No one knows why Judas betrayed Jesus. St. John’s gospel suggests that greed was the motivation — but since he gave the money back, that doesn’t seem right. Some suggest that Judas was trying to provoke an revolutionary uprising — since Jesus was popular his arrest would spur resistance to the Roman occupiers. Then why would he hang himself? Or maybe Judas felt aggrieved and overlooked — why always Peter, James and John and not him? Since Judas left us no memoir we will never know what drove him. But perhaps it serves as a reminder that we can always find an excuse to do what we want to do. Even terrorists have a reason for their actions — it might be perverse but it’s a reason. Our prayer today — to look at our reasons, our rationalizations to see if they come from us or do they reflect the authentic will of God.
