Be Better Than Me

Seeking the success of our protégés

04/16/2019

John 13:21-33, 36-38 Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, "Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus' side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him, "Master, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it." So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly." Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, "Buy what we need for the feast," or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

I am a big fan of the actor Denzel Washington. And recently, I love watching Ryan Reynolds, too. So, when I heard they had both starred in a movie called “Safe House,” I knew I would love it and had to see it. The plot revolves around Reynolds, who plays a low-level CIA agent named Matt Watson, guarding a safe house in Cape Town, South Africa. Suddenly, he finds himself saddled with a CIA operative who has betrayed the Agency, played by Denzel Washington, named Tobin Frost. As they run for their lives from both the agency and assassins trying to kill them, Reynolds is manipulated by Denzel and he doesn’t know who to believe: the betrayer or his bosses. In the penultimate scene, Frost is fatally shot and says these profound words to the young Weston. Gasping for air, he whispers: “You know what you are? I know what you are. You’re better than me. Be better than me.” In that unforgettable scene, Tobin both regrets all the mistakes he has made, and he hopes for a better life and career for Weston. Those words touched something very deep in me, and probably in everyone else who watched the movie. Only Denzel can make a bad guy look so good.

In the gospel today, the apostles are wondering what to make of another betrayer they are saddled with, namely, Judas, and whether or not to trust him. There are at least three theories explaining why Judas betrayed Jesus. First, it may have been for money. After all, the Jewish leaders bribe Judas with thirty pieces of silver to hand over the Holy One. Secondly, it may have been because Jesus was not a military Messiah, as Judas and other zealots had hoped. And thirdly, Archbishop Fulton Sheen argued he betrayed Jesus because he did not believe in the Eucharist. At the end of John 6, where Jesus explained the Eucharistic exigency to eat his Body and drink his Blood, we read: “Jesus answered them: ‘Did I not choose you twelve? Yet one of you is a devil?’ He was referring to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot; it was he who would betray him, one of the Twelve.”

But I would suggest to you, in spite of all the damning evidence, that if there was one thing Judas could have said with his last breath, he would have whispered to the other eleven apostles: “You know what you are? I know what you are. You’re better than me. Be better than me.” Now, I’m not saying that Judas made it to heaven, or even to purgatory. But it is undeniable that the Church as never declared that any one single person by name is in hell. Who is so wise as to know the final state of Judas’ soul as he hung himself from the tree? Is it impossible to imagine that his final thoughts were also regrets for his mistakes (colossal as they were) and hope for a better future for his friends? Maybe if Denzel played Judas he could make that bad guy book pretty good, too.

My friends, let me invite you to meditate and mull over those wise words: “Be better than me.” Anyone who has had progeny (children) or pupils (students) or players (football, basketball, etc.), in a word protégé of any ilk, has felt the force of those words: be better than me. When I think of the many associate priests whom I have had the privilege and pleasure to mentor, all I hope for them is summed up in the words: “Be better than me.” That’s what I hope for Fr. Stephen and what I hoped for Fr. Andrew, Fr. Pius and Fr. Shantiraj and so many others. Those words give me a sense of my own sins, and my hope for a better priesthood for each of them.

Doesn’t every parent feel that desire with their children and grandchildren? My parents made so many sacrifices to come to this country. Why? Wasn’t it also in a sense to give us greater opportunities than they had in terms of college and careers? Behind their many sacrifices, I can hear them whispering: “Be better than me.” Honest and humble parents acknowledge they are not perfect parents, and they hope for a better future for their children.

A couple of weeks ago, Pope Benedict broke his silence and weighed in on the clergy sexual abuse crisis. He had a lot of insightful comments about the crisis. But he also implicitly admitted his pontificate was not perfect, and he wanted something better for Pope Francis and the Church. Among all the other great things the pope emeritus said, I could hear him whispering: “Be better than me.”  Maybe he resigned precisely so a better pope might step forward.

Yesterday, a friend of mine asked me what would be a good quotation from scripture to put on a cemetery headstone. I suggested a couple of verses that came to mind. But maybe on my own headstone, someone could write profound words, “Be better than me.” Maybe that’s what we should write on Judas Iscariot’s grave as well.

Praised be Jesus Christ!