Supper and Betrayal

When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’ Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. Luke 22:14-23

Betrayal is hard for all of us because we trusted that person, authority or system. We know the Gospels tell us that Judas let the devil into his heart, but we really can never know what happened. He was greedy, some say, he was overlooked too often, he was jealous of the others; it could have been a variety of things. We know he controlled the purse, was treasurer for the disciples and the ministry. He might have found a fast way to cover up a mistake he had made. It happens that people get caught up in trying to find solutions to cover up their mistakes and blame others. Whatever happened, the betrayal set off the drama, the passion that would eventually lead to the resurrection. But there would be so much pain, so much hurt and so many denials and agony. We have all found ourselves in these times. My people, the Cherokee were betrayed by our government, even after the Supreme Court had voted in our favor. We were made to walk from our homelands to Oklahoma Indian Territory.  Despite it all, we are held close by our Savior. Yet, we are invited to remember the hidden alleluia, the hope and love that we have in God. The trials are not minor and, we are held in the loving arms of Jesus.

Loving God, you place us in relationships of trust

you surround us with teachers and gentle elders

we put our lives in their hands and trust them

yet too often we find ourselves hurt and betrayed.

We want to blame you for our horrors and troubles

how could you let this happen to me your servant

we pretend that the cross was not so hard for Jesus

and that no one would understand our pain and sorrow.

But you, O Lord, know the hearts of your people

you know how ache for power and ache for money

you come to us, in our sorrow and we weep

and hold us until we are strong enough to love again. Amen.