Friend

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Jesus had told them it would happen.

"You know that after two days the Passover is coming..."

The Passover... the celebration of the ancient past when the Angel of Death smote Egypt, but passed over and did not harm those who, in faith, were covered by blood applied to the doorpost of their home... covered by the blood...

"... and the Son of Man is to be handed over..."

"... for crucifixion."

The chief priests and elders were gathered together in the court of the high priest, Caiaphas, plotting to seize Jesus by stealth.

And kill Him.

Just as He said.

The true fulfillment of Passover was about to take place.

But that is not all He told them.

In the evening, while relaxing around the table with his closest friends, His words pierce through the holiday celebration, like an arrow slicing the air into shreds.

"Truly, I say to you that

one of you

will betray me."

Denials fill the room. Nervous denials. Except for Peter. Brash as usual in his boast that he would never betray his Lord.

Who would it be? Who could it be?

Jesus answers that it is one who breaks bread with him daily. One who has walked at His side these three years. Who left everything to follow Him. One, who among the multitude that traveled with Him from one dusty town to another, was among his dozen closest comrades. One before whom Jesus knelt, just moments before, to wash his dirty and aching feet as the humblest and lowliest of slaves would do.

"Surely, ...

it is not I...

"Rabbi?"

Judas asks. But he and Jesus know the answer all too well.

Later that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the torch light as enemies eagerly wait in the shadows, a voice cuts through the air again. This time, it is from Judas.

"Chairo, Rabbi!"

Chairo: a greeting, one that infers "Rejoice and be glad! Greetings! I wish you well!"

Rabbi: a term of honor, acknowledging the greatness of its recipient, reserved for special people, like one's mentor or teacher.

Then Judas seals his greeting with a kiss, that of a comrade, of a beloved pupil, of an intimate friend... so his cruel executioners can identify Jesus and take him away.

In the split second before the swords and clubs are brandished and the screams begin, Jesus greets his betrayer in return.

It is a greeting that Judas does not expect.

It is one we cannot imagine.

Jesus says,

"Friend, ..."

Friend.

Translated from Hetairos.

Comrade. Mate, Partner.

A kindly address to a good friend.

This is Hetairos.

And of all the things that Jesus could say to Judas,

He calls him friend.

~ From Matthew 26

The Kiss

In evening dusks and early dawns

I had walked by Your side

Adding my fervent footprints

To the steps of Love Divine

You painted this picture for us to see

In words tainted with grief:

A shepherd's staff, crushed in two

As the lambs scatter in disbelief

Chorus:

You called me friend

In a breath You tore my world apart

You shed a piercing light on a life I could not defend

Sharp as a knife, it cut straight to my heart

You called me friend.

You gave me the place of honor

At the table of your feast

What raging tears choked my voice

As you bent to wash my feet

As you had fed me Your words of life

So now You offered Your bread and wine...

[pause]

Yet an empty seat did You find

Chorus:

You called me friend
In a breath You tore my world apart
You shed a piercing light on a life I could not defend
Sharp as a knife, it cut straight to my heart
You called me friend.

A warning escaped Your lips of trust

Of a traitor ~ an intimate stranger

For this wounded world is caught in shadow

Blind to the Light that still remains

I denied the betrayal

Yet I betrayed my darkest denial

A wound too deep for words,

Yet You framed it all in a whisper

Chorus:

You called me friend
In a breath You tore my world apart
You shed a piercing light on a life I could not defend
Sharp as a knife, it cut straight to my heart
You called me friend.

Bridge:

Will I run?

Can I flee?

Will I know why You still love me?

Why those nails and thorns

Were embraced so lovingly?

To the end

You called me friend.

~ A song I wrote my freshman year in college, many years ago.

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