Betrayal

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betrayal, conversation, faith formation, Jesus, Judas, Last Supper, Matthrew, sadness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I was a parish faith formation director when mini-courses first made their appearance in religious education. I was a fan for several reasons, not the least of which was the fact that it was easier to get four teachers (one for each 6-week commitment) than to find one willing to show up consistently for a 24-session course. The students also liked the diversity of teachers and topics. One year I decided to push the envelope even further by offering a one-week intensive which would replace one of the 6-week courses for 9th or 10th graders. The curriculum was as follows: mandatory attendance at an introductory 90-minute overview in the week prior to Holy Week as well as participation in services on Palm Sunday, Holy (Maundy) Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil and a one-page reflection paper on the experience, submitted within 2 weeks after Easter. Many of the students took up the challenge and profited so greatly from the experience that I repeated the course for a number of years. One of the added benefits of the experiment was the fact that most of the students needed a ride to church so many parents participated with them and found it profitable as well.

The moment of most impact for many of the students was an exercise during the introductory session. I passed out a paper with a graphic of a large table and twelve circles, representing guests at a festive meal. Students were asked to think of the twelve most important people in their lives whom they would invite to such a gathering. They wrote the initials of their guests in the circles, pictured the full table, the enjoyment of the participants and their own satisfaction at having such good family and friends with whom to celebrate. Then they were to picture themselves the next day at a store and imagine the following scenario. As they were considering a purchase they suddenly heard two people talking in the next aisle. When they recognized the voices of two people who had been at their party the night before and just at the moment of preparing to join them, the conversation turned to comments on the previous night’s experience. The two friends spoke in derogatory terms about the whole event and about their “friend” – the host – as well. At this point I asked the students to react on paper to how they presumed they would feel in such a situation.

While the above situation pales as we think of today’s gospel of the Last Supper (MT 26:14-25) and the betrayal of Judas, for young teenagers it could be as if the floor dropped out of their world. If you have never experienced a betrayal by any significant person in your life, thank God! If, however, you have had or can conjecture what such a moment would be like, consider the sadness of Jesus at the betrayal of his friend and companion, Judas. Perhaps you will be led to a conversation with Jesus where you are the comforter and he is in need of your presence.

 

 

 

 

 

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

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betrayal, denial, Holy Week, Jerusalem, Jesus, Judas, Palm Sunday, Peter, renewal, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There is so much to read today in the lectionary texts, so many scenarios and complicating emotions! It’s only Sunday and we have the whole Holy Week to deal with, yet the entire drama is placed before us today, perhaps so that we are able to hold it all as the week goes on  – even while knowing already both the tragic and the glorious pieces of the outcome.

I always try to be in the moment as we travel through the days of Holy Week but no matter how deeply we place ourselves in the scenes as they are recounted – the joyful entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to the acclaim of the crowd, the poignant last supper with his closest disciples and then the emotional flip to the denial of Jesus by Peter and betrayal by Judas, the trial, crucifixion and burial – it is impossible for us to feel the total impact of it all. We know the end of the story even as it begins.

Perhaps the best we can do is reflect on experiences in our lives that are analogous to, although maybe not as stark as, what we are facing this week. Consider the celebrative meals – anniversaries or holidays, perhaps – that you have shared with loved ones, especially if someone is moving away or in danger of death. Reflect on a low moment when you could have spoken up with a truth that would not be popular yet you remained silent or went along with the crowd. Remember recent stories of gun violence when innocent people were killed for no reason. If you are able, take the feelings from these scenarios (or others) and the seek out Jesus for a quiet moment of conversation about what he is experiencing on each of these days.

There is great opportunity for deepening spiritually during this week. May we all come to Easter renewed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palm Sunday

Tags

bad news, betrayal, crucifixion, death, faithfulness, Good News, Holy Week, Isaiah, Jerusalem, Luke, Palm Sunday, Philippians, praise, psalm 22, surrender, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, torture, trust

We have often heard the adage: “Good news, bad news – who knows!” The caution in this statement is about holding out until the end, when the final conclusion allows an informed assessment of whether the situation under consideration is, in fact, good or bad news.

Palm Sunday is the epitome of a good news/bad news story. We begin with Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem to jubilant chants of “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (LK 19: 28-40) and end with the crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus as Luke tells the story (LK 22:14-23:56). Admittedly there is some telescoping of the time frame as we know the incidents happened over several days rather than all at once, but it is nevertheless a stunning example of the vicissitudes of crowd mentality.

Reflecting on this Sunday’s readings one realizes that the need for the faithful to wait for “the rest of the story” is implicit at each step. Isaiah’s words (IS 50: 4-7) paint a fearful picture of what the servant suffers in trying to speak God’s word to the weary: beatings, plucking of his beard, buffets and spitting. The message to us, however, is in the last verse where the prophet witnesses to God’s faithfulness in all the violence he has endured. The Lord God is my help, he says, therefore I am not disgraced. I have set my face like flint, knowing I shall not be put to shame.

The refrain of the responsorial psalm (PS 22): My God, my God, why have you abandoned me could be interpreted as despair of the crucified Jesus. Not so! Jesus, who likely knew all 150 psalms by heart, knew the ending. Like Isaiah, he trusted that whatever happened, God was faithful and worthy of praise: I will proclaim your name to my brethren, the psalmist sings; in the midst of the assembly I will praise him. (vs.23)

Even as we focus on reciprocal fidelity as the linchpin of relationship between God and Jesus, we know that the suffering endured in the Paschal Mystery was monumental. From betrayal of friends to physical torture and death, Luke’s gospel reminds us that Jesus trusted God and poured himself out in love for our sake. It would behoove us to spend time with this text seeing anew each compassionate encounter on his path from the Last Supper to the cross.

Only the Letter to the Philippians speaks from a post-resurrection perspective today (PHIL 2:6-11). It is the willingness of Jesus to surrender everything that leads to his exaltation as Lord. But let us not be too hasty to reach the finish line. Let us rather take every step of this Holy Week with Jesus, trusting as he did that the Lord God is our help.