SUNDAY VIBES: THOUGHTS ON THE MINISTRY OF JUDAS ISCARIOT

By Andrew Yaquah

I always got confused between the

apostles and disciples. I still call them the 12 disciples out of habit.

Today I was thinking about the most

controversial member of the 12: Judas. (And later Peter too, as a different take on Judas dawned on me).

In all the sermons I have had to attend, I never once heard anyone talk about compassion for Judas.

About the fact that he was fallible and just human. About the fact that given the right circumstance, just about anyone could be Judas.

I realised that perhaps on a symbolic level the story of Judas betraying Jesus is a story of you and me; him and her; them...

How many times have you betrayed

someone or a cause by your WORDS,

ACTIONS/INACTION OR SILENCE. Yes,

reticence is not a cop out!

The reasons for betrayal are not

always financial gain. And the result

of betrayal is not always the crucifixion of another person. 

Judas has been so vilified that sometimes when we refer to someone as a traitor, we just call them Judas. 

But are we not missing the bigger picture or at least some of the pieces? Jesus knew Judas would betray him even before Judas knew it. He could have done something about it, but Judas had a role to play. His role was to betray his

Teacher in order for the next phase of the plan to kick into action.

 I find it hard to reconcile the idea of Jesus being all powerful and yet totally

helpless, unless by deliberate choice to a particular end. So for me, the role of Judas was not a fluke.

Betrayal does not only happen when

one person does it to another.

Sometimes you betray yourself when you step out of what you know to be your authenticity. So, does that make you a 'Judas' too? And will you have the spiritual magnanimity to forgive yourself and move on, or will you be like almost everyone else who reads about the life of Jesus and Judas? Stuck in judgment and

unable to see the rest of the pieces

of the puzzle?

Thinking about Judas got me thinking about Peter. The one who denied his Teacher three times. He was afraid for his own life so by his denial, he too betrayed Jesus. 

But as a generalisation, we see Judas as

the worse of the two because he did

what he did for money and had a direct hand in his teacher's arrest.

So, in effect, we create a sliding scale of 'sin'. It sits easier with us, because deep down we all know that none of us is perfect and in creating a gradient of transgressions we don't have to be on the same level as a ''Judas!''

I wonder whether if we were to find out about the various personality traits of the 12 apostles, they would mirror various character traits that we all possess (or potentially do) as human beings.