Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.”
—John 13: 21
When we hear the story of God’s passion for us, we often think we are the ones gathered at the foot of the cross weeping. But when we are honest, we discover that there is a Judas in each of us and that we often betray God by wasting the life we have been given. Recognizing the Judas within may be the key to new life.
Judas is a despised character in the narrative of God’s love for us. None of us normally identify with him. But when we jump into the story, we discover that we are more like Judas than we want to admit. When we identify the ways that we have betrayed God and God’s promise to us, we open ourselves to the radical possibility of forgiveness and reconciliation.
By identifying the ways we have squandered the resources that God has entrusted to us, we discover a pathway toward wholeness. When we accept the Judas within, the real possibility of the cross emerges. It ceases to be a symbol of the sins of the whole world and becomes an instrument of our own forgiveness.
Loving God, I betray you so many times. Help me see how I have walked away from your love, and identifying my life in yours, deliver me to a place of new life through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Copyright ©2009 Michael R. Sullivan.