April 2, 2020
Over the next few days, we are going to hear a lot about Judas Iscariot and his betrayal of Our Lord. Many of my clergy colleagues’ sermons will paint Judas in bad colours. Phrases like “he had Jesus’ blood on his hands,”“he sent his Master to His death,” and “through his greed or resentment or disillusionment he became guilty of the greatest crime in history” will be used and they will point to the Gospels backing them in their opinions. All four evangelists unite in placing this act of Judas in the “very important” category of events which contributed to the death of Jesus. Thirty-three times this “act of betrayal” is mentioned in all four Gospels and each time it is seen as being critical in the Passion of our Lord.
Right from the start of my Christian journey in my late twenties, I have always struggled with the above assertions. Early on I learnt that the Greek verb used simply meant “to hand over” rather than the more negative “to betray,” and I just don’t believe the events of Easter would not have happened if Judas had not handed over Jesus to the Jewish authorities. As I said on Tuesday our Lord was in a “stature of waiting” throughout these awful days and His death was planned and inevitable and not due to any actions taken by Judas or anyone else involved. They were merely pawns in God’s hands.
My other reasons for not accepting Judas’ action as being of major importance lies in the actions of the other disciples and those of ourselves. Was Judas any more sinful than Peter denying Jesus three times, than the three disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane ordered to stay awake and keep guard but slept, or than the whole bunch when they forsook Jesus and fled from The Garden? And what about ourselves? Through Lent we have been looking at our shortcomings and failings. When we look at them, can we really say we are more sinful than Judas? I have no doubt he lives in all of us – especially me.
Let us pray:
Father, as we approach the events of Holy Week and Easter, grant us, we pray, the wisdom to rise above the demands of the Judas within us all and follow the way of Jesus in bringing love, joy and peace to this world which is consumed by the worries and anxieties of the COVID19 pandemic.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
We pray for all those who are sick either with the virus itself or suffering mentally as a result of worry and those who have been bereaved.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Come Holy Spirit, fill us with your grace, with your enthusiasm for life and with a real sense of joy and satisfaction in serving you.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Your wardens, along with Fr. Geoff and the Pastoral Care team, continue to meet weekly via video and phone to see how we can best serve the needs of our parish community in these difficult times. We will continue to send updates via email and post information on the All Saints’ 
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There is always good news and kindness amongst all the negatives. Our Deacon’s Cupboard food bank is continuing to operate thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers (with new procedures in place to keep both volunteers and clients safe.) And just the other day the Salvation Army told us they had “a few things for your foodbank.” Well, the “few things” completely filled Roy’s truck! Don’t forget, if you want to donate to the food bank, we are having a “drive though” donation day on April 8th between 10 and noon. Come to the parking lot, pop your trunk and a volunteer will take your donation.
The entire passage in our Gospel this morning deals with blindness – but strangely enough, it is not the blindness of the man born blind that is central to the passage, rather it is the blindness of those around him and, most especially, the blindness of the religious teachers and authorities which forms the focus of the reading. So, what are we to make of the story of the man born blind and what meaning does it have for us being the self-proclaimed religious people of our generation? Well, it is a very rich passage and today we can only look at two things. My thumbs and fingers would ache even more if we looked at everything in the story!
This is the second point I want to make. Jesus answers the question about who sinned that the man was born blind by saying, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” He then healed the man with mud and spit and the touch of his precious hand. THIS IS HOW GOD OPERATES. This is what Jesus is about. This is what He wants us to do now in this generation. He has come to give us relief from our afflictions, from our sickness and from our worries. At this time of worry from the Coronavirus all around the world we can do no better than to follow the words of this great revival hymn:
God our Father, in your unfailing love and goodness, hear us as we bring our prayers for the world and for all people to you. In this period of Lent we come to you aware of our unreadiness for the enormity of the Easter message, that Christ suffered and died for us and was yet raised in glorious victory. Grant us healing in our souls, Lord, and in the souls of all those searching for meaning in their lives and for all who are blinded by the sin and darkness of this secular world and can see no way out of their physical and mental suffering.