A thought...
I was reading the passages of Scripture that pertain to Holy Thursday ( Maundy Thursday); of the washing of the feet, the sending away of Judas from the table, the last supper. (I'll read the Garden passages later tonight.)
Jesus with Judas. Two distinct moments in a night.
Jesus knew Judas was the betrayer; and you and I if we knew someone was going to betray and hurt us terribly, would have nothing to do with them. Yet, when Jesus decided to wash the feet of the Disciples, a job reserved for the lowliest servant or ranking member of a group (notice none of the Disciples had jockeyed with each other for the role!) He washed the feet of them all. No where does it say, "except for Judas." That act, of servant leadership, of love, of grace, He gave even to the one who was about to give Him up.
Could any of us be so gracious with our enemies? I know I'm not there yet, and Christ's grace in this situation just floors and humbles me. What a God I serve.
And then the table. Down to business. It is time to give last instructions, share a last meal of intimacy and give the gift of the Eucharistic table to the Disciples. The people Christ had taught, traveled with, loved. As Christ sits with these who He loves, knowing what is to come, how it must have sorrowed Him to know that treachery festered in Judas. Yet, He still offers Judas a great gift; the first communion. He breaks bread with the one who is instrumental in the later breaking of His body. He offers wine to the one who will cause His blood to flow.
The problem is, Judas was looking for a Christ of his own making. A Messianic leader who would toss out the Romans and restore the Jewish people to their freedom. He was tired of Roman rule, and he had a love of money; his reaction to the woman anointing Christ with expensive perfume shows that. But Judas never really believed Christ was the Son of God, and thus when he took communion as an unbeliever, he set his betrayal into motion. Up until that point, he could have confessed, he could have repented, but taking the Lord's supper with an unbelieving heart let the devil have entrance.
"And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." They began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one, "Surely it is not I?" He said to them, "One of the Twelve, the one who dips with me into the dish. For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it." Mark 14:18-23
According to the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the Apostles that one of them is to betray Him, and while they're all in an uproar of confusion, He tells Judas to go and do what must be done. (John 13:27) "As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, "What you are about to do, do quickly."
Why is it important that Judas partook of the Lord's Supper without faith? Because at that moment he brought down judgment upon himself because according to 1 Corinthians 11:28-30, “anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
Judas's problem was that he didn't believe in Christ as He is, and that unbelief was his undoing. By taking the Lord's Supper, by eating from that sacred Table, without belief, Judas brought down judgment about himself, and left to bring about the betrayal in the Garden.
We too are given both aspects of this night in our walk with Jesus. Even though we don't deserve His love and mercy, He gives it to us, as He did with Judas when He washed the betrayer's feet. Christ tends us with that same gentleness and love, shepherding us through life, giving of Himself for us.
And we are given the chance to partake of the Lord's Supper; on Maundy Thursday services, in Sunday Mass (or service if you prefer) or for occasions we meet with other believers, breaking bread and worshiping Christ. But we must do as the Apostle Paul warns us, and examine our souls and repent of our sins, before taking the Eucharist; lest we bring judgement down upon our souls.
Judas was given two gifts that fateful night; the God who made the stars washed his feet. And the Lord who would die for the sins of the world broke bread and shared wine with him. But Judas couldn't let go of the Messiah he wanted in order to grasp hold of the Messiah that was before Him; and thus he gave up the Lord of life for a shadow's dream. That ended in despair and death, instead of the joy the other Apostles would know at the Resurrection.
Are you trading Jesus Christ for a shadow of your own making? Are you giving up the Lamb because He doesn't quite fit what you want from a god? We don't get to make God into what we want, it is we that must conform. And when we let go of what we think God is or should be, and grab hold of the wonder of what God is: a God who is the creator of all, yet counts our tears, a God who is Almighty and Sovereign yet as close as our own heartbeat, a God who came down among us and was wounded and killed for us....out of love for us, then we see that God is more than we can imagine. Better than we can conceive; He turns our shadow gods to dust in the light of His glory.
That is a God worth serving, loving and living for.
Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto others,
Beth Haynes Butler
I was reading the passages of Scripture that pertain to Holy Thursday ( Maundy Thursday); of the washing of the feet, the sending away of Judas from the table, the last supper. (I'll read the Garden passages later tonight.)
Jesus with Judas. Two distinct moments in a night.
Jesus knew Judas was the betrayer; and you and I if we knew someone was going to betray and hurt us terribly, would have nothing to do with them. Yet, when Jesus decided to wash the feet of the Disciples, a job reserved for the lowliest servant or ranking member of a group (notice none of the Disciples had jockeyed with each other for the role!) He washed the feet of them all. No where does it say, "except for Judas." That act, of servant leadership, of love, of grace, He gave even to the one who was about to give Him up.
Could any of us be so gracious with our enemies? I know I'm not there yet, and Christ's grace in this situation just floors and humbles me. What a God I serve.
And then the table. Down to business. It is time to give last instructions, share a last meal of intimacy and give the gift of the Eucharistic table to the Disciples. The people Christ had taught, traveled with, loved. As Christ sits with these who He loves, knowing what is to come, how it must have sorrowed Him to know that treachery festered in Judas. Yet, He still offers Judas a great gift; the first communion. He breaks bread with the one who is instrumental in the later breaking of His body. He offers wine to the one who will cause His blood to flow.
The problem is, Judas was looking for a Christ of his own making. A Messianic leader who would toss out the Romans and restore the Jewish people to their freedom. He was tired of Roman rule, and he had a love of money; his reaction to the woman anointing Christ with expensive perfume shows that. But Judas never really believed Christ was the Son of God, and thus when he took communion as an unbeliever, he set his betrayal into motion. Up until that point, he could have confessed, he could have repented, but taking the Lord's supper with an unbelieving heart let the devil have entrance.
"And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." They began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one, "Surely it is not I?" He said to them, "One of the Twelve, the one who dips with me into the dish. For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it." Mark 14:18-23
According to the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the Apostles that one of them is to betray Him, and while they're all in an uproar of confusion, He tells Judas to go and do what must be done. (John 13:27) "As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. So Jesus told him, "What you are about to do, do quickly."
Why is it important that Judas partook of the Lord's Supper without faith? Because at that moment he brought down judgment upon himself because according to 1 Corinthians 11:28-30, “anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
Judas's problem was that he didn't believe in Christ as He is, and that unbelief was his undoing. By taking the Lord's Supper, by eating from that sacred Table, without belief, Judas brought down judgment about himself, and left to bring about the betrayal in the Garden.
We too are given both aspects of this night in our walk with Jesus. Even though we don't deserve His love and mercy, He gives it to us, as He did with Judas when He washed the betrayer's feet. Christ tends us with that same gentleness and love, shepherding us through life, giving of Himself for us.
And we are given the chance to partake of the Lord's Supper; on Maundy Thursday services, in Sunday Mass (or service if you prefer) or for occasions we meet with other believers, breaking bread and worshiping Christ. But we must do as the Apostle Paul warns us, and examine our souls and repent of our sins, before taking the Eucharist; lest we bring judgement down upon our souls.
Judas was given two gifts that fateful night; the God who made the stars washed his feet. And the Lord who would die for the sins of the world broke bread and shared wine with him. But Judas couldn't let go of the Messiah he wanted in order to grasp hold of the Messiah that was before Him; and thus he gave up the Lord of life for a shadow's dream. That ended in despair and death, instead of the joy the other Apostles would know at the Resurrection.
Are you trading Jesus Christ for a shadow of your own making? Are you giving up the Lamb because He doesn't quite fit what you want from a god? We don't get to make God into what we want, it is we that must conform. And when we let go of what we think God is or should be, and grab hold of the wonder of what God is: a God who is the creator of all, yet counts our tears, a God who is Almighty and Sovereign yet as close as our own heartbeat, a God who came down among us and was wounded and killed for us....out of love for us, then we see that God is more than we can imagine. Better than we can conceive; He turns our shadow gods to dust in the light of His glory.
That is a God worth serving, loving and living for.
Be blessed, my friends, and may you be a blessing unto others,
Beth Haynes Butler
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