Life, Relationships, Shit!! The more I go through the blogs it seems to me that one of the topics that literally spins most people’s crank was their job. I haven’t a clue about other people’s religion, beliefs, culture so what I’m about to blog is only from my little world and may not be totally accurate because my understanding isn’t complete. Well, so much for my disclaimer!!! The person that seems to have had the worst job in my organized religion was Jesus. I’m not up on the complete story beyond the popular stuff but since I’m plagued with intellectual inquisitiveness with a dose of philosophy thrown in for a topping I got to thinking about who has had the second worst job as recorded by my organized religion. There must be a poor smuck that only came in second and got it in the ear from everyone for such a poor showing!!! Jesus definitely had the worst job because I suspect that God told Jesus exactly what was going to happen and allowed him to remember it after he was born. After all Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness doing something , which may have been asking / discussing the question "Why me??" Question sound familiar???? Anyway back to the topic!! All Jesus had to do was stay the course. At least you and I, unless we are particularly gifted psychics, haven’t got a clue about what’s coming down our personal pipe!! If our life is preordained by God, with our chore being to find it in real life by whatever method that yields bottom line results then it stands to reason that God had to find someone to be the trigger man, for lack of a better expression, to put the Crucifixion of Christ into gear. It sort of reminds me of one of those guy movies in which the boss says to the selected smuck "I need a volunteer for this dangerous mission. There are no rewards, no one will love you, you will probably be vilified for all time, and if you get caught I’ll remain silent and never set the record straight." Who was the smuck who had the second worst job?? Judas!! Just think, no Judas, no betrayal, no crucifixion, no rising of Christ into heaven, no redemption!!
4 comments:
Jesus IS perplexing, in just the ways you mention. It's interesting to compare how Milton (in Paradise Lost) depicts the issue of Jesus' serving as a sacrifice for humankind's sin with how the gospels depict that same theme. Milton has Jesus (or "the Son," as he's called in PL) volunteering to go when no one else in heaven does. This is very much in keeping with Milton's big theme of free will (a "drafted" Jesus would not have exercised free will), but it's frankly a bit dicey as theology (Milton did not believe in the doctrine of the Trinity, and his depiction of things is evidence of that). At any rate, Milton depicts a noble but fairly cheery Jesus volunteering to serve as a sacrifice and a Father granting His blessing on Jesus in language similar to that which Jesus uses when Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ.
But I think that the gospels depict a much more conflicted Jesus, and we never see that more clearly than in Gethsemane. I hasten to add that seeing Jesus as conflicted doesn't do him a disservice; I would argue that it is further evidence of Jesus' humanity. He still has free will, too, at least as Flannery O'Connor understands that term: "Free will is not one will, but many wills conflicting in one person."
As for Judas, I've often wondered about him, too--and even John's description of his actions: "And, during supper, when the devil had already put it into [his] heart . . . to betray him . . ." (John 13:2). It IS a sin to betray, as Dante makes graphically clear, but he is still the catalyst that sets into motion the Resurrection (which, by the way, the devil, lacking omniscience, could not have foreseen).
This discussion makes me want to reread the Borges story "Three Versions of Judas."
I believe that if Judas had lived and gone to Christ after Christ's Resurrection, Judas would be one of the utmost Saints today. However, since he didn't, he isn't. He was fully human languishing in all of humanity's frailty and sorrow and could see a good outcome of his actions. So, he took matters into his own hands. It is sad, and the truest example of humanity jumping the gun than ever could exist.
Are you back from vacation then? Saturdays are open :) !
I guess love makes the world go around... I think I'm back blogging again.
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