“Stealth and subterfuge”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, December 8, 2022
Luke 22:1-13 (Forward, p. 40) CEV p. 1092
Today’s account sounds very much like a cloak and dagger novel, much like the stealth detective, murder mysteries that my partner and I love so much. On the one hand, you have Judas Iscariot and the Temple authorities plotting together, seeking to find a way to arrest Jesus in secret. They wanted to arrest Him without the crowds being in on it, that is, without any fuss and bother, without any public knowledge. That this be done with stealth and cunning was so, so necessary as the city of Jerusalem was full of zealous, passionate Passover pilgrims, many of which were disciples of Jesus. Passover crowds were remarkably volatile and prone to react violently, even at the best of times, so the arrest of the one, that is, Jesus, that they proclaimed as prophet, would have made matters even worse, even more dangerous for the Temple authorities. Their Roman overlords would not have been very happy, not happy at all, should a disturbance or insurrection break out ‘under their watch.’
But that was only one side of the picture. On the other hand, there was the matter of Jesus’ own plotting. Jesus wanted to be able to eat the Passover meal in private—that is, without the disturbance and upset that an arrest would have produced—so He made some precise and elaborate plans to ensure that this would happen. Firstly, He lays some advance groundwork. He arranges for an upper room to be available for their meal and then sets up a fail proof way of signalling it. He arranges with the host of the meal for a male servant to show up near the city gate, bearing a jar of water. This would have been very noticeable, unusual in fact, as it was normally women that did that kind of work. And, He delegates just two of His disciples, two that He could trust implicitly, Peter and John, to take care of this task. The rest of the disciples, Judas included, would be totally unaware of the location until they actually got there. That meant that there would be quite a time lag before Judas could put his plan into action, a time lag quite sufficient for this important meal that Jesus wanted to share with His disciples.
To me, this says loads about Jesus’ care, His deliberateness, in caring for those disciples, and, by implication, His care and deliberateness in caring for us. Jesus did not leave anything to chance back then with those disciples, and neither does He with us as well.
And furthermore, it says something about how important that Passover meal, that Last Supper, was to Him. He wanted to make it important, to leave its significance unimpaired and uninterrupted by anything. Indeed, that memorial meal was one of His greatest gifts to us and to the entire Church. No wonder we celebrate it with such awe and reverence. It is an incredible reminder of His love, of how much each of us means to Him. Amen.
Forward notes: “Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; he went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray [Jesus] to them. They were greatly pleased and agreed to give him money. So he consent and began to look for an opportunity to betray him to them when no crowd was present” (verses 3-6).
“Some readers may remember the 1970s comic Flip Wilson. In his skits, he would admit to questionable activities, but then protest and say, ‘the devil made me do it.’ Most thought the comedic routine was hilarious and laughed heartily, having had their own devil-inspired moments.
“In today’s reading, the devil makes Judas renounce his love and commitment to Jesus’ ministry and mission and betray their relationship for money.
“I’ve never felt devil-possessed, but fear, anger, and resentment have led me to regrettable decisions. Perhaps Judas was disappointed in Jesus’ leadership style. He wanted a warrior king, not a kingdom-changer. Disappointed, Judas let the devil set the course for his friend’s death. But no one is laughing. In fact, tears are coming.”
Moving Forward: “When have you given into feelings of greed, anger, and jealousy? What spiritual practices can strengthen you from those temptations?”
A concluding note: Just in case anyone should come to the conclusion that this attack, this temptation from Satan, was a sudden, once for all kind of thing, we should remember that he had already been at work in Judas’ life, at least in terms of his thievery from the common treasury. He had already shown himself to be of questionable character and loyalty, willing and ready to betray the mission, to betray Jesus and his friends, over the matter of
money. So, the temptation, the ‘allowing’ of Satan’s influence to gain hold over his life, didn’t come all at once. It came as a result of many, many little, incremental, seemingly insignificant decisions—and so it can be with each of us as well. So, let us be especially aware. Amen.