By Klaus Döring
It’s easy to dismiss Judas as a villain or a victim, but I’m struck by the fact that, in many ways, he was just like me.
Judas was a follower of Jesus and a preacher of the gospel, but there was a double-mindedness about him. In the end, he abandoned the faith he once professed.
The apostle Judas, probably also called Thaddeus or Jude, being a brother of James and Jesus, started as a fervent follower of Christ. Then, suddenly, he changed. He felt that Christ didn’t satisfy his worldly expectations. The church, like Christ, is always loved by its true followers and is always hated by its apostates. To this day—no matter what belief you follow—this remains true.
Judas didn’t leave the apostolic community to become a Pharisee or a critic of Christ. He left to become a traitor! Such a traitor will always find fault or misinterpret human teachings. Judas gathered reasons that he himself had heard and witnessed to justify his betrayal. Yes, we all also know such people who betray us and sometimes even an entire country.
A Jewish mob tried to throw Christ down a cliff, but nothing happened. Soldiers tried to arrest Him, but nothing happened. The Pharisees tried to entrap Him, but to no effect. It needed a friend to betray Him. He escaped from all, but not from the treason of a friend. “It would have been better for that man if he had not been born!” No such sentence was hurled, for example, at Pilate or Herod.
The lesson for all of us is very clear. A bad politician or one of our neighbors can be the foulest thing on earth. A bad pagan cannot be one-tenth as corrupt.
“Do not betray another man’s confidence!” the Bible teaches us. But Judases can be found everywhere. Just as fire is not born from snow, so is the seeker after worldly honors not seeking heavenly ones. Or have you ever seen snow catch fire?
The maladroit politician named Judas betrays his voters and electors through soft, beautiful promises while corrupting an entire nation. The peace conference member or peacemaker named Judas enforces double standards while allowing his jackals and accomplices to kill and injure his own countrymen. The neighbor who declares how much he loves his family while continuing to destroy the environment is also a Judas.
Judas’ sins are really not rare. We commit them every day. Someone who has changed their ideals away from the ideals of the church and declares it to the world, anyone who leaves the church or the religious order and proclaims it to the world, “night had fallen on his soul”!
When Julius Caesar was being assassinated, what hurt him was not the stabs of Caius but the presence of his friend Brutus. We might never know it, but we could be carrying on our lips the kiss of Judas!
Many times I do voice out people’s longing for advice and actions through the institution’s church. There are many. Please allow me to quote former Rev. Mariano C. Apilado, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, who had done a first important step already many years ago by saying:
“Christian hope never shields people, much less Christians, from disappointments, hardships, and betrayals, nor does it provide neat and ready answers to the world’s problems. Christian hope empowers Christians to take responsibility in the establishment of a government that respects the law and the protection of the people and their rights in the struggle for justice and development. Christian hope is not peanuts, for it assures us: there is always a future to look forward to. Without hope, Christian faithfulness is suspect and without foundation. With this hope, we sing, celebrate, and work faithfully and courageously, believing, ‘We shall overcome’!”
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