BISHOPS IN METHODISM

 The Spirit of Judas in Modern Churches

Judas is mostly remembered for his betrayal of Jesus. But this is not the whole truth about Judas. When looking deeper into the relationship between Jesus and Judas, it seems that he would have been an admirer of Jesus as the expected Messiah. Otherwise, later, how did Jesus choose Judas to be one of his twelve apostles? The twelve apostles spent time together, travelled together, and shared meals together with Jesus. Jesus seems to have developed confidence in Judas to the extent of appointing him as the keeper of the common purse (treasurer). Jesus may have chosen him for what he was and what he might have been, not for what he became!

However, at the anointing of Jesus by Mary in Lazarus’ home, another side of Judas’ life is revealed (John 12: 1ff) …Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. Isn’t Judas repeating almost the same thing Jesus said to the rich young man: Go and sell all that you have and give to the poor? What an appropriate proposition from Judas! "Give to the poor. What a wonderful piece of ministry Judas is proposing instead of spending a large sum of money on an individual! Why is Jesus not supporting it?

Taking care of the poor, feeding the hungry, and caring for the sick and suffering are hallmarks of Christianity. All around the world, there are organizations and people who are ready to fund projects with millions of dollars or euros in third-world countries like ours. The question is, How faithful are the Christian churches and organizations in Sri Lanka in disbursing the same with faithful stewardship and accountability?

Why Jesus did not support the proposition of Judas is well explained in John 12:5, "Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. Is the modern church sincerely wanting to get funds because it is really interested in the welfare of the people?

As the keeper of the money bag, Judas used to help himself to what was put into it. The same is repeated in the church today by both the clergy and the laity. Have you ever wondered why Judas the Disciple started to take money from the common purse when he wasn’t supposed to? The fact that he agreed to betray Jesus, his Lord, for thirty pieces of silver indicates that he had begun to think about getting money all the time. He tried to find ways to get more of it and ended up becoming a thief. Is the modern church infiltrated with the same spirit of focusing heavily on getting money and wealth all the time, leading to the spirit of stealing like Judas?

The present-day church in Sri Lanka is full of catchphrases like "Vision and Mission", "Making Disciples" "Sowing for the Harvest, "Reaching the Unreached, etc., which sound so good. However, the question I raise is whether these slogans are focused more on attracting funding agencies than doing the actual ministry of the church. You might say to me, "How unfair for you to raise that question relating to God’s work? I share with you below certain happenings in a Sri Lankan church (denomination) that really make me ask the same.

The head of a church stopped the practice of his office staff holding intercessions at noon, saying "It’s not necessary" for his church office. Can you believe it? A few months later, he came up with an overseas-funded project proposal titled "Prayer Pilgrimage". The targeted number of people as per the project proposal for the "pilgrimage" has not yet been found. A national prayer conference that is part of the project has come to a standstill due to several postponements of dates by the said church leader for reasons unknown. The question is, What will he do with the funds received for the prayer pilgrimage? The reason to raise this question is that the same church leader has had a bad track record of "rolling the funds" from one account to another and then to another, and finally they have "evaporated". In another instance, Rs. 17 million was supplied by a funding agency for COVID-19 response work by the same church. A very impressive task force was appointed, with a large number of people who did not really know what their task was! It has now been three years, and no audited accounts have been presented to the relevant local finance committees or the annual conference. In the said church, there are very vociferous (in the past) financial experts who have been well manipulated and are now extremely silent on the non-presentation of accounts. In fact, one of them told me very directly, "We can’t question the leader of our church; the fund is totally under his care".

The photo shown above is evidence of a local agent of a foreign Christian funding agency that facilitates Christian discipleship programs in Asia. The program provides very good teaching on discipleship. However, the local agent insists on a photo of the participants holding up a blue book that he provides for each seminar. Taking a group photo of the participants in a program is acceptable. But why is the agent so particular that the participants should hold the blue book for a photo? Are there any kickbacks or commission payments behind these photos? A person who got involved in a debate with me on this matter went on to say "If people are brought into discipleship through such foreign-funded programs, the kickbacks and commissions that someone gets do not matter". Is that how God’s kingdom operates?

These are only a few examples of a denomination that is heavily subverted by the stealing spirit of Judas, which is going on a rampage. How many other churches are in this mess? I do not know. I would rather speak about the one I know! Money is undoubtedly a blessing, but stealing designated funds for God’s kingdom work and getting kickbacks through foreign funding agencies is the biggest curse that has come upon the church.

It is not those who have never tasted that the Lord is good who are into all this mess in the church. They are the very people who responded to Christ’s call to discipleship but have involved themselves in such scandalous activity in the church. Remember Judas? He also responded to the call and followed Jesus. But Judas' deceitful greed ultimately destroyed him. Jesus chose him for "what he was and what he might have been, not for what he became! Those who serve Christ have the freedom to choose to be used by Satan or by the Holy Spirit. Judas, by his actions, proved that he had chosen to steal from the purse, which followed a series of bad decisions, and the devil took advantage of this opportunity. Is the spirit of Judas operating in the same way in our churches today?

Rev. Asiri P. Perera
Retired President Bishop
Methodist Church Sri Lanka

August 24, 2023