Judas' Guilt

LECTIO:     John 13: 21-27

After He had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me."
     His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant.  One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.  Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, "Ask Him which one he means."
     Leaning back against Jesus, he asked Him, "Lord, who is it?"
     Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish."  Then, dipping the piece of bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon.  As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
    "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him,

STUDIO:

Note that Judas must have been sitting next to Jesus.  They were sharing the same bowl.  That is an honor and makes Judas' betrayal even more egregious. What was Judas' thinking and feeling?  Because Jesus knew what he was going to do and Jesus told him to go do it, does Judas think Jesus wants him to do it?

MEDITATIO:

Judas should have never put himself in this position.  As much as I sympathize with Judas, Judas did choose to betray Jesus.  Well, they all abandoned Jesus, in effect, they all betrayed Jesus.  Oh Judas, I wish you could have asked Jesus for forgiveness.  

ORATIO:

Lord, have mercy on Judas.  I know he had free will and chose to betray you, but doesn't his returning the money show that he was sorry he did it?  

CONTEMPLATIO:

May the Holy Spirit keep me from choosing betrayal to God.  Help me to never put myself in a position that Judas did.  That would be so easy.  Judas misunderstood Your mission.  I'm afraid I would have to.  Lord have mercy on such as me.

RESOLUTIO:

I hope I remember to pray before I make decisions.  Holy Spirit be my guide.

 

Upside Down

 

Get ready.  This is the top of a column in the church of St. Mary Magdalene in Vezelay, France.  Look at the face of the man, supposedly Judas, being carried.  Not the upright figure!  The man being carried--look at his face.

Now turn the picture upside down.  Now look at his face.  what do you see?

Surely it is not I, Rabbi?

All my life, I've gone to Mass.  I've heard the story of the Last Supper, all my life.  Today, I heard and learned something new.

The disciples never used the title, "Rabbi," when addressing Jesus.  He told them not to.  Others who were not close to him, called him Rabbi, e.i., Pharisees and Sadducees.

So when Judas asks "Surely it is not I, Rabbi?" everyone at the table must have perked up.  Something's amiss.

Yes, this is a foreshadowing of Judas' separation from the disciples.  

Worse than Judas' Betrayal

Judas' Conscience               Image via Wikipedia

Ponder this.  What's worse than betraying Jesus?  Judas did it.  Peter did it.  People do it all the time.  Betraying Jesus isn't common place, but it's not unheard of.  But there's something worse.

It's despairing of God's mercy.  Once Judas knew he did wrong, he despaired.  So those that argue that someone had to betray Jesus, so God chose Judas as the instrument, forget about free will.  Judas did wrong, but he didn't try to right the wrong.  He didn't ask for God's mercy.  Scripture doesn't support the idea of someone had to do it.

What do you think of this idea?  Judas didn't despair of God's mercy; he despaired of human mercy.  Judas knew the disciples would never forgive him.  He also knew that God was all merciful, so he chose to face God, rather than the disciples.

There's no scripture reference to lead to that conclusion, either.  I guess will have to wait and ask him.

Lord, Make Me Your Instrument

OK. I'm not the sharpest tool on the tool belt. I'm not the brightest light on the circuit. I'm not the ....

I'm talking about being careful for what you pray for.

Yikes.

What if Judas had prayed, "Lord, make me your instrument?"

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