Mark 14:20-21
One
of the romantic things people do is feed each other chocolate covered
strawberries. The chocolate and the sweetness of the strawberry make a
wonderful combination. But the act of allowing someone to feed you is very
intimate. You are letting them into a very personal space. Only the closest
people in your life have fed you, usually your parents or other family members.
You
can’t just shove the food into the mouth of an infant. The food has to be
coaxed into their mouth. At first they don’t even know what to do with the
food. All they know is sucking and swallowing. Their tongues do the same motion
with the food, but instead of it going down, it goes out. And the faces they
make…. Sometimes it seems as though they were being poisoned!
And
we as caregivers enjoy those times when we have had enough sleep! When a new
food is introduced, we know there is going to be a reaction, so we get ready
for the scoop and reentry motions with the spoon. There is such a closeness and
trusting that takes place in these simple actions. The child has to trust; the
parent has to continue to be trustworthy. If at any moment this breaks down,
you would have more luck trying to break into Fort Knox. If they don’t want the
food in their mouth, you had might as well quit. You won’t get it in their
mouth. Their hair, ears, nose, eyes and clothes: yes! Mouth: no!
So
back to the strawberry. If an adult is going to feed you a strawberry, you have
to let them do it. Just a change in their look will turn the strawberry onto a
different course. But when it is cleared for landing, it is sweet, pun
intended.
Feeding
returns sometimes in old age, when some become incapable of the simplest of self-care.
Or when an illness saps strength to the point of death, feeding becomes
necessary.
Our
text today talks about an intimate moment between the disciples and Jesus. They
are sharing a meal, their last meal before His crucifixion. Meals are an
invitation into intimacy. You don’t invite just anyone to share a meal with
you. We don’t walk up to a strangers table in a restaurant and sit down and
help yourself to their food. With your bare hands. After coming from the
bathroom with dripping wet fingers.
In
Jesus day it was common for there to be shared plates of food on the table.
Everyone helped themselves, usually with the fingers. If you have ever eaten in
an authentic restaurant from that part of the world, fingers are the tool of
choice. So with a table of thirteen, fingers would have been mixing and taking
food all throughout the meal. There might have been several small bowls of
sauce or gravy distributed around the table within non-straining distance from
each person. These small bowls would have been shared by only part of the
group. It is this smaller bowl to which Jesus refers.
So
Judas and Jesus sat very close to each other at that meal. Jesus allows Judas
into this close proximity even though He knows the betrayal is coming. And in the
process, Judas’ fate gets sealed. He chooses to betray that intimacy.
Jesus
warns of the dire consequences of betrayal. A scorned spouse after an affair
has been discovered knows this kind of ‘get even’ emotion. And sometimes the
erring partner wants more than anything to go back and undo the offense,
because it is so painful to go forward. Some even wish they had never been
born, having caused so much pain for their spouse and for themselves.
Jesus
says the fate of Judas is worse than death. He uses the imagery from the Old
Testament prophets to drive home the point. The worst punishment would be to
not exist. This would happen either through miscarriage or accident. Life cut
short before opportunity of relationship, relationship with others and with
God. This is the sentence pronounced on Judas.