“And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.”
Luke 22:4-6
Dear HBIC Family,
Last month, there was a biographical film titled Judas and the Black Messiah that was released to universally positive critical acclaim. The film is centered on Fred Hampton, an American activist working for social change in his native Chicago and his Judas, William O’Neal, who turned out to be an FBI informant who betrayed Hampton. This entire epic is just as tragic as it is eye-opening, on many levels. One thing that really resonated with me in the story was this truth: we can only be betrayed by those we know.
It is not a coincidence that the producers of this movie called William O’Neal Judas. Judas may be the greatest betrayer of all time. Scripture clearly presents him as the one who betrayed Jesus. History has struggled to pinpoint all the reasons why and our theology has rationalized that this was all part of God’s plan for salvation. Nevertheless, the human aspect of Judas’ betrayal has been on my mind during this Lenten season. Jesus may have known of Judas’ betrayal – he even predicted it. Even still, betrayal always hurts.
Jesus suffers Judas’ betrayal. After he is hunted down and unjustly arrested, he suffers Peter’s denial…three times. As he struggles in Gethsemane, his disciples can’t even keep watch as they keep falling asleep. On Calvary’s Tree, most of his male disciples had fled, but his mother Mary and many faithful women stayed. I’ve been humbled by the amount of betrayal Jesus suffers during this Holy Week. His people, the chief priests and Pharisees, his country, his disciples, and many his closest friends…they all left.
I love Holy Week here at HBIC because we join with sisters and brothers around the world in worship of Christ our Lord and Savior. We also worship together here in very unique ways. In years past we have held a special Maundy Thursday Service and meal led by our Deacons, Stations of the Cross on Good Friday for adults and children, and then wonderful Easter Sunday services with many highlights as we celebrate our Risen King. I join with all of you in joyful anticipation of one day worshipping together like we have in the past.
This year will be a little bit different. We will once again host our Maundy Thursday service virtually on Zoom. We will reflect Good Friday Stations in the Open Area following our church’s established safety protocols. On Easter Sunday morning, we will be having three services for the first time ever. We will be meeting at 8:00am, 9:30am and 11:00am, with the 11:00am service slated to be outside – weather permitting. If you haven’t already, please make sure you register for these services using the links you received via email or on our website.
To prepare for this week’s services, I would like to invite you to read and meditate on Holy Week and Jesus as found in Luke 22-24. As you reflect, I would like to ask you to focus on the following questions:
How do think Jesus was impacted by the series of betrayals he faced?
How have you responded to betrayals in the past in a way that pleased God?
How does Jesus act like a servant in these passages?
What do you see as faithfulness to God in these passages?
What is God resurrecting in your life right now?
Sisters and brothers, welcome again to Holy Week. Welcome to the journey towards salvation and forever freedom. Welcome to light over darkness, grace abounding much more, and the love of God bringing us home again.
Come, let us gather to worship our God together. Let us worship Christ our Blessed King on Maundy Thursday and on Good Friday. And let us prepare our hearts and our lives for the joy that comes on Easter Sunday morning.
God bless you all.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Hank (Luke 22:4-6)