Sermon
Maundy Thursday 2018
The Triduum begins tonight. These are
the three days from tonight through the Easter Vigil. It is one,
sequential, and holistic liturgical event. And to rightly understand
Easter, to rightly appreciate Easter, we must travel and participate
in the events of these three days and in the totality of this
liturgy.
One of the things we need to remember
about this night is that the one who betrayed Jesus was no outsider.
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve chosen disciples to be part of
Jesus' inner circle. Judas traveled with Jesus and learned from him.
He was in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm. He went out with
another disciple to preach, teach, and heal. Jesus washed his feet,
and he was with them all as they ate the Passover meal.
We need to remember that Judas Iscariot
to Jesus was not Snidely Whiplash to Dudley Do-right. Far from being
the obvious bad guy that we can identify from the beginning, Judas
was one of us.
This betrayal stuff, though, isn't
always crystal clear. I have a feeling that we've all been on both
sides of that act. I'd also be willing to bet that we only recognize
one side.
I can recall one specific time in my
life when I felt betrayed. I was trying to come up with a creative
solution to a difficult problem and thought I had buy-in from all
parties. That is, until one side realized that the suggested
solution meant doing something no one had ever tried before; until
they realized that trying the new way meant giving up their old way.
The turnabout and abandonment was immediate. Years of building
relationships were gone in one instant.
But the question hangs over me: Who
betrayed whom? Did they betray me, or did I betray them? The answer
to that question probably depends on who you ask.
I am not suggesting that Jesus betrayed
his disciples. For one thing, betrayal is a sinful act based in
selfishness. So even though we proclaim Jesus was fully human, we
also avow that he was without sin. If anything, Jesus was guilty of
not living up to the expectations his disciples had for him. But
that's not a Jesus problem, that's our problem; especially since he
was busy living up to God's expectations, not ours.
And really, isn't that the essence of
betrayal – someone decides that someone else isn't living up to, or
meeting, their expectations? The newly forming United States was not
meeting personal expectations, so Benedict Arnold switched sides and
betrayed the U.S. The story of The Falcon and the Snowman
tells of espionage that began with one character becoming
disillusioned with the U.S. Spouses betray each other because
expectations are not being met. Judas betrays Jesus for the same
reasons. We don't start out bad, but circumstances can push us that
direction.
Betrayal is an act that we have
probably all experienced. Sometimes we have been betrayed. And if
we are honest with ourselves, sometimes we have been the betrayer.
Sometimes that is an obvious fit. Sometimes, though, we don't see it
as betrayal but as a necessary act we were forced into; maybe even
rationalizing that it is to stop something worse from happening, as
Judas did.
Ultimately these actions stem from our
own selfish desires. Tonight we come face to face with those actions
and desires. Is the Church living up to our expectations? Is the
Church meeting our needs? Does God live up to and meet our
expectations and needs? Have we tried to live up to the expectations
and needs of God and Church? Or do we think this is a one-way street
that points only to us?
Tonight Judas leaves to go his own way.
Tonight the disappointment at not having Jesus meet his expectations
becomes too great and he decides to do something about it. Tonight
is symbolic of us going our own way as well. Tonight is symbolic of
our unmet expectations overwhelming us. Tonight we choose another
path and remove Jesus from our lives, as represented by the stripping
of the altar.
To co-opt a phrase from a song, tonight
we shout out, “Who betrayed Jesus?” When after all, it was you
and me.
In the liturgical cycle of the Triduum,
this is the first act. And the actions of tonight will have terrible
consequences.
Amen.
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