Scriptural Stations Meditations - Second Station

Jesus, Betrayed by Judas, is Arrested

We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You.
Because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world.

While he was still speaking,
a crowd approached
and in front was one of the Twelve,
a man named Judas.
He went up to Jesus to kiss him.
Jesus said to him,
"Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"
His disciples realized what was about to happen,
and they asked,
"Lord, shall we strike with a sword?"
Luke 22:47-49

We pray:

Lord Jesus, as You began Your prayer in the garden,
Your friends could not reach out to You because
they did not understand;
now, another friend hands You over to those who will execute You.
Judas wanted more than the quiet kingdom of love and service
which You came to enkindle,
a kingdom of peace that begins deep within us.
Because he is driven by his own vision and desires
rather than by love,
he is driven to action that will lead to what he did not foresee.
Yet You do not respond with anger or bitterness.
Even as Judas lies with a kiss, you invite him to the truth,
posing a question to his conscience, no more.
Even as You are arrested with clubs, You reject violence.
You look on each person with love, seeing what we are,
inviting us to something better.
Always, Your heart is offering mercy.

Lord, teach us Your way, so that we will comprehend
Your new commandment, given at the last supper with Your friends:
“Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
Fill us with Your love
so that we will see that we are made to serve others,
to give to others, even to suffer for others.
Help us to be as gentle with one another as You are with us,
to turn all bitterness and resentment from our hearts,
so that they remain open conduits of Your love;
in this way, we will become the peacemakers You called blessed.

May Your suffering love be the prism through which we see one another.