Resurrection Letters
Meditations on the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ
by Andrew Peterson
V. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES
Judas.
Doomed to be the one who would betray the son of God, misguided, obsessed with money, wracked with a destructive, cowardly shame that left him swinging from a rope with his neck stretched and his head cocked. You knew it would be him. The night you broke the bread, your eyes met his, and he knew that you knew. Judas went and betrayed his rabbi. It would've been a dastardly thing had you been an ordinary man, and you were anything but ordinary.
Judas saw the wonders you did, the authority with which you taught, and heard you declare yourself the son of God more than once. He had no excuse. It was clear to those in your company that you were made of a
goodness that rendered betrayal unthinkable.
But Judas, whatever his reasons, did the unthinkable.
And he did it with such irony. With a kiss. You had washed his feet only hours ago. I wonder what went through his mind as he sat there uncomfortable and appalled at your outrageous demonstration of love and service?
You knew he would betray you. You knew he was the guilty one, and still you took his filthy feet in your hands and washed them in the basin. You patted them dry with the towel around your waist.
Love your enemies, you had told them. And, kneeling before the betrayer, you showed them how.
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