Being the Light: Saint …. Judas….?
Originally published March 27, 2024… additions made
As we start to come round the corner of the end of Lent I’ve read some things that propose the idea of Judas being a Saint.
It’s a facisnating thought! And of course around this time I also came across this on… maybe you guessed it?…. Instagram:
I do believe we could call this- “a word”. Later in an Episcopal Facebook group someone specifically brought up the idea of Judas being a Saint. Another said that in order for Jesus to fulfill his destiny, Judas had to betray him. All of these things have got me to thinking… and then our own Father Ben at my church shared this:
It’s so easy to vilify Judas, but without him none of this would have happened. Beyond that- Jesus fed him anyway. He feeds us, even when we betray Him daily.
This seems to weight heavily on my mind right now as we head into what will surely be a contentious election season. And I don’t know if it’s because I’ve blocked a lot of people on Facebook or if they’ve blocked me… but I don’t see the same vitriol as I did the last go around. Is it because we’re all so tired? Or maybe we’ve realized, somehow- deep down, that even those who think differently from us are all loved by the same God?
I used to have a really hard time with that thinking, if I’m honest. And I used to get so angry. That said, there is also a privilege in not getting angry. In not being as affected. And realizing this is an uncomfortable place to be.
Here I come back to Judas and the argument for his sainthood. Judas did as he was supposed to. His betrayal allowed the rising to happen. How can we square with that?
Perhaps it’s simply just not for us to make sense of, after all… can anything about this Holy Time make any real sense? Perhaps that is where Faith lives.
Actionable Item for this Week:
Listen to someone different from you. It’s so easy to keep ourselves in safe silos these days. And there’s times when that makes sense! As much as we are told not to fear, I would say there’s a difference between not fearing and being stupid. There’s times when being protective is smart. But we are still called to have agape love for our neighbor, and we can’t do that if we dehumanized them. The best example I have is when I was in a coffee shop and some men were discussing how bad Obamacare was- until I spoke up and said I had it, and the reasons why. By the end, a conversation that started combative ended with us holding hands together in prayer. I hope they now see people they think are different from them in a new light.
A Creator I Love to Follow: @re.masculine
Much in the same line as the above, @re.maculine shared a story recently that was similar. He specifically talks about, and you may have guessed by his handle, redefining masculinity. I think it’s helpful and approaches this topic from an academic perspective.
