St Luke 22: 47 – 53
While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?’ When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, ‘Lord, should we strike with the sword?’ Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!’
Reflection
It was dark; the crowd and Temple Guard wouldn’t have been able to distinguish Jesus, so Judas had to point him out – betraying him with a kiss. What might have been a simple act of greeting has become a poignant cultural reference.
Who amongst us hasn’t been betrayed by a kiss? We might have been roughly dealt with in a relationship, taken for a fool, given the best years of our lives to another only to have it thrown back at us. There again we might have mistaken lust for love, not adjusted as a relationship matured, looked for excitement instead of stability, and committed our own treacherous kissing.
The relationship between Judas and Jesus has exercised the minds of commentators for most of the Church’s history. Was Judas provoking Jesus into action? Was he bored with all the God talk and wanted a bit of revolution? Was he jealous? Was he simply greedy? There again human relationships are complex; there’s rarely just one reason why a relationship breaks down, why a betrayal happens, why we’re betrayed in our kissing. Seeking to understand our motivations and the motives of those we love can be demanding and exhausting but, as in pondering Judas’ motivations, can lead to fuller understanding and even peace.
Prayer
O God, when routine bites hard,
ambitions are low, and resentment rides high,
help us when our emotions won’t grow,
when we want to change our ways
and take different roads,
that even as love might tear
our relationships and friendships apart,
we won’t betray another with our kisses.
Amen
with thanks to Joy Division