In
Spite Of
Psalm 87
John 6:56-69
First Presbyterian Church,
Clarksville
and
Harmony Presbyterian Church
Ordinary 21 August 26, 2012
The Reverend Dr. Robert Wm Lowry
Mr. Holt was a nice man. Intimidating, but nice. I suppose that was part of what made him so
good at his job as principal of Stephens Intermediate School. Outside his office there were three chairs. Over its sixty year history, those chairs
played host to many students waiting that long wait to be summoned into the
principal’s office. I would like to say
that was an experience foreign to me and that my 4th-6th
grade years were marked by nothing short of angelic and beatific compliance to
the rules.
I would like to
say that.
The truth is that
on more than one occasion I found myself sitting in that office and hearing Mr.
Holt’s admonitions that the decisions we make today will have impact far beyond
the 4th or 5th grade.
Misdeeds then would be enshrined in your permanent record. As a nervous 11 year old I was convinced that
your permanent record began in grade school, followed you through high school
and eventually would make its way into the mysterious halls of the FBI.
That playground
incident would plague me the rest of my life.
I was sure of it. My permanent
record was sullied. What would ever
become of me?
Much of our
collective imagination about how God encounters us and our lives is rooted in
that notion of the permanent record. All
of our deeds and misdeeds collected, collated, catalogued and fully known to
our maker and our judge.
There is good
reason for this perspective to be sure.
John the Baptist stood on the banks of the river and demanded
repentance. The Levitical laws and the
traditions of ancient Israel are filled with rituals and prayers and social
customs designed to cleanse our spiritual permanent records.
When we gather
here each week and say the Prayer of Confession, we offer a liturgical petition
that our permanent records be wiped clean and we get a fresh start. We say those prayers because we believe in
the promise of the resurrection and the forgiveness we know in Christ
Jesus.
Much of our lives
are defined by our past.
Transcripts and
test scores determine whether or not you get into college.
Resumes and
experience often determine whether or not a job opportunity will be open to
you.
We have all heard
the admonition that, for better or for worse, your reputation precedes you
wherever you go.
The past gives
shape and often context to the present.
It defines much of what we know about one another and ourselves. The past is our shared truth.
But not for
Judas.
These last verses
of the sixth chapter of John’s gospel offer the first mention of Judas. To this point he is an unknown character in
the unfolding gospel story and the first thing we learn; the first
defining words about Judas are words of
condemnation for a deed he has yet to commit.
It may not be fair, but Judas is judged guilty for what he is going to do and not for what he has
done.
Of course, Judas
would prove as good as Jesus’ words and would indeed betray his teacher and
friend and the story of what ensues is, well there is no need to retell the
story we all know by heart.
Judas is defined
not by what he has done but by what he has not yet done. It may not be fair, but it is true.
If there is a
theological lesson for us in this short passage, perhaps it is this; our lives
are defined not only by the life we have lived but the life we have yet
to live.
We are known to
Jesus not only by the choices we have made but by the choices we will yet make.
That thought has
given me pause more than once over the last few days as I worked to complete
this sermon. Will I honor or betray my
Lord with the life I have yet to live?
It is an
important question for us as individuals and for us as a community. Will we honor or betray the Lord of life with
our tomorrows?
Betrayal, in our
cultural vernacular, has come to mean breaking a promise or a covenant, to use
stronger more theological language. It
is the word that is used when one spouse breaks a marriage vow, or a pastor
stumbles on his pride and falls into disrepute, or when a politician acts
against the interests of the people who put her in office. Betrayal is tied very closely to promise
keeping and promise breaking.
There is
certainly a measure of that sense of the word in this passage from John. Judas was a disciple of this enegmatic rabbi
and he broke the covenant of rabbi and follower. A promise was made and a promise was
broken. But there is something else at
work in this betrayal, something that is not evident in our contemporary
vernacular.
The word John
uses for betrayal means literally to hand or give over. Judas hands Jesus over to the
authorities. That is his betrayal to be
sure. Judas' sin does not end there;
that is not the only betrayal that will come to pass in that garden later in
John's account.
Judas' betrayed
not only Jesus but himself. He hands
Jesus over to the authorities to be crucified but in order to do that Judas had
first to betray something within himself.
He had to betray the hope that is found in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. He had to betray his own soul in
order to betray his rabbi; his savior; his Christ.
Now, to be clear,
Judas’ motives are not really clear in scripture. Yes, he betrays him for thirty pieces of
silver, but he was in charge of the disciple’s money bag. He was the treasurer and surely he had more
than ample opportunity to embezzle.
Greed is not the final word on Judas’ betrayal.
John does not
offer a motive and Luke blames Satan for entering Judas and giving rise to a
“the devil made me do it” defense. In
truth, I think Judas’ motive was more basic than that. Judas just plain got scared. And when he did, he did not only hand over
Jesus he handed over his own hope and faith in his rabbi; he betrayed Jesus and
he also betrayed himself.
At its heart,
betrayal is in truth both; betrayal of other and betrayal of self.
So when Jesus
remarks about Judas' pending betrayal, he knows this not only as the object of
the betrayal; as the one who is to be handed over. He also sees it as the betrayal of faith and
hope that accompanies the betrayal of another.
I like to think
that I will not fall as Judas did. I
like to think that betrayal is beyond my capacity to sin. My guess is that we all like to think that.
If we are honest
with ourselves, we know that we are not immune to the sort of hopelessness and
despair that Judas felt. Each of us, from time to time, loses sight of the
gospel message and in those moments, we sin; we even betray.
I am comforted by the
knowledge that although he knew what was to come, Jesus did not kick Judas to
the curb. He knew the betrayal that was
to come. He knew what that betrayal
would mean. He knew. He knew and still Judas remains with
him. Jesus does not rebuke him or send
him away or turn his eyes so he no longer has to look at his face.
As much as Jesus
foreknowledge of my sins gave me pause in writing this sermon, this realization
has given me even more comfort. Imagine
what depth of care and forgiveness it takes to hold fast knowing that not only
will you be betrayed but one you were sent to love and to save will suffer that
betrayal as well. How much must Christ
love us knowing as he does what is yet to come from our sinful lives, that he
still yearns even unto death on the cross to love and care for us?
As a form of the
traditional assurance of pardon for sin says, “The proof of God’s amazing love
is this, that though we are yet sinners, Christ died for us,
Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in glory for us.”
Though we are yet
sinners;
though
we are yet betrayers of Savior and self;
though
there is far more to condemn us than just the past enshrined in our permanent
records;
“Christ lived for
us, Christ died for us, Christ rose again in glory for us.”
That is the
promise that is at the heart of the gospel.
It is the promise that God will relentlessly pursue us in loving
devotion and forgiving care no matter how far or how hard we will run.
God will, in time
and by the grace of Jesus Christ, save us in spite of our selves.
Sitting here
outside the principal’s office, knowing that one day I will be judged, if for
no other reason, this text gives me hope because if Judas can survive John
chapter 6, maybe there is hope for me!
In spite of myself.
Sola Deo
Gloria! To God alone be the glory!
Amen.
