The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Palm Sunday, March 28th: Luke 19:28-40; Isaiah 50:4-7; Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 22:14-23:56)

PETER AND JUDAS: SIMILAR BUT VERY DIFFERENT

This week is Palm Sunday, and for the only time all year (I think) we hear a gospel reading at the very beginning of Mass. We hear the account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the crowds waved palm branches and shouted joyful praise as Jesus rode by on a donkey.

A little later on, we hear the regular three Scripture readings plus the Responsorial Psalm. This second gospel reading is the lengthy Passion account, which describes how that joyful crowd turned quite hostile in less than a week. This reading is almost two full chapters out of Luke’s Gospel, and typically it takes at least 20 to 25 minutes to be read aloud.

(Hint: so when you go to Mass this week, get your mind prepared in advance. Don’t be in a hurry. Understand before you even leave the house that this one is not a 45-minute in-and-out affair. This is a biggie. This will be a long one. Expect it, accept it, relax and enjoy it. This week’s experience focuses on the heart of our faith. Don’t fidget and grumble that’s you’ve got important things to do. What could be more important than the Son of God, the Savior of the world, offering up His innocent body as atonement for our sins?)

During this very long gospel, we hear about many well-known events in the life of Jesus: the Last Supper, the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas’ betrayal, the arrest and trials, Peter’s denial, the scourging, carrying the cross, the Crucifixion, and finally the burial of Jesus.

There are so many crucial things that occurred in this 24-hour period, we’d have to write a book to cover them all. Which is why, I suppose, there have been at least a zillion books written about the events that transpired during this momentous 24-hour period. You think a lot happened in the life of Jack Bauer during a 24-hour period? That’s nothing compared to what happened to Jesus. And Jesus’ ordeal was not a fictional TV script; it really happened.

Anyway, since I have about an hour to write this essay—slightly less time than the experts advise you should set aside to compose either a book manuscript or 24 scripts for a TV series—I’d like to focus on two aspects of the Passion account, more specifically, on two persons in the Passion account: Judas and Peter.

On the night in question, Judas and Peter did some pretty bad stuff. Judas betrayed Jesus, accepting 30 pieces of silver as payment to lead the authorities to the private prayer garden so Jesus could be arrested. (Professor Peter Kreeft notes that Judas was the first Catholic bishop to accept a government grant. And ever since, when a Catholic bishop accepts government money, with all those secular strings attached, it turns out almost as badly.)

Peter, after proclaiming to Jesus a few hours earlier, “Lord, I am prepared to go to prison and to die with you!” collapsed like a two-dollar tent when a slave girl (a slave girl! Someone with ZERO power or authority in the ancient world) asked whether he was a friend of Jesus. Chicken-hearted Peter denied it, “Woman, I do not know him!”

Peter’s gutless lack of courage at that moment was even more pitiful in light of his pompous bragging earlier in the evening.

So these two men, each one a special member of Jesus’ inner circle, His chosen Twelve disciples, committed some grievous sins that night. Their lack of faith in Jesus caused them to do things that greatly hurt the Lord. We can argue about which sin was worse, but the bottom line is: sin is sin. St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and, “The wages of sin is death.”

Shortly after committing these sins, both Judas and Peter were exceedingly sorry for what they had done. Right after hearing the cock crow, which reminded him of what Jesus said in reply to his pompous boast, Peter “went out and began to weep bitterly.”

When Judas realized that Jesus was going to be executed, which apparently he did not think would happen, the Bible says, “He repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver.” Then Judas exclaimed, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”

At this point the two men’s lives took drastically different turns. Peter went into hiding with the other disciples, no doubt barely able to live with himself. He stuck it out, did not do anything rash or impulsive, and soon after things got much better. Specifically, three days later Jesus rose from the dead, forgave Peter, sent the Holy Spirit to empower the believers, and commissioned Peter to be the leader of the Church.

Judas was also distraught by what he had done. But he did not stick it out and wait to see what would happen next. And so, he did not receive forgiveness from the resurrected Jesus—which Jesus surely would have offered if Judas had only asked. Instead, Judas impulsively went out and committed suicide.

How incredibly sad. Two men with very similar experiences, but with very different endings. Despite his earthly failings, one became the leader of the early Church and is no doubt now and forevermore a member of the heavenly Communion of Saints. The other, with similar earthly failings, is presumably not a member of that celestial gathering. (Note: I’m not judging Judas’ soul. That’s God’s job. Maybe he did ask for forgiveness and received it during the moment before his neck snapped. I hope so. But based on what we know from Scripture, the prospects don’t look so good.)

The lesson from the lives of these two men is simple: No matter how badly we screw up, no matter how terrible our sin, Jesus can and will forgive us. All we need to do is sincerely repent and sincerely ask for His forgiveness. Peter learned this was possible. Unfortunately, Judas did not.

There is a lot going on in the Passion account this week. As you’re listening, try to think about the lives of these two men and what they can teach us about sin and forgiveness.

©2010