March 23, 2005
Betrayal Mt 26:14-25
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples." The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, "Surely it is not I, Lord?" He said in reply, "He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but 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." Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He answered, "You have said so."
Betrayal...Jesus knew who would betray him and Judas denies that he is the one. Judas perhaps has decieved himself more than anyone else. His betrayal of the Son of Man for a mere thirty coins of silver ends in his own suicide. It is a dark side of the Passion story a sad unfulfilled, ruined life unable to return or turn back to God in the time of deepest despair at realization of the error of his acts. Judas ultimately betrayed himself more than anyone else. He was sadly aware of the evil of his acts after he performed them. Jesus talks of His appointed time being near. To me this is another affirmation of the role of Jesus as a prophet. The great lessons of the Bible are coming together in more intense and present forms as the Holy Week proceeds toward the end of the life on earth of Jesus. The journey has changed for me every year and yet it is the same every year. In the monastery there is an intensity and a purity in our prayer and life in this reflective and most sacred time of the year. Am I willing to sell my beliefs to the world for thirty coins or to remain a loyal believer? The question is presented to me in many forms throughout the day.
One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, "My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples." The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, "Surely it is not I, Lord?" He said in reply, "He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but 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." Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" He answered, "You have said so."
Betrayal...Jesus knew who would betray him and Judas denies that he is the one. Judas perhaps has decieved himself more than anyone else. His betrayal of the Son of Man for a mere thirty coins of silver ends in his own suicide. It is a dark side of the Passion story a sad unfulfilled, ruined life unable to return or turn back to God in the time of deepest despair at realization of the error of his acts. Judas ultimately betrayed himself more than anyone else. He was sadly aware of the evil of his acts after he performed them. Jesus talks of His appointed time being near. To me this is another affirmation of the role of Jesus as a prophet. The great lessons of the Bible are coming together in more intense and present forms as the Holy Week proceeds toward the end of the life on earth of Jesus. The journey has changed for me every year and yet it is the same every year. In the monastery there is an intensity and a purity in our prayer and life in this reflective and most sacred time of the year. Am I willing to sell my beliefs to the world for thirty coins or to remain a loyal believer? The question is presented to me in many forms throughout the day.
posted by Joan Morris at 8:54 PM
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