One
of my favorite actors from Hollywood’s Golden Age is the late Basil Rathbone,
probably best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in multiple films and
radio plays of the 1940’s. What old Basil may not be quite so well known
for is the fact that he was a very devout Christian who really loved to ponder
the scriptures. In 1929 the actor co-authored and starred in a Broadway drama called
Judas, in which he portrayed the title character—the reviled arch back-stabber
who makes his appearance in the Gospel lesson assigned for Lent 4, Year C in
the Revised Common Lectionary (John 12: 1-8).
Judas
is a puzzling fellow whose presence in the story of our Lord’s ministry and
passion raises a boatload of questions which Basil and I have both tried to
answer. Rathbone wrote in his autobiography,
“If
Judas was the mean, despicable betrayer he is said to have been, why did Jesus
choose him to be one of his disciples? At what time in his life did Jesus
become aware of his divine mission here on earth? Certainly by the time he made
his choice of the twelve.”[i]
Good
question, Baz. Just why did Jesus choose Judas? If Jesus was omniscient,
he should’ve known this guy was going to rat him out, right? In his theatrical opus
Rathbone suggested a now familiar theory that Judas saw in Jesus the vehicle to
lead a revolution against the hated Roman occupiers of Israel. Probably, all
the disciples thought the same thing at one time or another. This, of course,
makes us ask the next question: So why did Judas turn on Jesus?
John’s
Gospel gives us a pretty simplistic answer. Judas was just one greedy, selfish
son of a bitch. He kept the common purse and liked to help himself to the cash
inside. He was so greedy, in fact, that he was willing to sell out his friend
and rabbi for thirty pieces of silver according to Matthew’s Gospel. Mark and
Luke concur, but they don’t specify the amount Judas was paid for his treachery.
Luke and John add another explanation: he was demonically possessed.[ii] But are we satisfied with
that?
There’s
a ton of moral ambiguity in our story for Lent 4. John editorializes that Judas
doesn’t really care that Mary’s extravagant sacrifice for Jesus is wasteful and
could be used better if the nard was sold and the money given to help the poor.
He just wanted more cash in the common purse from which he could embezzle.
Nevertheless, Judas actually does have a point. Mary is spilling
an awful lot of cash out on Jesus’ feet.
Something
which has troubled me about this story is Judas doesn’t go to Jesus and say, “Hey,
Boss. I think this gal is wasting money. You should tell her to stop pouring that
expensive stuff on the floor.” Because Jesus’ response is “Leave her
alone,” I’m tempted to believe Judas was criticizing Mary and not Jesus. We’ve
seen this before where the woman gets scolded, but nobody confronts the person
who may have more power than she has. When Jesus healed the bent-over woman in
the synagogue on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader blamed the woman for
wanting to be healed, but not Jesus for doing the actual healing.[iii] In John’s Gospel there’s
a woman caught in adultery who is about to be stoned to death, but nobody seems
to want to throw stones at the guy she was caught with.[iv]
Picking
on the weaker individual is just plain bullying. Judas may have liked feeling
superior. It wasn’t only the money which seduced him, it was coveting a
position of power. If it looked like Jesus wasn’t going to be the one with the
power, Judas may have decided to side with the folks who would have it.
(Please
permit me a quick digression about Mary’s extravagant gift. Remember, Jesus
just raised this girl’s brother from the dead.
Can you imagine how grateful Mary was for that? Granted, as Christians
we’re all called to do deeds of mercy, generosity, and love and not ask or
expect to be thanked for them. However, some folks just need to express their
gratitude. Jesus doesn’t stop Mary from doing what she’s doing. Maybe he knew giving
this enormously generous gift was necessary for her wholeness.)
But
back to Judas. Mr. Rathbone’s dramatic interpretation theorized Judas’ betrayal
was an attempt to force a conflict between the followers of Jesus and the
ruling powers. Who knows? Did Judas act out of a political motive, greed, or did
the Devil make him do it? I’m not real comfortable with a Calvinistic
explanation which says God just preordained this guy to be a jerk so he could
do an evil deed and go to Hell for it. Judas’ later suicide suggests he had some
remorse for what he’d done. Remember: Jesus did choose Judas, and, for a
time, Judas did follow him. Maybe he is just like the rest of us—one who
loves God but sins in spite of himself.
I’m
not sure the betrayal by Judas was necessary for this story to play out. Jesus’
counter cultural message was bound to get him a date with the cross one way or
another. The way of Jesus will always challenge the way of the world. Even the
most devout believers among us may bristle at the notion of choosing
forgiveness over vengeance, humility and servanthood over dominance, generosity
over riches, and inclusivity over divisiveness.
The
challenge for us always as Christians is not how to love Jesus. It is how to
love Judas.
Thanks
for stopping by this week. Be good to yourself.