Judas and Jesus: Is there Grace for the Wounded Soul?

During Holy Week, our Diocesan Clergy List Serve had quite the discussion on the fate and destiny of Judas: Heaven or Hell? Here is what I contributed:

My understanding of Judas’s destiny was deepened and stretched when I was at Fuller Seminary in 1995 working on my D. Min. I took a class on the “Family System and the Church’s Ministry” with Dr. Ray S. Anderson, Professor of Theology and Practical Ministry, and Presbyterian pastor.  Fuller is not known as a progressive liberal institution!

That is why I was intrigued with what Ray Anderson was about to share with us. One of the issues he addressed was the experience and consequences of betrayal in families, churches and relationships. This is something, we have all encountered in one degree or another. I have some scars that can prove this pastoral reality, both as betrayed and betrayer.

Betrayal.  He asked us: “What do you do when there is failure? Implicit in every covenant is the certainty of betrayal. Embedded in every act of covenant promise is the reality of disillusionment, disobedience, and disheartenment. Only where there is love and friendship can betrayal occur. Betrayal is a desperate act where love has failed. The act of betrayal destroys the fabric of community; it threatens the core of all relationships. For the betrayed, it is an outrage which no punishment can satisfy. For the betrayer, it is a crime for which self-abuse is the only atonement.” He then went on to speak of the destiny of Judas and how his life teaches us about betrayal and reconciliation.

1991 theologian Ray S. Anderson wrote a book many considered provocative because it suggested that through God’s grace Judas, traditionally considered as the betrayer of Jesus and thus responsible for the ultimate heinous act, should be understood as forgiven (Judas and Jesus, Amazing Grace for the Wounded Soul.)

He taught that the story of Judas is the story of each of us, to some degree. The past cannot be corrected nor failures erased by remorse. I suspect that the wounds to the soul of Judas were deep and devastating, particularly because they were largely self-inflicted. It hurts to have failed others and even more to have failed ourselves. Judas is the voice within us that will not be put to rest with platitudes nor silenced with sensible palliatives for nonsensical pain. Where human love, even self love, turns away with regret, or even disgust, divine love persists and prevails as the amazing grace of God.

Harrowing of Hell. The Christian idea of the Harrowing of Hell may allow Judas to come face to face with Jesus. The icon used in the Eastern Orthodox tradition shows Christ, clad in white and shining with glory, pulling Adam and Eve out of coffins, their death defeated by Jesus.

We believe that Jesus descended into hell.  Could Judas have met Jesus in that place? Is it unreasonable to ask? What would Jesus have said to Judas? Could it have been “My choosing you as one of the twelve counts more than your betrayal”.

Through God’s grace I have discovered that the calling of God by which we become children of the kingdom does not rest upon our faith alone, but upon his faithfulness toward us. Calvin said, “No one can truly repent except they have received the grace of God.”  I believe that repentance follows grace, doesn’t precede it.

Is Christ’s calling of Judas greater than Judas’ betrayal? Maybe these questions are bigger than the limited texts we have concerning Judas can adequately address, questions that cannot be answered on this side of the Second Coming of Christ.

Eugene Peterson endorsed Anderson’s book this way: “Anderson courageously probes the Judas experience in order to help us get in touch with the depths of despair and hopelessness within ourselves. He finds there, where we often least expect it but should dare to embrace it, the forgiveness of Jesus, the grace of the risen Christ.”  -Eugene H. Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, Canada.

I share these thoughts with you, simply to say that perhaps there is more to the destiny of Judas that we can ever really know or be completely certain of. And, that when we preach on the Judas story, we are touching one of the deepest wounds a soul can endure – the wounds of betrayal. Is there a remedy? Yes, and it is nothing less than the Gospel. “For God has reconciled the whole world unto himself, not counting their sins and trespasses against them.” Holding to this view, does not mean embracing universalism.  It does convey that God’s act of reconciliation in Jesus “is the perfect offering for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2

Blessed Easter Season,

Rob+

Comments

[Doug Worgul]

This is wonderful, Rob. Damning, daring, challenging, and ultimately hopeful. (And, as always, elegantly written.)

Thank you.

Grace to you, and peace.

drw

[Rob+]

Truly, that's is a compliment coming from a gifted writer and author like you!

Gratefully,

Rob+

[Doug Worgul]

Listening to your homilys all those years greatly improved my writing, Rob.

drw

[Fritz Edmunds]

Thank you for your insights, Rob. Doug is right ... you are gifted.

Fritz

[Rob+]

Fritz and Doug: I count you both as mentors to me. Great to hear from you. Say hi to your families for me.

Rob+

[Fritz Edmunds]

Rob,

Have your read Doug's new novel, Thin Blue Smoke?

Fritz

[Rob+]

Hi Fritz. Yes, I have read Doug's novel. Its an outstanding book, with great characters and a moving story line. I loved it.

Hope to see you one day before too long.

Warm regards,

Rob+