Judas – Why Lady Gaga Got It Right
As I was preparing a homily for the Maundy Thursday service I was led to reflect upon the one who betrayed Jesus. We typically reflect upon the “Last Supper” and the events that follow seemingly quickly after that last intimate moment that Jesus has with His 12 disciples. For some reason I was drawn to reflect on Judas. Even in my own mind it seemed too controversial to share with a congregation that would consist mainly of people who, in my mind, could be easily offended. On Wednesday, I was convinced that Judas was exactly who I needed to analyze in the light of Jesus.
In a brilliant marketing move Lady Gaga released her second single from her forthcoming album “Born This Way,” entitled “Judas,” in the middle of Holy Week. It has catapulted her into competing with Rhianna for the number one spot on the pop charts Roman Catholics were immediately outraged as the former Catholic school girl turned bad girl made the move. In the lyrics Lady Gaga professes her love, not for Jesus, but for Judas. To turn it up a notch the shock-pop princess portrays Mary Magdalene in the music video as the one professing her love for the one who betrayed Jesus. I think Madonna might be a little envious of the antics. The director, Laurieann Gibson, even confesses that God somehow inspired and worked on the hearts of the people who worked on the video.
While, at first, it seems like a valid thing to be upset about I am more upset at the fact that those who the media choose to represent Christians act so upset.
The reality is that we should expect nothing else. The lost, those whose hearts have chosen the affection of self rather than God, should behave no other way if they are to be true to who they really are.
The fact is that Lady Gaga, by being honest about how the culture feels about Jesus, is closer to being transformed by Christ than if she continued to promote a lie that she really liked Jesus. In essence it is a confession of just how wicked the hearts of mankind are in light of the goodness of God. The reality is that the world loves Judas…the world is Judas.
Why is it that we would expect someone in the world to profess anything but love for the one in whom Satan entered?
In my study here are four somewhat sobering things I think we can learn through the life of Judas.
1. It is possible to experience God and still betray Him. While we do not hear much about Judas we can assume that he was present for miracles from feeding to resurrection. We can assume that he was one of the 12 sent out to perform miraculous deeds and preach as recorded in Luke. It is sobering to note that a miracle worker and a preacher also became a betrayer condemned to Hell.
2. It is possible to seem as though we follow Jesus and yet be alienated from other followers and thus isolated from receiving or giving the love He commands. It’s interesting in John 13 that Jesus gives his new command to “love one another” after Judas leaves the meal. Jesus knew the command would have fallen on deaf ears with Judas in the room, and by excusing him prior to giving the command makes complete sense. Judas was in the presence of Jesus, is noted as an apostle, and one of the 12 most intimately instructed by Jesus and yet no one knows Judas. No one could put their finger on who it might be to betray. Judas refused to share his struggle within the context of the fellowship of men he was hanging out with for three years, and it eventually leads to his ultimate destruction.
3. The Holy Spirit is far better than the physical Jesus when it comes to following Jesus. Jesus knew it, the Father knew it, the disciples knew it, but I’m not so sure that we know it. We often make the excuse that it would be easier to follow Jesus if He were still here. If we just got the face to face commands it would be easier for us to follow. In our use of that excuse we come very close to blaspheming the Holy Spirit. If we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, then how much more intimate could we be with Christ?
4. Our physical presence in church is not a guarantee of our eternal destination. This might be a no brainer for most of us, but the reality is that while many say with their mouth that they love Jesus their actions betray them. Their heart is, in reality, far from God and remains in an untransformed and rebellious state. Their unwillingness to admit the truth or even to try to discover it may eventually lead them to a fate similar to that of Judas.
Satisfaction
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; Revelation 7:16 ESV
I often find myself confronted with desires for something else.
We live in the age of instant gratification and entitlement and so it should be no surprise to be bombarded by messages of how life should be.
Just as often; however, I find myself confronted with desires for the status quo.
Neither of those desires are inherently bad, nor inherently good.
What makes those desires bad or good is the seed from which they come, but what blinds us from discovering the seed is the soil, or context, that initiates the growth of those desires.
Often we pursue a change or status quo born out of a wicked seed.
For instance, I may desire a different job, or even just one job. The context that would tend to cloud things for me would include six children, salary, standard of living, free time, pride and location just to name a few.
I might express a desire to get paid more money or to have more free time to spend with my family, but before legitimizing these seemingly good desires I must always realize that I am a sinful and fallen individual. If I am to be like Christ I must sift through the answers I give to the question, “Why?” Most often seeking the counsel of another Christian should be a part of the process of discovering the answer.
When we discover the seed we’ll know if we should proceed.
The next challenge will be discovering the courage to embark.
Where are you feeling this tension? Why are you feeling it? With whom are you sharing it?
Only the Vulnerable Need Apply
We are wired to be connected to others. The story of creation in Genesis is a story of a God who is connected with people and people who are supposed to be connected with one another. Sin breaks connection. Our response to sin, whether it be what we have done or what others have done to us or to others, can either be to embrace and accept it and admit it hurts or we can try to ignore, grow callous toward, hide from and attempt to separate it from us. Just as Adam and Eve did we hide, use blame, and we tell lies. We may even go to war in order to not accept our own fallibleness as Cain did against Abel thinking that killing those that know our imperfection might mysteriously remove it from reality. In an effort to be perceived as whole, complete, and strong we utilize force, either physical or psychological as in making rules, to protect our image. This sad thing is that the image we protect is, in fact, a false image.
God, on the other hand, is vulnerable. The fact that he places the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden in the first place is evidence of God’s willingness to be vulnerable. God loves Adam and Eve and then gives them the opportunity to reject, rebel, and injure Him. This vulnerability extends to Jesus and the Cross and beyond in the invitation He gives us to believe.
God’s example of vulnerability is extremely vital for us because the lie we tend to live is that we need to protect ourselves from allowing the truth about who we really are to be exposed. To allow others to see us as the abuser, the abused, the fornicator, the addict, the murderer, the adulterer, the gossip…the broken is seen by the vast majority of people as weakness. Yet if God is God, and He is the epitomy of strength, then being vulnerable and actually inviting the experience of pain and loss should be seen as experiences that lead to strength.
Just think of things that make you feel vulnerable. For me, asking anything of anyone makes me feel vulnerable. As a kid inviting someone to come over used to cripple me with anxiety and when rejection came I would dive deeply into a sea of self pity. I hate it yet I know from God’s example in the Bible that I must be vulnerable. The Church, then in my opinion, should be a gathering of people that doesn’t just allow vulnerability, but demands it. It requires it’s people to invite others to be connected to them and to be confident in the fact that Christ is enough.
In this 20 minute talk, while she doesn’t mention God or the Church, Brene Brown does reveal some biblical truths about what it means to be healthy people. I strongly encourage you to take the time to watch it. Her conclusion falls a little short in my mind as it should be “Jesus is enough,” but everything leading up to her conclusion is an accurate portrayal of our plight as people. For those who have taken the Redemption class her words should ring true. For those who haven’t – this is the kind of stuff we will explore.