—For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
May another take his office.

How many could have been Judas? That’s an interesting question isn’t it? Could Peter have betrayed Jesus? How about the Sons of Thunder, James and John, could they have betrayed Jesus? What about the others, the twelve, the seventy-two?

Peter was always quick to jump the gun. He had all sorts of plans laid out for Jesus —“ and expectations too. Jesus even called him Satan:

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

James and John wanted to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in His glory and they didn’t get what they wanted:

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
—What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?”
“We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.”

The other ten were mad at James and John when this happened.

Couldn’t any of the disciples or Apostles have been Judas? Why was one so maddened with rage while the others, who could have been just as angry, learned a little bit about subduing their expectations?

Perhaps they learned that Jesus did not come to make life comfortable for anyone. He did not come to fulfill our expectations, but to call us to fulfill God’s expectations.

Jesus certainly opened the doors to heaven. He certainly reconciled us to the Father. He certainly showed us what being truly human was all about. He was able to do this because He, in His unity, is God and man. He is fully both.

The key is that Jesus is the way. He is the way to God, the way to heaven, the way we must follow to become fully human, to become so human that we may come to the Father in truth. He did so much for us, but we have to act. John tells us:

Moreover, we have seen and testify
that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.
Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.

Listen again,

Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,
God remains in him and he in God.

Amazing stuff, but you have to focus on acknowledging. Acknowledging is more than the occasional nod toward God at Christmas and Easter. Acknowledging God is more than the weekly trek to the parish church. Acknowledging means we must fully commit and act.

Jesus calls us to reach beyond our complacency and comfort. First, we must fall in sorrow for our sins. Then, we must repent, and in the act of repentance, commit to change. The constant struggle is the fight against temptation and the call of the world: ‘hey it’s easy, just do it, it feels good, and it’s what I want’

But Jesus tells us:

“I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.”

We have the word of Jesus. We have His command and His way of life.

We, have a lot to do.

Bishop Hodur told us that very few will reach perfection on the road toward Christ —“ at least in this earthly life. What is most important is that we commit to that road, that we take the first step in a journey of a thousand miles. The tests along the road and the pitfalls are many, and if met with Christ within us and at our side, will make us stronger. The body and blood of Jesus Christ is our food for this journey.

I tell you then, be a disciple of Christ. Be His followers and His doers. Do not let anger or despair turn you into a Judas, a man or woman of broken expectations. Keep your eyes here, front and center. Raise your eyes up to heaven and put your minds and bodies to work.

Any one of us can be Judas. Therefore, consider carefully and place yourselves on the road, walking in the footsteps of the faithful, the communion of saints. Take the place of the one who went his own way, as so many do today, because Jesus told us:

—I consecrate myself for them,
so that they also may be consecrated in truth.—

Jesus Christ has consecrated you in truth. Acknowledge Him and act on it.

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May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation
resulting in knowledge of him.

Knowledge of Him entails a lot. It is historical knowledge, knowledge of who He is, and knowledge that He is acting now, today, in our hearts and in the world. He is acting through the power of the Holy Spirit as He promissed.

This Solemnity is about the certainty of historical knowledge. It is a fact that Jesus died, rose from the dead, was seen by witnesses, and ascended into heaven before witnesses.

It was not ghost Jesus or a Jesus of the imagination or of hysteria as some scholars state nowadays. It was the Jesus who could be touched and held. It was the Jesus who ate with His Apostles and disciples, who broke bread with them in Emmaus. It was the Jesus standing by the seashore preparing a fried fish meal for His friends. It was the Jesus who questioned Peter about his love for Him.

The world is alive with doubt. We have doubts about our relationships, our jobs, our school systems, and the direction of our country. We doubt ourselves and our decisions. The world is all too happy to open a few more trapdoors for us.

Watch TV. We don’t have the coolest, fastest, sportiest, biggest, most fuel efficient cars. We don’t sleep, eat, or relate in the right ways. Our physical appearance and abilities are questioned. How about another trapdoor?

Jesus may have lived (its hard to refute independent testimony from the historians and religious leaders of the day) and Jesus certainly died. The rest, the world says, is doubtful.

There is plenty of evidence and many centuries worth of apologists to prove the case for the resurrected and ascended Jesus. But what about you and me? What are we to believe?

I welcome you to read the proofs for Jesus. To study the culture of the time and the value of witnesses. I’ve done that and more. What I learned was that all the studying in the world can only edify what I already know by faith.

If you trust in the fact of God’s inestimable, unconditional, all powerful, and overwhelming love then you trust in the fact that He would do what we profess He did. We would trust that, with great love, the Father sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world. He sent Him not just to show the way but to atone and sacrifice Himself for our redemption. We would trust that He loves us enough to die for us. That He loves us enough to want us with Him in heaven, that the world is not the end for us, ashes to ashes, but that the Kingdom of God is our destination. That God would rise from the dead, having sacrificed Himself for us He would show us our promised future, our bodily resurrection and our ascension to meet Him in glory.

If you and I trust in God’s love then no proof is needed, just faith.

With faith we are to go forward. We are to:

—Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved—

We are to be His witnesses, witnesses by faith and by our actions.

Your faith must precede your actions. Your actions must be molded and shaped by your faith. By your faith in the resurrected Lord you will be molded and shaped into that man or woman you are to become.

So with St. Paul I say to you:

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,
that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call,
what are the riches of glory
in his inheritance among the holy ones,
and what is the surpassing greatness of his power
for us who believe

Amen.