Today is Holy Thursday

Jn 13:1-15

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
"Master, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later."
Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet."
Jesus answered him,
"Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me."
Simon Peter said to him,
"Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well."
Jesus said to him,
"Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all."
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean."

So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another's feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do."


Jesus had already celebrated the Lord's Supper. The first first Communion. He had already ordained his disciples to offer Himself to others. He is less than 24 hours from dying. He knows it will be a terrible, horrible death. What does He do? He serves His disciples, and asks them to serve eachother, and His followers yet to come. He is still thinking of others. Will I be thinking of others less than a day before I die? Will I be thinking of others when I step away from the computer? But Jesus was always thinking of others.
Overnight He will pray, be handed over to those who will judge Him worthy of death, be stripped, whipped (scourged, actually), have a crown of thorns smacked on His head, be forced to carry His own cross, and will be nailed to that cross, where He will die. Why? Because the alternative, to Him, was more unbearable, which was for those created in His Father's own image (that's you and me) to be separated away from Him into Hell for all eternity. It was us or Him. He chose to save us.
Thank you, Jesus, for choosing to save me. Thank you for suffering and dying for me. I love you. I know. You loved me first.

This Is A Good Example of Why This Blog is Named "Random Musings"

Mt 26:14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?"
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?"
He said,
"Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
'The teacher says, My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.'"
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
"Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
"Surely it is not I, Lord?"
He said in reply,
"He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born."
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
"Surely it is not I, Rabbi?"
He answered, "You have said so."

Judas. The betrayer. A name that lives on in infamy. Worse than Pontius. I never heard of anyone yelling "PONTIUS!" at someone who hurt them. Jesus himself said better for Judas if Judas had never been born.
Some modern plays and movies have attempted to portray Judas more sympathetically. More as misguided follower than disloyal follower. I don't think that is how John or Matthew saw him, but, what can I say?
How I hated Judas as a child. As a teen, I had teachers who taught a more "misguided follower" approach, and I felt sorry for him. Judas, as misunderstood and bumbling. Now, I am not really sure what to do with him but cringe. I am long past the shock of Peter's denial, knowing that at times in my life, I did the same by not speaking up. But betrayal. Have I betrayed Jesus with my sins? Does Helen=Judas except that Judas didn't repent and come back?

I found this video kind of helpful.


(Okay, the video doesn't seem to be working. I am going to leave it up and hope it suddenly starts.)

The priest points out that the disciples had the same question: " Is it I?" Even Judas.

I am not the sharpest tack in this box. I don't have any easy answers. All I can do is trust in Jesus (and hey, trust isn't as easy as it sounds. It should be, because Jesus is worthy, but it isn't, because I am not.) Maybe that is where Judas veered wrong. I don't know. I can only trust Jesus.

Okay, now I am thinking of that Billy Joel song, Matter of Trust.

Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
And they may not want it to end
But it will it's just a question of when
I've lived long enough to have learned
The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned
But that won't happen to us
Because it's always been a matter of trust

I know you're an emotional girl
It took a lot for you to not lose your faith in this world
I can't offer you proof
But you're going to face a moment of truth
It's hard when you're always afraid
You just recover when another belief is betrayed
So break my heart of you must
It's a matter of trust

You can't go the distance
With too much resistance
I know you have doubts
But for God's sake don't shut me out

This time you've got nothing to lose
You can take it, you can leave it
Whatever you choose
I won't hold back anything
And I'll walk a way a fool or a king
Some love is just a lie of the mind
It's make believe until its only a matter of time
And some might have learned to adjust
But then it never was a matter of trust

I'm sure you're aware love
We've both had our share of
Believing too long
When the whole situation was wrong

Some love is just a lie of the soul
A constant battle for the ultimate state of control
After you've heard lie upon lie
There can hardly be a question of why
Some love is just a lie of the heart
The cold remains of what began with a passionate start
But that can't happen to us
Because it's always been a matter of trust


Some of the lyrics fit, some don't. Oh well. Nothing and no one is perfect. Except, of course, God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Youtube Video of A Matter of Trust, Since Embedding Was Disabled.