The end is just a little harder when brought about by friends ...
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
(John 15:13)
All his life, Judas, son of Simon, never felt he belonged. Growing up in Kerioth, he never considered any of the other children his friends. Outwardly, they were all kind to young Judas, whose mother had died and whose father did not know how to care for a child on his own. The other women in the village took pity, accepting him into their homes for meals or prayers, but he knew of the whispers that spread behind his back.
"That poor child, no mother to kiss away his nightmares."
"I hear his father never comes home anymore and has left the boy to fend for himself."
He was, in essence, a wandering orphan, to be pitied and scorned. A stranger in his own village, one that no one could relate to, but one they could not bring themselves to wholly despise.
He grew older, took his father's place as the village's money lender. His reputation for honesty and generosity spread, yet still, he could call no one "friend". The whispers of the women and men of the village followed him everywhere.
"Why does he not take a wife?"
"What a shame, he's becoming his father."
They could not understand that Judas yearned for something greater than simply helping a farmer through hard times, or loaning a mother enough money to buy medicine for her child. In this desire, he was alone, for the people of Kerioth were satisfied with living their lives as easily as possible. They were not simpletons, but the did enjoy the simple life of rising, working, eating, praying, and sleeping, unburdened by questions of faith or human nature. But these were the questions which lived in the mind of Judas, and ultimately drove him North to seek the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee.
A faithful friend is a strong defense: and he that hath found such an one hath found a treasure.
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 6:14
Here, amongst a crowd of followers, he finally felt as if he might belong. But those around him still viewed him as an outsider, someone they couldn't entirely trust; they even went so far as to call him "Iscariot", a reminder that he was not of Galilee as the rest. When he was chosen as of the Twelve, even while they smiled to his face and praised his deeds, his Brothers whispered behind his back.
"He was a moneylender; do you not see, if we continue to let him carry the purse, he will steal it all from us!"
"Why should we trust him, when he's from a village far from Galilee?"
"I know he's going to turn us all in to the Romans just for the reward, the greedy wretch!"
But Judas had grown immune to their words. A lifetime of whispers had taught him to ignore and forgive; mistrust and jealousy only made on human, and there was no fault in that. They could speak all they wanted; words could only do so much damage. It had taken him a lifetime to understand that, to learn from that, and achieve that which he never had in Kerioth. For here in Galilee, he had finally found a true friend and Brother in Jesus of Nazareth, who would be called Christ.
As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
(Proverbs 27:19)
(John 15:13)
All his life, Judas, son of Simon, never felt he belonged. Growing up in Kerioth, he never considered any of the other children his friends. Outwardly, they were all kind to young Judas, whose mother had died and whose father did not know how to care for a child on his own. The other women in the village took pity, accepting him into their homes for meals or prayers, but he knew of the whispers that spread behind his back.
"That poor child, no mother to kiss away his nightmares."
"I hear his father never comes home anymore and has left the boy to fend for himself."
He was, in essence, a wandering orphan, to be pitied and scorned. A stranger in his own village, one that no one could relate to, but one they could not bring themselves to wholly despise.
He grew older, took his father's place as the village's money lender. His reputation for honesty and generosity spread, yet still, he could call no one "friend". The whispers of the women and men of the village followed him everywhere.
"Why does he not take a wife?"
"What a shame, he's becoming his father."
They could not understand that Judas yearned for something greater than simply helping a farmer through hard times, or loaning a mother enough money to buy medicine for her child. In this desire, he was alone, for the people of Kerioth were satisfied with living their lives as easily as possible. They were not simpletons, but the did enjoy the simple life of rising, working, eating, praying, and sleeping, unburdened by questions of faith or human nature. But these were the questions which lived in the mind of Judas, and ultimately drove him North to seek the rabbi Jesus of Nazareth in Galilee.
A faithful friend is a strong defense: and he that hath found such an one hath found a treasure.
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 6:14
Here, amongst a crowd of followers, he finally felt as if he might belong. But those around him still viewed him as an outsider, someone they couldn't entirely trust; they even went so far as to call him "Iscariot", a reminder that he was not of Galilee as the rest. When he was chosen as of the Twelve, even while they smiled to his face and praised his deeds, his Brothers whispered behind his back.
"He was a moneylender; do you not see, if we continue to let him carry the purse, he will steal it all from us!"
"Why should we trust him, when he's from a village far from Galilee?"
"I know he's going to turn us all in to the Romans just for the reward, the greedy wretch!"
But Judas had grown immune to their words. A lifetime of whispers had taught him to ignore and forgive; mistrust and jealousy only made on human, and there was no fault in that. They could speak all they wanted; words could only do so much damage. It had taken him a lifetime to understand that, to learn from that, and achieve that which he never had in Kerioth. For here in Galilee, he had finally found a true friend and Brother in Jesus of Nazareth, who would be called Christ.
As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
(Proverbs 27:19)