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Judas Returns the Silver
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606-1669. Judas Returning the Thirty Silver Pieces, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55464 [retrieved April 16, 2025]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_-_Judas_repentent.jpg.
Methodist Federation for Social Action | April 16, 2025
“After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, “Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking.” – John 13:21–22 (NRSV*)
By midweek, the shadows are already gathering. The palm branches have been waved, the tables turned over. And now the movement slows. We find ourselves in the stillness between Hosanna and Crucify.
Holy Wednesday is a day of tension. Of hushed whispers. Of backroom deals and quiet betrayals. It’s the moment when the cost of justice begins to feel real, when the powers that be start to push back against love that refuses to play by their rules.
It’s in this space that we must reflect: What does it mean to remain faithful when the arc of justice doesn’t feel triumphant, but dangerous? What does it mean to stay rooted when the empire starts to retaliate?
This is the part of the story where silence can feel safest—but it’s also when silence becomes most complicit.
We are a people standing between two tables: the temple of exploitation and the table of communion. Between the seduction of comfort and the call of liberation. The betrayal has begun, but so has the deeper invitation: to follow Jesus not just with palms in our hands, but with courage in our hearts.
- Where do you feel the tension rising in your spirit or community this week?
- What comforts or systems are you being asked to question or leave behind?
- How are you preparing your heart to resist the temptation to walk away when the cost becomes high?
God of the in-between,In this pause before the breaking,
Before the basin and the cross,
You call us to examine our loyalties.
Give us clarity where there is confusion,
Conviction where there is comfort,
And courage to stay with You—even in the shadows.
Amen.
MFSA Leader
Bridget Cabrera, executive director of Methodist Federation for Social Action. (MFSA Photo)
Bridget Cabrera (she/her/hers) is the Executive Director of Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA). With over 17 years of non-profit experience Bridget has served as deputy director of the Reconciling Ministries Network, a leader in the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, and executive secretary for National Ministries with United Methodist Women (UMW) national office.