St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh

Midweek Devotion 2nd March 2023

Led by Rev Calum I MacLeod

I waited patiently for the Lord;
   God inclined to me and heard my cry. 

  Psalm 40: 1

Let us worship God

The lesson is John 13: 21-30     

 Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 22The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. 23One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; 24Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 26Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “Do quickly what you are going to do.” 28Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival”; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

The word of the Lord; thanks be to God

Reflection

Every good story needs a bad guy and although there are plenty of bad guys in the gospel stories, Judas is portrayed as the worst. One of the chosen who commits that most heinous of crimes - betrayal - the vilification of Judas begins in scripture but has continued throughout the history of the Church. One of the ways this has expressed itself is in the shameful anti-semitic propensity of the Church to treat Jews and Jewish communities as traitors to Christ (the name Judas means ‘the Jew’.)

Yet our approach to the Judas story should not simply focus on moral judgment, anger or the laying of blame. There is in this story meaning for us as the church community. The human nature of the church means that there will inevitably be failures, disappointments and even betrayal by leaders and people in positions of authority. As the British writer Hugh Pyper remarks, “Such incidents become a mark, not of the failure of the church, but of its authenticity as it suffers betrayal by its friends as did its Lord.”

And it is worth remembering as well that the betrayal by the vilified Judas is paralleled by the moral failure of Peter’s thrice denial of his Lord, a failure redeemed only by the grace of the one who bears all our grief.

Prayer

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me.

Melt me, mould me, fill me, use me,

Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

We pray for our nation and our world,

giving thanks for good health where we have it

and asking for strength and protection

where we do not.

Guide our leaders, Lord,

locally, nationally, internationally,

that they would make wise decisions

benefitting the world and its people.

Bring peace to the places mired in war and violence.

 O Lord hear our prayers for ourselves and others as we join together in the Lord’s Prayer:

Our Father,

which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come,

thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation

but deliver us from evil;

for thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory

for ever and ever, Amen.

The Benediction

Be of good courage, render no-one evil for evil,

but hold fast to the good; honour all of God’s people,

and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God,

and the Communion of the Holy Spirit

be with you

and all whom you love

this day and for ever.

Organ Music

Johannes Brahms O Gott, du frommer Gott