What might we learn from these two men, both loved by Jesus and part of His handpicked group of leaders? What do we learn as we consider that Judas went into the darkness and never returned, while Peter also went into the night but returned to the one who said He was the Light of the World? We learn about ethics and morals, loyalty and disloyalty. He was also one of the first two disciples at the empty tomb, and he didn’t fear jumping from his fishing boat into the water as he rushed to shore to embrace his risen Savior. Though warned ahead of time by Jesus, he still did it Peter denied his King not once, not twice, but three times. Yet, when pressed, his boldness evaporated, and his heart filled with cowardice. Peter was the only one who got out of the boat and attempted to walk on water, and he didn’t hesitate to draw his sword to protect Jesus and cut away Malchus’s ear. Peter was the self-appointed spokesman of the Twelve, the first to verbalize that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. Yet, in the end, after letting Jesus wash his feet and Satan fill his heart, he betrays the Son of God for thirty silver pieces. Judas was entrusted with the money and ministered alongside the other disciples. He ate with Jesus, witnessed the miracles, sat at his Rabbi’s feet, and listened to the Truth speaking the truth. Assuming the similarities and distinctions between ethics and morals are somewhat clearer, how do they relate to Good Friday? Consider one way, one lesson about ethics and morals from the narrative, a lesson drawn from the actions of Judas and Peter: I call it a lesson in loyalty and disloyalty.īefore Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, he walked with the Lord for three and a half years. However, when I apply that ethical norm to concerns over aborting a defenseless child, I move from the theoretical to the practical, from ethics to morality. Such a statement certainly has an ethical foundation: murder is wrong. When I say that it is wrong to take the life of an unborn child, I am speaking about morality. When we speak of morality, we address concerns related to behavior, conduct, and rules for a particular person or society. Morals are a bit different, less theoretical, and more practical. For example, if I say that murder is wrong, I make an ethical statement. Speaking of ethics tells of the more theoretical aspects of right and wrong, asking questions about the nature of the good life, duty, obligation, or right actions. However, there is an essential distinction between the terms as they are used today. Insofar as they both relate to matters of right and wrong, good and bad, ethics and morals are similar. Most will have a general sense of the terms, maybe even thinking they are synonymous. Before I discuss one of those lessons, let’s make sure we understand the overlap and distinctions between ethics and morals. At the heart of Good Friday, we find poignant though beautiful ethical and moral lessons giving voice to divine grace and love as they whisper and even shout the gospel message. What about ethics? What about morals? Do these two words come to mind when you think of Good Friday? Maybe. On the religious side, talk of Good Friday usually evokes images of a traitor name Judas, Peter’s three denials of his relationship to Jesus, and the bloody and disfigured body of the Lord hanging lifeless on a Roman cross. What comes to mind when you think of Good Friday? On the cultural side, perhaps a day off from school, one last Lenten fish fry sponsored by the local Knights of Columbus, or making sure someone knows to bring the ham and deviled eggs to dinner on Easter Sunday.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |