Brief synopsis of the readings: We begin with the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. He proclaimed that God has given him the tools to encourage the weary. But he does not prophesy from power but from humility: “I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard.” Matthew’s Gospel covers nearly two chapters. It begins with Judas meeting with the chief priests to negotiate a price to betray Jesus. We then move to preparations Jesus and his disciples made for Passover. When Passover began after sunset Jesus told his followers that one of them would betray him and Judas protested that it wasn’t him. Then Jesus blessed the bread and wine (Eucharist). Then Jesus foretold that Peter would deny him three times before sunrise and Peter protested. After the meal was finished they all went to the Garden of Gethsemani where Jesus went off by himself to pray. Alone, he begged to be spared the events that awaited him but professed obedience to God’s will. Once back with his disciples Judas arrived with armed guards who arrested Jesus and brought him to the Sanhedrin (the Jewish Council) where Jesus was accused of blasphemy. Out in the courtyard three people recognized Peter as a follower of Jesus and Peter bitterly denied it. Seeing all this Judas regretted his actions and killed himself. Jesus was then taken to the Roman procuator, Pilate. Responding to the crowd Pilate sentenced Jesus to be tortured and crucified. Jesus was then given a crown of thorns and taken to be crucified between two insurgents. All Jesus’ male followers abandoned him. When Jesus died a wealthy man named Joseph asked for his body to bury in a new tomb. Fearing Jesus’ body would be stolen by his followers, Pilate ordered a guard secure the tomb.

Most preachers will keep their homily short today to compensate for the length of the readings. Since you’re reading this instead of listening I am blessed to be able to write a normal length homily.

It’s always been a pet peeve of mine when a homily is little more than a retelling of the Gospel and that really can’t happen today, lest it go on for 30 minutes. But it does give the ability to choose one part of the readings or choose a particular character.

As I read over the events of Palm Sunday and Holy Week for some reason I’ve noticed the character of Judas in a new way. These events are very much character driven and the headliners are Jesus, Peter and Judas. Neither Peter nor Judas come off well but Peter is easier to understand. After vehemently promising not to deny he knew Jesus, he did. Three times. In front of everyone. I’ve always joked that I love Peter because he is more gas pedal than steering wheel; here he is only trying to save his skin. His fear of what would happen to him, given Jesus’ arrest, makes his motivation clear.

Judas, on the other hand, is a different story. We don’t know much about his motivation, only that he planned Jesus’ betrayal, regretted his actions and committed suicide. Unlike Peter there is no reconciliation scene. In the 2000 years since these events his name has become synonymous with betrayal. Here in San Diego the football team moved to Los Angeles in 2017 and to this day a local sportswriter calls them the “Judases.” In Dante’s Inferno Judas occupies the lowest ring of Hell. After all, if it wasn’t enough that Judas betrayed Jesus, he also killed himself.

But on the other hand…

The 1970s sitcom MASH aired an episode in 1975 where a wounded soldier, responding to battle trauma, claims to be Jesus Christ. In a conversation with the chaplain (Fr. Mulcahy) he explained that Judas should be seen with some mercy as he was doing what needed to be done. Jesus couldn’t have been arrested and executed without him. Around the same time the film Jesus Christ Superstar came out. Here Judas is seen as someone who honestly cared for Jesus and believed in him but felt that Jesus let his movement get out of control. He didn’t want Jesus to be killed, only reigned in. And as for his fate, he did deeply regret what he did, to the point where he didn’t think there was a future for him.

Families and survivors of people who commit suicide feel incredible guilt, shame and fear that their loved one’s last act automatically precludes them from salvation. In those situations I remind them that there’s no gain in putting limits on God’s mercy. While God makes demands on us at no point does God say anything approaching “You made your bed, now go lie in it.”

Next week we will celebrate Jesus’ Resurrection. When Jesus came back to life it wasn’t just to show us a “better” view of the Lazarus story. It wasn’t to show that he is stronger than anyone else, even those who killed him. We read these events every year because the light of his love crashes into our darkness. We are not condemned to lie in the bed we made and we are not judged by the worst things we’ve done.

Jesus’ resurrection gives us the opportunity not only to live in a new light it gives us the opportunity to bring that light to others. There’s never been a point in our history without darkness and despair comes easily. It’s always been a little bit fashionable to decide that we are doomed to a dark future and evidence often points that way. But because of these events we are a people of light.

And as for Judas, well, deciding his fate is well above our pay grade. His worst moments are forever enshrined in Scripture but the end of his story is not. When I get to heaven and see him there, I hope I will be pleased.