Surely, it is not I, Rabbi?

They were a unique group.  Each was specifically invited to be a member.  For three years they travelled together, worked, prayed and played together.  Intimate relationships formed among them.  Some ties were stronger than others.  But at this point they had each other’s backs.  Jesus was the focal point of their relationships.  He was their teacher, their Rabbi.  That night, the family gathering was different.

It happens in the best of families – a meal spoiled.  The atmosphere holds threat of a storm while discord percolates just below the surface of pleasant conversation.  Then it happens.  Something is said or done that tilts the scales.  Accusations and denials spew forth.  Arguments ensue.  Someone is hurt, offended.  Feelings of betrayal, shame and apprehension fill the air.  Relationships crack, then crumble. 

This was the scene in the gospel I reflected on today, the account of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.  Judas had sold Jesus for “…thirty pieces of silver…”  Jesus knew.  Then His brothers knew.  This wasn’t the beginning of the end for Jesus.  It was the beginning of the culmination of Jesus’ life’s passion.

We read of greed that led to betrayal, denial born of regret, broken relationships in the midst of anger, and later to additional denial fueled by fear, abandonment brought on by distrust and doubt.  This “family’s” relationships were faltering.

The story is well known.  It is told in the veiled whisper of scriptures.  Scriptures well known by this family. “…The Lord is my help; therefore I am not disgraced; ... I shall not be put to shame…” (Isaiah 50:4-9).  “For your sake I bear insult…zeal for your house consumes me…For the Lord hears the poor and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” “I become an outcast to my brothers…Insult has broken by heart” yet “For your sake I bear insult…” (Psalm 69:8-34).  

Jesus wasn’t undone by the cowardly acts of His brothers and His sisters.  Rather, this was to be the final outpouring of His love, His passion, for all.  Jesus’ Passion is Love.  That’s it.  An ‘it’ so profoundly simple it’s simply profound.   Jesus loves not in spite of, but because of.  His life’s passion – His love for us, for me, is magnified in the coming events.  It’s Jesus’ Passion, His Love that leads to His death and resurrection.

Jesus loves us – all of us, fully clothed in our humanity.  For Jesus, the intimacy of our relationship is worth it all.  All of whatever it may be.  As we, His brothers and sisters run in fear and doubt, Jesus weeps out of love - for us.  As we, His brothers and sisters deny Him, Jesus reaches out, to us, to the crowds on His way to His death.  As we, His brothers and sisters fade away, Jesus blesses us from the cross. 

Jesus’s Passion, His love, leads to His death and resurrection.  Jesus’ Passion, His love, leads us through His resurrection to Love.