Judas and Jesus: Amazing Grace for the Wounded Soul

by Ray S. Anderson

It was printed in block letters with a felt tip pen across the top of the mirror in the men's restroom in a restaurant in San JUDAS COME HOME--ALL IS FORGIVEN! The story of Judas is the story of each of us, to some degree. The past cannot be corrected nor failures erased by remorse. I suspect that the wounds to the soul of Judas were deep and devastating, particularly because they were largely self-inflicted. It hurts to have failed others and even more to have failed ourselves. Judas is the voice within us that will not be put to rest with platitudes nor silenced with sensible palliatives for nonsensical pain. Where human love, even self love, turns away with regret, or even disgust, divine love persists and prevails as the amazing grace of God. It is of this grace that I write, of Judas and of the healing of the deep wounds to his soul. The healing begins, for him as it does for us, with a meeting, a mending, and a mirror, in which we see ourselves reflected in the face of God.

130 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

aka Ray Sherman Anderson

Ray S. Anderson (Ph.D., University of Edinburgh) was senior professor of theology and ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, where he had taught since 1976. He was also a contributing editor to Journal of Psychology and Theology.

He wrote many books, including Judas and Jesus: Amazing Grace for the Wounded Soul (2004), The Soul of God: A Theological Memoir (2004), Spiritual Caregiving as Secular Sacrament: A Practical Theology for Professional Caregivers (2003), Dancing with Wolves While Feeding the Sheep (2002), The New Age of Soul: Spiritual Wisdom for a New Millennium (2001), The Shape of Practical Theology: Empowering Ministry with Theological Praxis (2001), Living the Spiritually Balanced Life (1998) and The Soul of Ministry: Forming Leaders for God's People (1997). Anderson's articles and book reviews have been published in a wide array of scholarly and popular periodicals.

Reviews

[Kieran Rooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I do not think I gave this little book the time it deserves (thank you, grad school integration paper), the powerful moments reach past what I need for my paper and touch my very heart. Anderson is very perceptive of how shame undergirds human experience, and I found his ideas on mental health to by positively provocative. But most of all, I found in myself a heart for Judas as a reflection of myself.