Friend

We are currently in the season of Lent, and in an attempt to prepare my heart for the death and resurrection I am reading through the episodes leading up to the crucifixion.  This week one image stands out above all the others--the kiss of betrayal in the garden.

Matthew 26:47-56 tells the story--Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane with his disciples as Judas approaches with a large crowd armed with swords and clubs on orders to arrest this revolutionary.  Judas approaches Jesus and greets him with a kiss.  And Jesus' reply is, "Friend, do what you came for."

Friend?!  Really Jesus?!  Even to one of your closest followers who has just sold you out to the authorities--friend?  Even as he is stabbing the knife into your back--friend?  Even as he does it with something as intimate as a kiss--friend?  Even as he profits from your death--friend?

Jesus and Judas' embrace in the garden is a stunning example of Jesus' radical message of love and forgiveness.  His teaching to love your enemies was not mere words but it was the blood that pulsed through his veins--blood that in a matter of hours would be shed for the forgiveness of his friend Judas.

I suppose I shouldn't be as stunned as I am with this passage.  After all Jesus is the friend of sinners, and if I pause long enough to analyze my day and the decisions that I make I realize that I betray Jesus just like Judas did.  I sell out to the American dream or I sell out to my own selfish desires or I sell out for the acceptance of others or I sell out for even a few dollars.  And when I do--each and every time--Jesus whispers in my ear, "friend".  And if I am listening--that word drops me to my knees at the foot of the cross, and I cry out for his loving, grace-filled, forgiving blood to pour down over me--the blood that was shed to wash away Judas' sins and mine.  That simple word whispered from the lips of Jesus--friend--is a reminder to return home to the loving, forgiving friendship that God desires to have with you and with me.  Whether or not Judas embraced that friendship is an age-old debate--whether or not you and I will embrace that friendship is entirely up to you and I.