The Judas Tree
Wednesday of Holy Week: this day is known in some traditions as Spy Wednesday because it is the day in the gospel narratives when Judas makes his move to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin. Judas is part of Jesus’s inner circle and exemplifies bad discipleship. However, the loading of blame onto him and his utter demonization smack of anti Semitism, as well as simple scapegoating. His portrayal in art and literature as a stereotyped Jew is revealing. A far more empathetic reading of Judas’s role and predicament is more prevalent these days, thankfully. We all exemplify bad discipleship at times and so we do well to identify with Judas’s conflicts if not with his actions.
Tradition has it that the place where Judas took his own life is in the Hinnom Valley, for millennia the place of burial caves and tombs in Jerusalem. The area is known as Akeldema which in Aramaic means ‘Field of Blood’ as a memorial to Judas’s tragic death here. There is a local tree called the Judas Tree which tradition says is the type of tree on which Judas hanged himself. The picture shows a Judas Tree in the Hinnom Valley today. The deep pink blossoms are suggestive of blood, signifying death. So, when we see the blossom of such a tree we can remember Judas and all who are wracked by internal conflicts, who find life itself intolerable. Lord have mercy on us all.
Saint George’s College in Jerusalem is the Anglican Centre for pilgrimage, education, reconciliation and hospitality in the Holy Land. www.saintgeorgescollegejerusalem.com
