When You Connect With the Villian in the Story...

Holy Wednesday

On a day when we are asked to stay in our homes, to isolate in an attempt to protect one another, it is interesting to explore the ways that Jesus was being kept safe. It was the crowds.

People had heard of the man who healed. People had heard of the man baptized by John. People had heard of the man who fed the hungry. People had heard of this man Jesus who told parables of the Samaritans and gathered the children and spoke with divorced women.

Jesus came to the Mount of Olives with his reputation preceding him. In a demonstration that mirrored the revered prophets of old, Jesus offered an anti-imperialism act using non-verbal communication to denounce the violence of Rome. The next day in another act much like those of the prophets who came before him, Jesus offered an indictment to denounce the unjust leadership of the temple. With each passing day and each passing hour, the high priests, scribes, and elders were looking for a way to remove Jesus permanently.

But, when you are continually told that you are less than - by the government, by the religious leaders, by the powerful in society - and a man comes to town who not only sees you but says that God believes in your wholeness, you may choose to follow him to help see his changes come to fruition.

The parade and the table-turning and the disagreements in the temple have earned Jesus a target on his back and the enthusiastic support of the crowds who have come to Jerusalem for Passover. For days the leaders of the temple have recognized that if Jesus incites a riot or, God-forbid, a revolution, Rome will come and squash the insurrection along with all parties present. It is in the best interest of all with power, authority, money, and status in Jerusalem for Jesus to be silenced. And yet, by Wednesday they realize that his support in the city in the midst of Passover is too much. They resign themselves to this disturbance and hope Jesus leaves the city with everyone else after the holiday.

We all make choices. We all make poor choices. We feel our safety threatened. Or, our way of life feels jeopardized. Sometimes things just aren't going how we imagined and we're seeking a succinct path to change.

Religion likes to speculate, but the history books nor scripture truly knows why he did it. On Wednesday when those who had the most to lose by Jesus living finally accept that he would continue to preach and teach and rally the people, it was then that Judas comes forward with an unpredictable solution. By offering a moment when the crowds would be absent, Judas clears the path for Jesus to be executed.

One choice. One moment to extricate himself from Jesus, to jump from one complex scenario to the next. An impossible execution to silence a non-violent protestor exceeding the levels of the prophets before him suddenly becomes a reality.

We don't know why Judas betrayed Jesus, and yet as the sun sets on a world experiencing immeasurable uncertainty - pain, loss, fear, conflict, and more - Judas's decision to act irrationally to protect himself or his temple or his city or even his pride doesn't seem so far fetched.

Tonight when the consequences of his choices remain at an arm's length away, may we find the grace in our hearts to empathize with a man making decisions in the darkness of uncertainty. And, may we prepare our hearts for the unconditional love Jesus will extend tomorrow by breaking bread and sharing the cup with the man history remembers as the villain, Judas Iscariot.