Maggie thought he loved her. She thought their story was a happy-ever-after. You know, the type with

framed photographs,

and shared ice cream and passwords.

She gave all she had in this relationship. All she had. Her heart. Her self. Her life. She thought it would never end. But one day it hit her. He’s gone. The person she thought she knew, in a snap, was gone. The person she trusted with all of her turned out to be a different person after all. She was betrayed. She was crushed.

Many of us, in one way or another, at some point in our lives, would have found ourselves as a Maggie – hurt, betrayed, left behind. We can all relate to how the shock of a broken trust sears the soul. Then a part of us inevitably dies. Ahh, the kiss of death. It does not only sting. It paralyzes. It numbs. It steals away every sign of life remaining, until all of it is gone. Then we slide into vermillion. And down to nothingness.

“The Old Window”

November 10, 2008

I looked out the window

And saw the same blue

The same sky, the same hue

But then I could not see you

I looked across the valleys

And the fertile plains

I looked towards the hills

But only looked in vain

For it is a new window

That I am looking through

I lost my old window

The one where I can find you

When you experience betrayal, you enter into a cycle of questioning your worth. It could even end in you succumbing into the lie that your life means nothing. Your vulnerability may even steer you towards self-loathing. But your story should not end there. Because it does not!

On this very day of this Holy Week a.k.a. Passion Week, two-thousand and so years ago, a man had been brutally betrayed by one of his closest friends. He had been with him for three whole years making beautiful and challenging memories together. He loved him. He trusted him. But one evening it happened. For thirty pieces of silver, he was betrayed by his close friend. A beautiful friendship had been ended with the kiss of death.

The kiss of death.

That very kiss of betrayal. We all know him. He even became ever so popular because of his deed of deception. We have even coined the term for utmost treachery in his honor. The Judas Kiss. That kiss. The very kiss that sealed the commencement of Jesus’ death and passion on the cross.

Jesus and Judas.

The betrayed and the traitor.

Judas and Jesus.

The sinner and the savior.

A betrayal usually does not come as an accident. It is thought of. It is planned. Judas did not just come about with a sudden thought on his head that he would hand in his friend and teacher in exchange for money and did it immediately. He thought of it. He considered it. He reconsidered it. He planned it. (Matthew 26:14-16). Then, he executed it. (Matthew 26: 47-50).

David did not cheat on and betrayed Maggie in the wink of an eye. He lusted after someone else. He thought of having an affair. He went after the other woman. He had an affair with her. Then he left his wife of ten years.

It was thought of. It was considered. It was reconsidered. Then, it was done.

Now, imagine the pain of Judas’ betrayal. The hello turned goodbye. A bitter-sweet turning of the tables. Did Jesus, like Maggie feel pain? Well, let me ask you, if you were Jesus would you feel the pain?

In this context, Jesus and Maggie are not at all different. However, although we do not know how the story of Maggie ended, Scripture has a record of how Jesus’ did. Despite the unimaginable pain of betrayal, of not just one but most of his disciples, and all the people who just a few days prior were shouting “Hosanna, Son of David!”, laying down their cloaks on the ground for him to pass on and waving branches of palm trees to signify their acknowledgment of him as their king and savior, but later whose shouts of “Hosanna!” turned into “Away with him! Crucify him!”, he pressed on. He walked the painful way towards Golgotha, carrying his own cross onto which he was later crucified. He met his death betrayed and alone. He even had to be separated from his Father as the onlookers recall him shouting,

“Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?”,

i.e. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

However, in the end, he asked his Father to forgive those who betrayed him for they know not what they do (Luke 23:24).

Jesus, like Maggie, was betrayed. Jesus, like you and me, was betrayed. He felt pain. His heart was seared. But amidst the pain, he still thought of those who had despised and hurt him. In fact, he came to the cross for them. He came to the cross for you and me.

Maggie may have loved David deeply that his kiss of death killed her soul. But Jesus loves us much deeper that Judas’ kiss of death killed his earthly body but gave life to our souls. As a matter of fact, there may be 99 others who are tons better than David. But Jesus seeks out that one David to give him life.

You and I are Davids.

With our lustful eyes and wild passions, we seek out other lovers. But Jesus would not give up on us. Despite the pain and betrayal, he still loves. He still waits. He still gives life! For He is the lover of our souls! His is the only love that never fails.