It doesn't help us if you're inconsistent ...
Not for the first time, Judas left the presence of his Brothers abruptly. As he walked away into the night, he could hear their laughter and muttered comments. Trudging up a hill, he stopped when the fire below was nothing more than a small red glimmer, the men around it slips of shadows dancing in the firelight. Perched on a rock near the crest, he lay his head upon his hands, elbows resting on his knees, eyes closed against the dark. He heard the soft approach of footsteps, small pebbles skittering away as the dirt beneath them loosened with each step, but he did not raise his head to see who approached. He did not have to. There was only one who sought him out in times like these.
"What troubles you tonight, Judas?" Jesus of Nazareth asked, sitting beside him. "My Brother, why did you leave the warmth of the fire?"
Slowly, Judas raised his head, his gaze focused not on the man beside him, but on the other men below.
"There is no warmth among them," he said quietly. "They call me 'Brother' to my face, but when my back is turned? They think of me as nothing more than a filthy dog to be jeered and laughed at."
Judas turned so that his gaze fell upon man who would be called Lord for generations to come.
"You teach love, tolerance, and forgiveness for all of God's creation," he whispered. "How can they call you Master when they heed not your words? Why do they live as hypocrites and not see the error of their ways?"
"And you, Judas, are you any different?" Christ asked calmly. "You say they speak ill of you outside your presence, in disregard of my teachings. But do you not sit here beside me and do the same?"
"I speak truthful observations," Judas answered softly. "They speak lies."
"It is the intention behind words which gives meaning, not whether they are true or not. These men whom you would call Friend and Brother think ill of you, and in turn, you think ill of them. They see this and take it as they will; in turn, their words become harsher against you, and yours against them. It is hypocrisy, as you say. But it is a sin of both parties, one which cannot be absolved unless one chooses to end the cycle."
"How?" Judas asked in a whisper, shamed by his own arrogance.
"Hear their words, Judas, but turn away from them," Christ instructed. "For remember, hypocrisy is a sin of man. It has no bearing on the Divine Love that fills us all."
"But I wish to show them that they are wrong!" Judas said. "If they are my Brothers, I wish for them to learn, to understand."
"We cannot mend any soul but our own," Christ said, placing a hand upon Judas' shoulder. "Focus on living your own life, in praise of His creation, and trust that, in time, they will do the same."
A soft smile drifted across Judas' lips.
"But Master," he said, eyes sparkling with amusement in the starlight, "do you not work to mend the souls of others?"
Laughing, Christ stood, shaking the dirt from his robe.
"Am I not a man, Judas?" he asked lightly, holding out a hand to help Judas rise. "Am I not capable of sin, even if it is to help others?"
With a smile, Judas nodded his agreement as he took the hand of Christ, standing in the cool night air.
“I will never truly understand, will I?” he asked.
“Only our Divine Father above can truly understand everything,” Christ answered solemnly before adding in a scandalized whisper, “but even He gets confused from time to time, I think.”
Delighted by his friend’s soft chuckle, Christ motioned for Judas to precede him down the hill.
"I should like to have something soft to fall upon if I lose my footing," he explained. "Will you not break my fall for me, Brother?"
Their laughter echoing into the night, they returned to the fire below. Judas was in awe of the wisdom and compassion of this carpenter’s son from Nazareth. His heart swelled with the joy of his presence, his words, his laughter. But if he knew at that moment what the future held for them both, his heart would surely break. For in the short days before his betrayal, an argument over the sin of hypocrisy would be the very point at which the seemingly unbreakable friendship of Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot would falter and crack.
"What troubles you tonight, Judas?" Jesus of Nazareth asked, sitting beside him. "My Brother, why did you leave the warmth of the fire?"
Slowly, Judas raised his head, his gaze focused not on the man beside him, but on the other men below.
"There is no warmth among them," he said quietly. "They call me 'Brother' to my face, but when my back is turned? They think of me as nothing more than a filthy dog to be jeered and laughed at."
Judas turned so that his gaze fell upon man who would be called Lord for generations to come.
"You teach love, tolerance, and forgiveness for all of God's creation," he whispered. "How can they call you Master when they heed not your words? Why do they live as hypocrites and not see the error of their ways?"
"And you, Judas, are you any different?" Christ asked calmly. "You say they speak ill of you outside your presence, in disregard of my teachings. But do you not sit here beside me and do the same?"
"I speak truthful observations," Judas answered softly. "They speak lies."
"It is the intention behind words which gives meaning, not whether they are true or not. These men whom you would call Friend and Brother think ill of you, and in turn, you think ill of them. They see this and take it as they will; in turn, their words become harsher against you, and yours against them. It is hypocrisy, as you say. But it is a sin of both parties, one which cannot be absolved unless one chooses to end the cycle."
"How?" Judas asked in a whisper, shamed by his own arrogance.
"Hear their words, Judas, but turn away from them," Christ instructed. "For remember, hypocrisy is a sin of man. It has no bearing on the Divine Love that fills us all."
"But I wish to show them that they are wrong!" Judas said. "If they are my Brothers, I wish for them to learn, to understand."
"We cannot mend any soul but our own," Christ said, placing a hand upon Judas' shoulder. "Focus on living your own life, in praise of His creation, and trust that, in time, they will do the same."
A soft smile drifted across Judas' lips.
"But Master," he said, eyes sparkling with amusement in the starlight, "do you not work to mend the souls of others?"
Laughing, Christ stood, shaking the dirt from his robe.
"Am I not a man, Judas?" he asked lightly, holding out a hand to help Judas rise. "Am I not capable of sin, even if it is to help others?"
With a smile, Judas nodded his agreement as he took the hand of Christ, standing in the cool night air.
“I will never truly understand, will I?” he asked.
“Only our Divine Father above can truly understand everything,” Christ answered solemnly before adding in a scandalized whisper, “but even He gets confused from time to time, I think.”
Delighted by his friend’s soft chuckle, Christ motioned for Judas to precede him down the hill.
"I should like to have something soft to fall upon if I lose my footing," he explained. "Will you not break my fall for me, Brother?"
Their laughter echoing into the night, they returned to the fire below. Judas was in awe of the wisdom and compassion of this carpenter’s son from Nazareth. His heart swelled with the joy of his presence, his words, his laughter. But if he knew at that moment what the future held for them both, his heart would surely break. For in the short days before his betrayal, an argument over the sin of hypocrisy would be the very point at which the seemingly unbreakable friendship of Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot would falter and crack.