Conversations on the way to the Cross 4: The Anointing

Judas goes to the High Priest

"My name's Judas Iscariot, my lord. Zach.. Zach here said you might... you might be interested in some, um, some information about Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth."

"Jesus of Nazareth! Yes, indeed! And tell me, young man, what kind of information might you have?"

"Well, I'm... I was one of his friends. His disciples. The Twelve, he called us. I know where he's staying, what he's doing. He trusts us. Me. It would be easy."

"He trusts you. I see. And why, Mr Judas Iscariot, should I trust you? What makes a trusted disciple of Jesus come running like a rat to his enemies?"

"He... I told him! He could have had this city in the palm of his hand, and he knew it! I saw his eyes light up, and I knew. And then there was that dumb donkey, and then tonight... tonight there was that woman... no better than a common whore..."

"Your revered teacher has been consorting with prostitutes? I didn't think he was that type."

"No!! Yes! Well, no, not consorting with, not like that, but she poured perfume on him! Nard! Pure nard, can you imagine? Three hundred denarii down the drain, and oh yes, she can afford it, but the rest of us have been living hand to mouth these three years, giving up everything to follow Jesus, believing.. trusting him when he says he's going to bring in a kingdom, and what does he do?"

"I take it he didn't ask for a receipt."

"A what? No. No, he sat there, expensive perfume dripping down his beard, and said he'd been anointed for his burial. His burial. He's given up. He was the only person in this whole damn world... the only one... he could have changed everything, and now... now he's given up. I should never even have hoped in the first place."

"Well, Mr Iscariot, there's no use crying about it. All our idols fall in the end. And you've earned yourself a little pocket money in coming to us, anyway. Not quite three hundred denarii, but I think we can run to... hmm, thirty pieces of silver. There you go.

"Now, dry your eyes and let's talk details. I think you will be very useful to us..."

Mark 14: 3-11

Other Conversations from the Cross
1: The Donkey
2: The Commotion
3: The Authority

5: The Betrayal
6: The Burial
7: The Precaution
8: The Resurrection

Comments

One hundred churches

About the middle of January, I was walking to school one afternoon when it occurred to me that I must have visited quite a few churches on my explorations. I started counting them. But I quickly ran out of fingers, so when I got home I plotted them on Google Maps. Not only was the number much higher than I was expecting, it was also tantalisingly close to one hundred. Only a few dozen to go. So of course, every walk since then has had to include at least one church! Last Monday I visited my hundredth church: St John the Baptist, Dethick. It was a beautiful little 13-century building with an unusual tower - I was glad it had claimed the 100 spot. I haven't been inside every church. Sometimes they were locked; sometimes I was in a hurry and didn't try the door. St Leonard's Church in Alton had bellringers practicing, and I almost interrupted a funeral when I stuck my head through the door of St Mary's, Marston-on-Dove. A few, such as St Oswald's, Ashbourne, and St Wys...

Derwent Valley Heritage Way: Steep drops ahead

It's been a long time since I fitted that much up and down into an eight-mile walk! 740m of steep climbs and steps. My legs were not very happy with me the next day. Between Matlock and Cromford, the Derwent River runs through a deep valley, with Matlock Bath - a landlocked town which pretends to be a seaside resort - down at the bottom. The ridge of high ground used to run all the way round to Scarthin Rock, cutting off Cromford from the rest of the valley, until somebody blasted a hole through it to build the A6. Matlock Bath: pavilion and amusement park I started in Cromford and climbed over the ridge at Harp Edge, then followed a path along through the woods, with the ground dropping sharply away to my right. There were a few small caves among the trees. At Upperwood someone had thoughtfully provided a bench. I wasn't in need of a rest just yet, though. In fact, I was feeling so bouncy that I went down an entirely unnecessary flight of steps, instead of staying on the reaso...

Easter holidays 2025

It felt like a busy Easter holiday this year - a nice mixture of household jobs, time in the sunshine, and family celebrations. Here are a few highlights. Birthday cake Graham's mum had a big birthday, so Graham and his sister secretly organised a few friends to come to dinner with her. She was surprised - and pleased! - when a small family meal at the pub turned out to include fifteen extra people. Theo baked and decorated this amazing cake all by himself. My sole involvement was cutting it up at the end. The event was a big success. thanks to my mum for the photo Days out We had a family day out at Peak Wildlife Park , in the Staffordshire countryside. It's been a few years since we last went; the penguins and lemurs were familiar, but the zoo has acquired a couple of polar bears. Believe it or not, these two are only half-grown. They're about three years old. playfighting polar bears lemurs penguins otters I persuaded Toby and Theo to come to a garden with me with the ...

Martha's Marvellous Munchies

Search This Blog