Betrayal. It’s such an ugly word, isn’t it? But it’s an even uglier reality. Consider for a moment the type of person who comes to mind when you think of betrayal. We might think of famous traitors like Benedict Arnold or the Rosenbergs. Or we may think of different kinds of betrayal like marital infidelity, rumor-spreading by a friend, insider trading. If we are going to reckon with the person of Judas, however, we need to consider more uncomfortable types of betrayals—the personal ones that cut to the bone. . . . Being forgiven by someone we have betrayed is nothing short of sheer grace. That type of forgiveness creates in the recipient a quiet, hollow space of humility, inviting her to greater wholeness and holiness. Forgiving someone who has betrayed us is a tall order, but it can be done—again, through grace—creating in the giver a tender, vulnerable space of strength and freedom.
. . . Judas had some bad behaviors, no two ways about it. So do I. So do you. So do the people who have hurt us, even those who have betrayed us. But no one is defined by their
worst choices, even if those choices have disastrous consequences. Maybe in focusing on Judas’s betrayal, we are looking in the wrong direction. Maybe the reason he’s not given much airtime in the gospels is because the writers knew his treachery would distract us from the actual Truth: Jesus.

Virginia Herbers, adapted from Gifts from Friends We Never Wanted

Virginia Herbers is a retreat director, lecturer, and spiritual director who uses story and theology to shed contemporary light on traditional scriptural texts. Virginia has been an educator in the United States and Taiwan, a blogger for the USCCB, a regular columnist for Global Sisters Report, and a frequent presenter at retreat centers and parishes across the country.