I’ve been interested in finding more out about our new Pope. On Friday night, I watched an interview from last year with the man we now know of as Pope Leo XIV, who at the time was known as Cardinal Prevost.
Cardinal Prevost was asked to share a story about Pope Francis that was formative in his own life. These two men had gotten to know one another pretty well over the course of a few decades. When Cardinal Prevost was a Bishop in Peru, he had a private audience with Pope Francis.
They were discussing an unfortunate and very sad sex abuse case. They were talking about how to minister to and show Christ’s great care and compassion for the victim and for the community of believers who were understandably very hurt by this, and how to handle the person who committed this terrible sin. Pope Francis told Cardinal Prevost, “Wait here for a moment, there is something I want to show you.” Then, Pope Francis went in a back room, grabbed a picture, and brought it back to show it to Cardinal Prevost.
The picture was of two side-by-side carvings on the top of a pillar in Basilique de Vezelay in France. The first image is called “The Hanging of Judas” and it shows Judas Iscariot after he had taken his own life as he was hanging from a tree. Right next to this image is the second image.
The second image is called “Judas and the Good Shepherd,” and it shows Jesus as the Good Shepherd who even after Judas’ life here on earth was over, out of care, concern, and love had taken down the lifeless body of his lost lamb and carried him away on his shoulders.
Pope Francis said this is not meant to be a dogmatic teaching about who is in heaven or who is in hell. This is meant to remind us how the only limits to Jesus’ love and mercy are the limits we place on it.
In my own life, I think of how often I fall in the trap of trying to box Jesus’ love, grace, and mercy in; of trying to limit Jesus’ mercy to just covering the worst sin that I’ve committed and going no further than that. I need to be reminded that the only limits to Jesus’ mercy are the limits we place on it, and that if we are to truly love one another as Jesus has loved us, it should be our deepest desire for Jesus’ mercy to extend to the worst sinner and their worst sin. The reality is that Jesus wants to extend his love and mercy to touch, reconcile, and heal even the worst sinner and their worst sins.
The placement of today’s Gospel reading is at the Last Supper, and it is sandwiched between two betrayals. First, we hear Jesus saying that one of the 12 apostles is going to betray him. Immediately after that we hear at the beginning of today’s Gospel reading Judas leaving his space at the last supper to go betray Jesus to hand him over for 30 pieces of silver to be crucified.
Then, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells Peter and the remaining other 10 apostles who have a space at the Last Supper this. Jesus says, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Then, Jesus goes on to foretell how Peter will betray Jesus not once, not twice, but three times by Peter saying he does not know Jesus. So, we have Judas betrayal, these amazing words from Jesus, and then Peter’s betrayal foretold.
In the middle of this betrayal sandwich we hear Jesus say, “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” Unfortunately, Judas cut himself off from being able to hear Jesus say this as he left his space at the Last Supper to betray Jesus. But Peter stayed and heard these words.
I’ll say Jesus’ words again. Jesus says “As I have loved you” then there is a space and after that space Jesus goes on to say, “so you also should love one another. “As I have loved you,” space “so you also should love one another. In that space, we can find an amazing grace. Jesus loves each and every one of us. He has done and continues to do his part in this relationship that is a two-way street (pointing to Jesus on the cross and myself).
Each of us have a role to play in this relationship. We are meant to receive Jesus’ love for us, experience Jesus’ love for us, and allow ourselves to be transformed by Jesus’ love, if we are going to be able to share Jesus’ love for us with one another.(Standing off to the right of the altar) “As I have loved you.”
(Moving and standing with the altar in front) Space
(Standing off to the left of the altar) “so you also should love one another.”
In this space, we can either leave (walking to leave the church) and allow ourselves to become lost or in this space, we can allow ourselves to become found (standing with the altar in front) and experience an amazing grace. Judas left his space at the Last Supper empty. Jesus loved Judas, but Judas did not receive Jesus’ love, experience Jesus’ love, and allow himself to be transformed by Jesus’ love, so he did not have this love to share with others.
But Peter did receive Jesus’ love, experience Jesus’ love, eventually allow himself to be transformed by Jesus’ love, and went on to share this love with others as our first Pope.
If Judas had not cut himself off from experiencing this amazing grace in this space, and had returned with the other 11 apostles seeking reconciliation, he too might have been in the upper room on Easter Sunday evening to hear the resurrected Jesus say, “Peace be with you.” Judas also might have been on the beach with Peter to hear the resurrected Jesus ask, “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?”
Just as there was a space at the table for Judas and Peter, there is a space at the table for you and me today. In that space, will we receive Jesus’ love, experience Jesus’ love, and allow ourselves to be transformed by Jesus’ love so we also will love one another? In this space, will we experience an amazing grace?