If You Knew Better, You’d Do Better

Did you ever have an experience where – with hindsight – you came to understand that experience differently? You thought it meant one thing at the time, then over time you gave it new meaning in light of new understandings.

This has happened a lot in the Judeo-Christian tradition.

It probably ever bears repeating that the early followers of Jesus were not Christians. Jesus was not even a Christian. The majority of people in his circle of followers were Jewish people. As such, they were familiar with their own scriptural tradition. Over time, their own experience of Jesus – personally and collectively – brought them to understand their own scriptural tradition differently and through the lens of the life and ministry of Jesus.

This happens a lot with the writings of the prophet Isaiah. There are so many passages in Isaiah that the early Christians took as “referencing” Jesus (even though they were written almost 700 years earlier). One of the chapters that we hear from today was likely written during Israel’s captivity in Babylon. And while there may have been a person named Isaiah, it is likely that chapters 40-55 were written by a collective of people. Their writings focused on a liberator who would bring hope to the oppressed, return to the exiled and comfort to the people. The early followers of Jesus saw him doing just that.

In our reading from Isaiah 50 today, the chosen one of God is speaking about themselves as they say, “The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning God opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting.”

I just find this passage so tender and painful at the same time.

What do these words stir in you as you read them?

I often aspire to being able to “speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.” I know that this is my literal prayer every time that I am preaching at church, and in my day-to-day work as a counselor I really say this prayer often.

I also aspire to have my ears opened “that I may hear” God speaking each day.

I confess that I don’t usually aspire to the last part of the reading. That part is a hard part.

This reading from Isaiah is often referred to as the “suffering servant” portion as they describe the faithful one who endures tremendous hardship and yet still puts their faith in God. I am not sure that I have been tested like this, but I know that many have.

The followers of Jesus saw him as the suffering servant – the one who endured such great hardship and yet did not fight back as the world would expect – and today’s reading is preparing us for what is coming later this week, and it is a hard road.

The gospel from Matthew 26 is telling some of the backstory for Holy Thursday and gives us the behind the scenes on Judas. “One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?”

I have written before of how Judas has really gotten a bad rap and is a disciple that we should spend more time considering.  There may have been a lot of reasons why Judas did what he did. I often wonder if the religious authorities promised Judas certain things (like “we won’t hurt Jesus”) and then went back on that promise. There may have been a lot of other things going on as well.

In my understanding, people are complex, and simple explanations like “he was greedy” may not offer us much besides a shallow, binary understanding of someone like Judas. And superficial understandings don’t help us much when it comes to understanding ourselves and the world we live in.

I have actually been thinking of Judas and this story a lot lately as we’re watching the orders of the new administration roll out. 

I read about a man who was in favor of the new administration who told the story of how his wife (who was awaiting her final papers for residency here) was recently deported as he tearfully said, “I didn’t know that they were going to take someone like her…” I read about a federal worker who voted for “government reform” and now has lost her job as part of the cost-savings measures. I read about a person who owns a small business which relies heavily on imports from China who had no idea such extensive tariffs were coming and has had to close the family business because they cannot afford the recent price increases.

I don’t relate these stories so that any reader who did not support the current administration can self-righteously say, “See, you should have known better!” While that may make us feel superior somehow, that way of thinking does not help us repair much.

The reality is that we have all done things we later regret. We have all probably believed and maybe even supported something that we should have questioned more thoroughly. We have all probably made short-sighted decisions based only on one factor or limited information. We have all likely been accomplices for things that we now wish we had opposed.

I have always loved Rev. Myra’s referencing her grandmother’s wisdom, “If you knew better, you’d do better.” For centuries a lot of church teaching focused on Judas’ bad actions and taught us, “Don’t be like him!” But our Lenten journey – especially during Holy Week – encourages us to do deeper reflection on our lives so that we come to new understandings and actions in the world. 

God will always take us back. In fact, God wants us to return. If you remember back to Ash Wednesday the reading from Joel 2 said, “even now return to me with your whole heart.” God is not interested in shaming us or making us feel small for what we have done. God just wishes for our return and wants us to find new understandings and meanings as we look back over our own lives.

God also wants us to forgive others who have made their own mistakes and have come to new understandings and actions. To the end, Jesus was still compassionate and kind to Judas even knowing that Judas would play a role in the harm that was coming. Let this be our example as well.

May we today feel God’s deep love for us and let our hearts be roused. May we awaken to new understandings and actions and return to God. And may we forgive and release others who are also having their own awakenings.