First Presbyterian Church
Did Judas Have to Do It?
Sermon for April 9, 2006
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Children's time: I saw a comic strip once where very small boy, probably not even three years old, fell down and ran crying into the house. He looked in the living room, and his mother wasn't there. He went into the kitchen, she wasn't there. He looked on the back porch, she wasn't there. By this time he had stopped crying. He went upstairs and looked in the bathroom, and she wasn't there. He looked in her bedroom, and she wasn't there, but her bathroom light was on, so he went in there, and as soon as he saw her, he burst into tears. Why do you suppose he did that?

Why do we have to let people know when we get hurt? What good does it do? The children said we tell them so they can help us.

It helps to share our pain. Sometimes it helps us to remember when something bad happened. Sometimes it makes us more careful. Sometimes it makes us care more when other people get hurt because we remember how it feels to get hurt.

Today is the beginning of Holy Week, the week we remember that Jesus died on the cross. It is the beginning of a very sad time.

One way we are going to show that this is a sad time is that today we are going to take down all the banners and all the paraments. The church is going to look very bare today. By the end of the service, the church will be plain. The only thing left will be black fabric draped on the cross.

Let's pray. Thank you God for caring when we are hurt. Help us to show your compassion to others. And the children of God said quietly and reverently, Amen.

Our first scripture reading is from Psalm 31, on page 506. We will read it in unison. The writer of Psalm 31 takes refuge in God during a terrible time of suffering. Sometimes people suffer because they have sinned, and are being punished. Sometimes we suffer because other people have sinned. Jesus quotes from 31:5 on the cross “Into your hands, I commit my spirit.”

The psalmist has faith that God will set things right because God loves steadfastly. Our reading from Psalm 31 is a lament. Lament is a holy response to great evil. When we lament, we recognize suffering; we name the problem, and God listens to us. Listen for the word of God as we read it together in Psalm 31:9-16.

9 Be gracious to me, O LORD , for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.

10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my misery, and my bones waste away.

11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries, a horror to my neighbors, an object of dread to my acquaintances; those who see me in the street flee from me.

12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead; I have become like a broken vessel.

13 For I hear the whispering of many -- terror all around! -- as they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, O LORD ; I say, "You are my God."

15 My times are in your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

16 Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your steadfast love.

This ends our reading of the psalm.

Anthem “Surely He has Borne our Griefs

Our gospel reading is found on page 52. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Mark 14:32-50.

They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, "I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake." 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, "Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want."

37 He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 38 Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. 41 He came a third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand."

43 Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard."

45 So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" and kissed him. 46 Then they laid hands on him and arrested him.47 But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

48 Then Jesus said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled."

50 All of them deserted him and fled.

This ends our reading from God's word.

We're not really sure what scripture Jesus is alluding to in verse 49; it could be a reference to the shepherd of Zechariah 13:7, whose sheep scatter. It could be a reference to Isaiah 53:12, which describes the suffering servant as one who was numbered with the transgressors. 1

Let us pray. Eternal God, whose word silences the shouts of the mighty: quiet within us every voice but your own. Speak to us through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ that by the power of your holy spirit we may receive grace to show Christ's love in lives given to your service. Amen.

Today we celebrate Palm/Passion Sunday. ‘Passion' is a word that we use to describe everything that happened during Jesus' last week: the last supper with the disciples, the betrayal by Judas, the arrest, the crucifixion and burial. It's all part of the passion. A century ago, church people would come to worship each day during holy week. Later on, fewer people attended midweek services, and so people were celebrating Palm Sunday and then Easter, bypassing the events of the passion. So this year, we are including the story of the passion in our scripture readings today.

The early Christians tried to make sense of what happened to Jesus. The Jews looked for ways to interpret scriptures for their time, and the followers of Jesus followed that Jewish tradition to find their answer: Jesus fulfilled scripture and brought about a new covenant.

That faith that Jesus came to fulfill scripture has led some people to believe that Judas was foreordained to betray Jesus, that he was somehow aiding Gods' purpose, ushering in the salvation of all humankind. Perhaps friends of Judas popularized this view. When we respect and care for someone, it's hard to believe that person can intentionally cause another's death.

His friends may have wanted to find a way to explain why Judas would do something so terrible as betray his friend Jesus. One theory I read said that Judas wanted Jesus to usher in the new era with violence against the Romans. He betrayed Jesus in order to force his hand, so he would finally do what he came for – to free Israel.

The newly discovered and published “Gospel of Judas” takes the view that Judas betrayed Jesus because Jesus told him to. Jesus wanted his spirit to be free of his earthly body, and his death brought that about. One of the theological problems I have with that is that God created our bodies good, and expects us to care for our own bodies, as well as the bodies of other people.

The “Gospel of Judas” is a third century manuscript from one of the religious groups we call the gnostics. Gnostics believed in secret knowledge; they emphasized the holiness of a person's spirit, rather than a person's body. The gnostic writings differ from one another; they were written by different communities. Generally those writings do not emphasize care of the poor or challenge the rich and powerful; they are more concerned with spiritual matters and criticizing the material world.

The Gospel of Judas is in fragments, and has been partly restored. It has a different character than our four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) which were written about a hundred years earlier. The Gospel of Judas is useful as a historical document, and will tell us much about the third century church. But from what I've read, it doesn't shed much light on how to interpret Judas' actions as told to us in the four gospels in the new testament.

The four gospels don't say that Judas was in some way helping Jesus or doing God's will. In Mark 14, we see that Jesus spoke about his betrayer, saying that it would have been better if he hadn't been born. 2Matthew and Luke record similar words of Jesus. The gospel of John tells us that after Judas ate the bread Jesus gave him, Satan entered into him, and he went out into the night, leaving Jesus and the disciples.

Judas' betrayal was not God's will. That might seem obvious to some of you, but there are people who truly believe everything that happens, including terrible tragedies are God's will. In order to be faithful, we are supposed to accept violence and tragedy as God's plan for us. We are supposed to pray to learn what God was trying to teach us. I don't find that theology helpful.

When the Indonesian tsunami happened, what was God trying to teach us? The importance of building stronger houses? The need for a better warning system? No. Just because we can learn from tragedy doesn't mean that God sent the tragedy so we can learn from it.

A more Christian response to a tragedy is to ask, or better yet, demand how God could allow it to happen. One science and theology professor was asked “because God created the world, isn't God behind the tsunami?” The professor responded, “Geologists can explain why a planet without this recycling of its crust could not support life as we know it.”

She concluded, “God does not (intentionally) cause tsunamis, but causes there to be a world in which the destruction of life is an unwanted but necessary by-product of the conditions that allow for human life.” 3

There are preachers out there who will say that God causes calamities in order to punish people. Pat Robertson, a televangelist who founded the Christian Broadcasting Network, said that Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's stroke happened because “the prophet Joel says God has enmity against those who divide my land.” Sharon withdrew Israeli troops from the West Bank, returning the land to Palestinian rule.

The prophet Joel speaks of judgments on all the nations for having entered and divided the inhabitants' land. Joel does not speak about Palestinians who live in Palestine.

I do not believe God needs people to act in evil ways in order for God's plan to be fulfilled. Judas' betrayal was not at God's behest.

But God can bring good out of evil. God can redeem even evil acts; God can redeem even the people who perform evil acts. But just because God can redeem them does not mean that God caused the evil.

The Bible has different views on suffering and evil. Sometimes human beings bring on the suffering themselves by sinning; they turn against God, as the Israelites did in the wilderness, complaining about having just manna and quails to eat.

But many times the sinners create suffering for the innocent, and what are we to think about God then?

One appropriate response is found in the psalms, crying out with lament, outrage, and grief. Another response is found in Jesus' behavior: to show courage, to resist evil, and demonstrate compassion.

A natural response is what the disciples did – run away out of fear. Not a helpful response, but a human one. But in the end, they returned and repented.

Judas left the disciples and ran to the authorities just after he heard Jesus say that he was going to be buried soon. I think perhaps Judas thought, well, if Jesus is going to die anyway, I may as well get something out of it – and so he betrayed Jesus to the religious authorities who were already looking for a pretext to arrest Jesus. Judas got paid. The gospel of Matthew says that he repented, and tried to return the money. But the gospel of Mark is silent on what happened to Judas.

The story of Judas shows that evil can come from within, that betrayal is possible. And it is that betrayal from one of Jesus' own disciples that seems so tragic. The other disciples don't demonstrate much courage; in our scripture lesson today, we heard they all fled after Jesus was arrested by the armed soldiers, scribes, and priests.

In the face of violence and evil, we feel helpless and hopeless, and afraid. Very afraid. Do we really blame the disciples for fleeing in a crisis and abandoning Jesus?

In all the gospels, Jesus talks about the importance of forgiveness. The gospel of Luke reports that Jesus said on the cross “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Who was ‘them'? The Roman authorities he had flouted, the Jewish authorities he had debated with and among, the crowds he had ministered to who yelled to crucify him, or the disciples who deserted him, denied him, or betrayed him just hours earlier? I don't know. Probably all of them. Jesus was big enough to do that.

But we are not Jesus. It is hard for most of us to move to forgiveness quite that quickly when we are betrayed. We are still just too angry. We are filled to overflowing with trying to cope with the trauma we've known, or trying to help people we love cope with trauma.

Many of us know the families of the victim and the perpetrator in last week's shooting at the federal building, and we know the neighbors of those families. Each of us knows at least one of the 25 employees of our post office. We know people who work in the federal building, we know the EMT's, we know investigating police officers.

Grant Gallaher was our church's mail carrier for several years. I have talked with him. I know some of you have had good conversations with him. We knew him as a parent, a neighbor. Some of us are asking ourselves “What could we have done? Should we have paid attention? Should we have known?” How can someone we liked and trusted do so much wrong?”

How do we take care of ourselves when we are betrayed? Here are six ways I can think of.

1. We give ourselves permission to feel angry, scared, hurt, and humiliated without judging our lack of faith or compassion.

2. We talk to a sympathetic person.

3. We let ourselves lock the windows and doors.

4. Do something physical but not violent – take a walk, or a run or play a sport.

5. Don't start a new challenging project that will take a lot of concentration.

6. Pray. Don't worry about the words. Pour your heart out to God. Lament like the psalmist did in Psalm 31: “ Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.”

This week I have heard people's fear, confusion, anger, and gossip, and I have seen courage and compassion. And not just for the victim's family, as you would expect, but for the perpetrator's family as well.

A chaplain who ministers to families of victims and perpetrators said “it is a toss-up where you find the most pain.” 4

I talked to a florist who said people have been sending flowers to the post office because they didn't know what else to do. I talked with one mail carrier who said people have been unfailingly kind. She was concerned for Grant's wife. I told her I was going to bring flowers to Grant's wife, and asked her if she knew what kind I should bring. She said large flowers with a nice smell, because the wife does not see well. What a kind answer, I thought. Kindness and compassion are the answers to evil. But it takes years of kindness from many people to even begin to counter the suffering that evil brings. We have to recognize that we are in it for the long haul.

I met hymn writer Brian Wren years ago. He wrote a hymn called “Speechless In A World that Suffers.” I wanted to close my sermon with these 6 hymn verses because they speak of what many of us were experiencing this week.

Speechless in a world that suffers, seeking hope, in prayer we come, sick with warfare, rape, and murder, crying out or stricken, dumb. Are you loving? Are you listening? Hear our hearts, crying. Why Oh Why Oh Why, Oh Why? Will you help or pass us by?

Did your love, unseen and holy, seeking human love and trust, give a law and keep a treaty, though your people turned unjust? Did you tend them through affliction, loving still, judging grieving, weeping, feeling loss, in a foretaste of the cross?

Could a loving wise Creator, seeing evil unresolved, Stay aloof, a silent ruler, calm, unchanging, uninvolved? Could a heart that heard the Savior, near despair, crying “Why, oh why, am I alone?”, sit unmoved, as cold as stone?

Hour by hour, as life advances, as eternally you trace all our choices, all the chances, howling evil, healing grace, far beyond our understanding, do you know, weighing every if and why and where, joy and grief beyond compare?

Living in a world that suffers, pain and evil fret our mind. Reason ends with broken answers. Let us pray, and hope to find, through each other, joined together, Christ alive, caring, bearing evil, giving joy that the world cannot destroy.

In the grief, by fear undaunted, telling truth through tearful songs, in the burst of loving anger, giving strength to tackle wrongs, in a neighbor, in a stranger, show your love, living, glowing, warming, gleaming bright, like a candle in the night. 5

Amen.

Pastoral Prayer

We come to this Palm/Passion Sunday with heavy hearts, O God.

We pray that you will guide for the law enforcement community doing the investigation, for the judge, the jury, for justice. We pray that your spirit be in the prisons, that they will be places for repentance, reconciliation, and restitution.

We pray your healing comforting spirit be with Lori's family, that you would bless Candra as she mourns the death of her mother, and for Brian as he mourns the death of his wife, and for Mary Lou and Homer as they mourn the death of their granddaughter's mother.

We pray your comfort for Kelly as she comes to terms with her husband's actions, and for her children.

May they all feel your love during this terrible time.

I thank you for my daughter, O God, who is great enough to ask you to bless Grant so that he will never never never do such a terrible thing again.

We pray for the Kotter's neighbors and for the Gallaher's neighbors. Show them how they can be helpful in the coming weeks and months.

We pray for the media covering this story that they will be compassionate for the families involved.

We pray for your wisdom to guide the counselors helping the community, especially those at North Powder. Be with all those gathered for the service in the gym at North Powder, as they remember Lori together.

Here us as we pray together, Our Father…. Amen.

1 Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

2Mark 14:18-21. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me."

They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, "Surely, not I?"

He said to them, "It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born."

3 Murphy, Nancey, “Nature's God,” Christian Century, Dec. 27, 2005, p. 26.

4 Father Roger Schmit, OSB, pastor of St. Paul's Newman Center in Laramie, Wyo.

5by Brian Wren © 1996 Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, IL 60188. Reprinted under License No. 63124.