The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1913-12-18


not penetrate into the bottomless depth. Judas!
10 1t with kiss you betray the Son of MANI"
And he saw how that monstrous chaos trembled
and stirred. speechless and stern, like death In
its naughty majesty, stood Judas Iscariot and
within him thousand impetuous and fiery voices
groaned and roared
Yes! We betray thee with the kiss of love!
With the kiss Of love We betray thee to outrage,
to torture, to death! With the voice of love We
call together the hangmen from their dark holes,
and we place q cross-and high over the top Of
the earth we lift lover. crushed by love upon
Cross"
Thus stood Judas, silent and cold, like death,
and the shouting and the noise about Jesus
swered the cry Of his soul. With the rude ir.
resoluteness of armed force. with the awkward.
ness Of = vaguely understood purpose. the soldiers
seized him and dragged him somewhere-their
irresouteness they mistook for resistance, their
fear they mistook for derision and mockery over
them Like herd Of frightened lambs, the dis
cipes stood huddled together. not interfering with
anything. yet disturbing everybody and even
themselves Only few Of them resolved to walk
and act separately. Jostled from all sides, Peter
drew out the sword from its sheath with difhculty
as though he had lost his strength, and family
lowered 1t upon the head of one Of the priests
without causing him any harm. Jesus, who no
ticed 1t, ordered him to throw down the unneces-
sary sword. and, clanking family, the sword fell
to the ground.
Thus it remained there. until many days later
children at play found it and made toy of it.
.
When Jesus was led away Peter who
had hidden himself behind the trees, came out and
followed his Master in the distance Noticing an
other man In front Of him. xho walked silently,
he thought that it was John, and he called him
softly:
John, is that you?'
And is that you, Peter?" answered the other,
OausinR potor tho
Traitor. Peter, why did you not run away to-
gether with the oths-s?"
Peter stopped and said with contempt:
Leave me- Satan!"
Judas began to laugh. and paying no further at
tention to Peter, he went farther there where the
torches were flashing dimly and where the clank-
Ing of the weapons mingled with the footsteps
Peter followed him cautiously, and thus they en-
tered the court of the high priest almost stimuli
taneously and mingled in the crowd of the priests
who were warming themselves at the bonfres.
Judas warmed his bony hands morosely at the
bonfire and heard how Peter said loudly some
where behind him:
No, do not know him."
But 1t was evident that they were insisting
there that he was one of the disciples of Jesus
for Peter repeated still louder, But do not un.
derstand what you are saying"
Without turning around. and smiling invoun.
tarily Judas shook his head afhrmatvely and
muttered:
That's right Peter! Do not give up your place
near Jesus to anybody"
And he did not see how the frightened Peter
walked away from the courtyard. And from that
night until the very death of Jesus Judas did not
see single one of the disciples of Jesus near
him, and amid all that multitude there were only
two. inseparable until death. strangely bound to-
gether by sufferings-he who had been betrayed
to abuse and torture and he who had betrayed
him. Like brother, they both, the betrayed and
the traitor, drank out Of the same cup of suffer.
ings. and the fiery liquid burnt equally the pure
and the impure lips.
He saw how the soldiers led Jesus away Night
was passing the bonfires were dying out and were
becoming covered with ashes, and from the sentry
house came dull cries. laughter and abuses They
we're beating Jesus. AS though lost, Iscariot was
running around the deserted yard, now stopping,
lifting his head and then starting to run again.
stumbling upon the bonfires and the walls Then
he clung to the wall of the sentry house. and
stretching himself. clung to the windows. to the
crevices in the doors. and looked greedily to see
what was going on within. He saw a narrow,
stinng room. like all the sentry houses in the
world, with filthy floors and walls And he saw
man being beaten. They beat him on the face,
on the head they hurled him like soft bale from