Sermon for March 27th, 2013

Prologue

It is an honor to preach in this sanctuary, where my sister and both of my brothers were baptized, where my grandparents, my parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and I myself have worshiped so many times throughout the years. It was a former pastor of this church, the Rev. Don Foresman, who was the first minister to recognize my calling and encourage me to pursue ordained ministry (although I think he, like my grandmother, had it in mind that I might become a Methodist pastor!). God works in mysterious and beautiful ways, and I am grateful for the ministry of Trinity-First, and the role it has played in my life and the life of my family.

John 13:21-30

21 After saying this Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, ‘Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me.’ 22The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. 23One of his disciples—the one whom Jesus loved—was reclining next to him; 24Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. 25So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, ‘Lord, who is it?’ 26Jesus answered, ‘It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.’ So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. 27After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, ‘Do quickly what you are going to do.’ 28Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the festival’; or, that he should give something to the poor. 30So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

Judas Iscariot, Beloved Disciple

I have always been fascinated by the character of Judas Iscariot. To bring about the downfall and death of the very son of God -- that alone has to make him not only a "bad guy" but one of the baddest bad guys in all history. And since I watch a fair amount of television and movies, I think I'm reasonably qualified to comment on the characteristics of a bad guy.

For starters, the very best bad guys are evil. Pure evil. 100%, unrepentant, rotten-to-the-core EVIL! You don't have to ask "why" a bad guy does something. On the surface, it might be for profit, for pleasure, or selfish advantage of some kind, but when you peel back all the layers, at the most basic level a bad guy is motivated by inexplicable hatred and loathing for everyone and everything.

Second, a truly top-notch bad guy is recognizable as the the bad guy. He's the one wearing the black hat, or even dressed all in black. Or he's the one with a deformed, possibly green face, or at the very least he's got a scar, an eye-patch, a vacant stare, or just really bad teeth. Everyone knows he's the bad guy.

Finally, a true bad guy is consistently bad. Someone you can't reason with, you can't change, and you can't really love. He shows no remorse, and is by nature, unredeemable. If you're thinking that Darth Vader is an exception to this, you aren't thinking evil enough--in the Star Wars movies, the emperor is the true bad guy, and he's evil and unrepentant right up to the bitter end.

This is the bad guy code. There are exceptions, but only among the "lesser" villains. The really bad ones stick to the code.

Which brings me back to Judas. Because you'd think he'd have to be somewhere up there pretty high, along with Adolf Hitler, Lord Voldemort, or the Wicked Witch of the West.