Let God Fight Battles For You!

FRI MP Reflection 072420 (Ps 40,54; Josh 9:22-10:15; Matt 27:1-10)

Today’s Gospel isn’t really exciting with good, edifying details, but it certainly gives us plenty to think about in our own lives. The story is about Jesus’ arrest, condemnation and execution. This particular part is about Judas Iscariot: the disciple that betrayed Jesus. He brought back the 30 pieces of Silver and said: “I have sinned and betrayed innocent blood” That was the first step in repentance, a heart that recognizes the wrongs and ready to take responsibility and to make amends. Judas at that point was in too much despair and took his own life. I want us to focus on the reaction of those who heard him: The Chief priests and the elders. They replied to Judas: “What’s that to us?” Could Judas have been saved? Obviously, we are looking in hindsight, would their answer would have changed Judas’ mind? This makes me think of our own reaction to events, to real people made of the image of God. Humans have this long history of treating each other inhumanly. Judas is repentant and their reaction was: What’s that to us? It’s hard not to read this with my modern lenses, but I see it when people who are not of my tribe, or of my race are unfortunate. What’s that to us? How many Balkans dead? Rohingya? Doesn’t affect us.

The chief priests and elders were successful at their goal. What’s a repentant disciple to them? This is an issue of a heart bound to goals and not to the human factor, we have plenty of examples in almost every country. The famous one is Hitler. The pursuit of his goals to get rid of Jews to create a perfect society. It didn’t work. There was no 3^rd Reich. So, History tell us. Hitler is not the only one. Sadly, our world still has characters like that. The will of man is dangerous and it lives in everyone of us. Jesus tried to show us the example of dying to the ways of man [Adam(ah); according to our nature]so we can rise to newness of life and God’s ways.

The strong man in Jesus time was Pontius Pilate. Writers of his day say that he was a man of rough and haughty character, willful, extremely covetous and oppressive. Jews didn’t like him, but they used him to get rid of Jesus, since only the Romans could put someone to death not the Jews. The ways of man worked. The chief priests and elders won: Jesus was arrested, condemned and crucified.

The tragedy somehow overwhelms us and we forget also the burial of Judas. The story tells us that the 30 pieces of silver that were thrown in the temple, were used to buy a field since they couldn’t put the blood money in treasury. The ways of man! Father Jeff recently talked to us about the field, countless biblical stories talk about what happens in the field… murders and blood runs in the field. Cain killed Abel in the field. We are told in another story that the blood of the innocent cries out to God. We wonder how many battles in the past, have happened here where we are presently, those who died here, none is forgotten by their creator. The field is definitely a battle ground, and the ways of man and the ways of God are opposed to each other. This battle ground field could also be in our minds. Let God’s Holy Spirit fill you and guide you, so the ways of God may triumph over the ways of man.

I learn this also in our OT passage in Joshua. There was a battle ground as well. I learn that God loves his people in such a way that he is prepared to fight for them. This was an exceptional event: God decided to fight for Israel according to his promises, He had made to them. He used hailstones to fall on their enemies and extended daylight so victory could be complete. These are hard to stories to stomach, they are as messy as our own lives. The only encouraging thing here is that God is never far from us during our own battles. Think of the fights/ unnecessary battles we engage in, sometimes battles of the conscience, of which Judas Iscariot one of the disciples succumbed to. If only we knew how much God loved us and how he would fight tooth and nail for us. He did for Israelites! He can do it for us.

Let God fight those battles for you! Let God show you how much He loves you. Let him in your heart today.

Amen.