Today, Wednesday of Holy Week, marks a chapter in the final week of Jesus's life on earth that always catches me. The story of Judas. His betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver leaves a pit in my stomach even as I type this.
Working often with silver I can know the weight of the bag, the price of the metal, the measure of which Judas measured the life of Christ. Like much of Holy Week, the story of Judas is heavy. Far heavier than a bag of 30 pieces of silver.
Last year I again found myself stuck on this part of the story–but for the first time I asked myself the question, “What is my price to deny Christ?”
As I sat there baffled that Judas would betray Christ for so little, I began to see all the places that I am often guilty of the same. What do I put before Him? What makes me silent when I know I should proclaim Him? What parts of my life demonstrate this very same indifference to the fact that Christ died for my sins?
It was from that series of internal dialog that the Thirty Pieces of Silver Bracelet was born. Thirty pieces of reclaimed silver, stamped with a variety of details line a tapered brass cuff. My daily bracelet stack includes it as a continual reminder that each day I have the choice to take anything in exchange for Christ.
As I made this set two other things stood out to me. I create the pieces of silver by melting them with a torch. Under the torch–the heat and pressure, often the silver gets jumpy and fuses with other pieces or occasionally jumps clear off my solder block. I think we are a lot like that silver under pressure. Erratic decisions, fusing ideas with others instead of standing on what we know to be true or eating up another piece of silver simply because we are hot and capable of it. When we remember how we act under pressure we likely know exactly how much we need a Savior from our sins.
All thirty pieces come from reclaimed silver, broken things beyond repair or use heated to create something beautiful. Beauty from Ashes.
Worthless being given worth.
He has given us so much.
We trade Him for so little.
Let us be constantly reminded of our own Thirty Pieces of Silver.
Xo,
Jilli
