It would be better if Judas had shown some signs of bad behavior. It would be better if the disciples could have seen this coming and kept an eye on him. But only Jesus knew what was going on with Judas. Only Jesus himself could foresee this happening.

Often times, when a terrible act or crime takes place in our country, the people close to the criminal are shocked by what has happened. CNN goes to interview a coworker, a family member, or a neighbor; and they inevitably say, “Oh Pete always seemed like such a great guy. I never would have thought that he could have done something like this. I have known him for years and he never showed any signs of doing something like this” Not always – but often times - they never saw it coming. That makes it all the more heartbreaking. It is unexpected.

Perhaps you have experienced a sense of betrayal in your life. Whether it be untrue gossip that was spread behind your back. Or someone who shared information with others and betrayed your confidence. Or maybe a loved one who became unfaithful. Maybe you just found out that you could no longer trust someone that love and care for.

If you have experienced a painful betrayal, it can be difficult to move forward. The pain and vulnerability that affected Jesus may speak to us as we gather together on this day. We may be able to find solace and comfort knowing that we are not alone in our pain. Christ has experienced betrayal. Christ knows what this pain feels like.

But we may be left with the realization that we also live out the role of Judas Iscariot. As one scholar states, “Maybe the ones who betray us are not the demons we imagine them to be. Those who would betray are a lot more like you and me. It is easy to look down our noses at Judas and imagine us among the other eleven disciples. As painful as it is, we must admit that we also are capable of betraying those we love, including our Lord.”

We like to point to the extreme examples of evil and try to dismiss the more ordinary, but very real, examples of evil in our own lives.

Lent is the season where we look into the depths of our souls. Lent is designed to be a time for repentance, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a time of purification, and redemption. It is a time when we confront our sin and confess our guilt. The season of Lent is so important because it forces us to look inward and ask some important questions like: “What is in my life, that should not be in my life anymore? What is it that I need to change? What sins are still lurking around deep in my soul? What steps do I need to take in order to better follow Jesus?” Lent forces us to confront our sin and confess our guilt.

I think it’s funny, because a lot of people who are not familiar with Lent think that it is strange. They don’t really understand the concept. Many think, “Why would you spend so much time focusing on evil and sin? Why would you take this time to give up something in order to grow in your relationship with Christ?” For many, this is a foreign concept. There are still a lot of people who think that deep down humans are actually pretty good.

But of course, we know better. As Christians, we realize our deep need for a Savior. We realize that we are not perfect, and we don’t have it all figured out. I am reminded of those condemning words from the Apostle Paul, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Not much has changed since the time of the Apostle Paul. Humans are still entrapped in perpetual sin. Each day we can turn on the news or open the newspaper and read story after story of death, chaos, and destruction. But there is good news on the way.

Bishop Will Willimon writes, “It is as if, when God began creating the world, the first word was not ‘Let there be light,’ but rather, ‘Let there be forgiveness.’ There will be no world, no order out of chaos, no life from death, no new liaison between God and us without forgiveness first. Forgiveness is the first step, the bridge toward us that only God can build. The first word into our darkness is ‘Father, forgive.’”

Over the next few days, Judas Iscariot will betray Jesus with a kiss in exchange for a few silver coins. Peter will deny Christ three times before the cock crows. The disciples will desert Jesus right after falling asleep in his hour of need. After all this happens, Jesus will hang on a bloody cross and say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

The main theme of the Passion story is not one of betrayal, but it is a story of forgiveness. That is a story that we desperately need.

There are times when we have not loved God with our whole heart. When we have failed to be an obedient church. When we have not done God’s will. When we have broken God’s law. When we have rebelled against God’s love. When we have not love our neighbors. When we have not heard the cry of the needy. When we have acted as the betrayer…

But as we journey closer to the cross… as we look upon Jesus… as we join in with the crowd as they shout, “Crucify him.” As we mock and turn away… Jesus replies, “Father, forgive them.”