Wednesday of Holy Week
Every year during Holy Week or early in the Easter season, I watch one of my favorite religious movies, Mary Magdalene (2018). One of the many things I appreciate about this film is its portrayal of Judas. We know that Judas was one of the Twelve, a follower of Jesus who loves him. We know, too, that Jesus's closest followers did not understand what was about to unfold, or how God’s reign would come. In fact, Peter, armed and ready for war, draws his sword in defense of Jesus in the garden. While it’s easy to assume that Judas was motivated by greed or some other sinister reason, this film offers a different possibility.
What if Judas assumed God’s reign would come by a battle, and Jesus just needed a spark to get it started? Perhaps Judas thought he was helping to begin an earthly battle, a battle that would end in ultimate peace. Peter, too, seemed ready for battle in the garden. We know, this is not the way of Christ, of God who becomes Love Incarnate. The way of God is, as Pope Leo reminds us, “an unarmed and disarming peace.” This is the slow work of God. It is the only way to lasting peace.
This week, Jesus doesn’t seek the cross, but he isn't afraid of it either. Jesus is clear-eyed and focused. He knows that being Love in a world of deep inequalities, division, and hate will lead to misunderstanding and persecution. The world doesn’t yet know how to respond to that kind of love. Jesus knows that being peaceful while speaking up for justice in a world filled with violence means being willing to absorb the worst. And he is ready for what Judas and Peter cannot yet imagine, an unarmed and disarming peace; and unarmed and disarming love. Hate and violence will not have the last word. The only way to salvation, to lasting love and peace is to be willing to risk everything in the act of being love and peace.
Returning to Judas, how did Judas stray? Perhaps he did not heed Isaiah's words today and come “morning after morning” to let God open his ears so he could hear. As we continue our journey through Holy Week, may the scriptures today be a reminder to come, morning after morning, to God in prayer and discernment. May our prayer lead us not to seek crosses or glorify the crosses in our own lives, but, like Jesus, to be unafraid of the cross. May we live love radically and deeply and practice an unarmed and disarming peace in our daily lives.
—Kelly Adamson