Handing It Over

Due to popular demand (a couple of comments at least!) I'm blogging the message I will preach to myself this Sunday.

Handing It Over

Matthew 26:14-16
Then one of the Twelve- the one called Judas Iscariot- went to the chief priests and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.”

If we were to do a word association game with the name Judas, I’m sure that the words “betrayer” and “traitor” would quickly surface. It was indeed Judas who went to the chief priests, negotiated his price and then waited for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them.

Note, however, that the NIV translates the text to “hand him over”. Some translations say “betray” but scholars tell us that the Greek word that occurs twice in these verses says, “to be handed over”. What is the difference? It is the same word used in Romans 8:32- “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (NIV). The use of this phrase in the context of Romans 8 sends the clear message that ultimately it wasn’t just a mere man who handed Jesus over, it was God. This is not a Shakespearean plot; a story of a noble man who is deceived, trapped and meets a tragic end. This is part of God’s redemption plan.

This phrase, “to be handed over”, plays a central role in the life of Jesus. It divides the life of Jesus radically into two. The first part of Jesus’ life is filled with activity. Jesus performs miracles; he speaks; he heals; he raises the dead; he casts out demons; he travels; he teaches. Immediately after he is handed over, however, Jesus becomes the one to whom things are being done. Now Jesus is arrested, Jesus is taken to Pilate; Jesus is being mocked by the crowds; Jesus is being nailed to a cross. Things are being done to him.

Every wondered how the same Jesus could speak of giving streams of living water that never run dry and then say on the cross “I am thirsty”? Ever puzzled at the comparisons between the celebrated procession as Jesus rode into Jerusalem one week and the crown of thorns on his head with the sign above reading, “The King Of The Jews” the next?

Everything changes at this point in the narrative. Before Jesus did all kinds of amazing things. Now things are being done to him. This is the meaning of passion- “being the recipient of other people’s initiatives” (Henri Nouwen). It is a very different idea to the common definition of passion- doing something with intense emotion or force. This “passive” form of passion is the theme of this week in the Christian calendar, known as Holy Week or Passiontide.

Despite his agonising sorrow, Jesus handed himself over to do the will of God in Gethsemane. From Romans 8, we see that God handed Jesus over- to the rulers of the day, to the angry mob, to those in the crowd who would watch anything so long as it was free. In short- God handed Jesus over to us. And waited. “All action ends in passion because the response to out action is out of our hands. That is the mystery of love, the mystery of friendship, the mystery of community- they always involve a waiting… Precisely in that waiting the intensity of God’s love is revealed to us. If God forced us to love, we would not really be lovers.” (Henri again!).

While at one level the life and work of Jesus Christ on earth is entirely unrepeatable and doesn’t need to be relived because “it is finished”, we who say we are Christians are called to be followers of Jesus. I am challenged this week to consider what it means to follow Jesus in his passion.

Firstly, we are often taught that the path to maturity involves a movement from dependence to independence. However, this is not always God’s way. I recall Jesus’ final words to Peter, “When you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you do not want to go.” This is passion! This is following in Jesus’ passion. Often I desire to follow Jesus’ action, to do and see amazing things on earth “as it is in heaven”. Yet am I willing to let God lead me through others, even take me to places I do not want to go? Am I willing to make a fool of myself? Am I willing to waste a life for God? To learn to enter into the suffering of others? To find joy in sharing my life with the poor? Am I willing to become like a child even as I grow older? To share in the passion of Jesus?

I am often reminded of the doctrine of grace; that God accepts me, loves me and embraces me not because of anything I do but because of what Jesus has done for me. Yet in seasons of waiting my belief in God’s grace is put to the test. These places where I cannot see constant, visible, measurable signs of growth in me or around me require faith. At these times I’m not doing anything much at all, just waiting with expectation knowing that God will show me what is already growing right before my eyes.

One final thought on what it might mean to share in Jesus’ passion. I’m starting to think that those who do amazing actions also wait. They create space for others to respond. Their love waits and draws action from others. Therefore, it is not just the actions of one person towards another; it is making space for God to act, for others to respond and for God to work in turn through others. This is a great mystery but I’m starting to believe that perhaps the most powerful revolutionaries are also the mystics who have learned to wait.