Judas in the Upper Room
A Sonnet for Maundy Thursday (or Spy Wednesday)
On the day before the last supper (remembered as “Spy Wednesday”), Judas Iscariot slipped away to the chief priests to ask, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Jesus over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver and “from then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over” (Matthew 26:14-16). The language eerily recalls how Satan, after tempting Jesus in the wilderness, left to wait for “an opportune time” to destroy him (Luke 4:13).
The next night, Jesus told his disciples during the Passover dinner, “One of you will betray me.” He then handed Judas the bread dipped in wine and told him, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” Judas, literally and spiritually, left the fellowship of the Upper Room and went out “into the night” (John 13:21-30).
But in between these two dark moments, Judas had to endure one last act of love from Jesus, who “loved his disciples… to the very end” (John 13:1-5)—the washing of his feet.
Judas in the Upper Room
“He sends rain on the just and the unjust.” —Matthew 5:45 Incessantly, the water poured and poured over my calloused feet. The dappled silence stretched long and dead like trees across a gorge, the fallout of some rot or hidden violence. Then Jesus took my feet and our eyes met. He stared at me, I feared, as if to say he knew the paths my feet had walked, the debt I owed—but no: he smiled. I looked away and felt: the working of a servant’s rag— his promised revolution’s timid thorns— the thirty silver daggers in my bag— the man that could have been—my patience worn until the task was done. He set me free and welcomed me to join him at his feast.
Notes
I will be sharing two more sonnets for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Until then, you can explore all of my published Holy Week poems—whether to read personally or to freely use (with credit, please) with your small group or church as you find helpful.
Applications are now open (through June 15) for the PAX Fellowship, including the Writing as Spiritual Formation cohort I’ll be leading. Check it out and help spread the word to any Christians of color (ages 25-45) who might be interested. Thanks!
Thank you for reading! Please reply or comment with any thoughts; I am always encouraged by hearing your reflections. May God soften our hearts this Holy Week to experience the passion of Jesus with fresh wonder, sorrow, and gratitude.
(This poem was originally published in Ekstasis Magazine.)
What a beautiful turn there at the end, Michael.
Wow! Powerful Thanks for sharing.