If I tell you, you will by no means believe

Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance. Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him." But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him." And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean." But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?" And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us." But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let me go. Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."

- Luke 22:54-69

In yesterday's reading, Jesus prayed on the Mount of Olives. He encouraged His disciples also to pray that they "may not enter into temptation." He prayed His great prayer blending the divine and human - that if it be the Father's will, to pass the cup of what is coming, His arrest and crucifixion. But "nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done." We are told that an angel comforted Him, and Christ was also in agony, His sweat like great drops of blood pouring from Him. He again exhorted the apostles to pray against temptation. Then the mob arrived, the temple officials and captains to arrest Him, with Judas, His betrayer. Jesus said, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house. But Peter followed at a distance. Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him." But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him." And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean." But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So Peter went out and wept bitterly. My study bible notes here: "That the Lord turned and looked at Peter is an intimate detail reported only by Luke. One can imagine the profound meaning of their mutual glance." It's always kind of remarkable to me to view this scene of Peter, because we're told it's a servant girl who first looks at him and recognizes Peter as a follower of Christ. It's she before whom he is first of all afraid and cowardly. From there the pressure builds to insist on his denial. We can perhaps take it for granted that he wasn't afraid of imminent arrest, since the temple authorities had only taken Jesus when they had an opportunity to seize them all. And in some way, Peter is not even standing up for himself, let alone Jesus. So this cowardice is a reflection of the temptation against which Jesus had warned, in yesterday's reading. Peter is in the depths of betrayal of both His master and his true reality, his faith. Let us hope that when we are in the midst of such a betrayal of all that we hope to be and what is best for us, we too can heed an inner glance from our Lord, that sets us back upon our feet, so that, like the Prodigal Son, we "come to ourselves" and remember who we are and where we must be going, whose business we are to be about.

Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?" And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him. Why is it important that our Lord went through and endured such humiliation and suffering at the hands of those who mock Him? Because we too may endure such humiliation for our faith. Wherever we go, He has gone before us, and He can take our suffering and build our strength for us. Just as Peter was warned to pray for strength, to face temptation, and just as Peter needed strength other than his own to resist, so do we. He has been there before us, and takes on our suffering so that we too may have His strength. This is also the power of prayer and seeking union and dialogue with Him.

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us." My study bible tells us here that "the official sessions of the council could take place only by daylight." So, they are careful to follow the law in Luke's narrative.

But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let me go. Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God." My study bible notes, "To sit on the right hand of the power of God signifies Christ's equality with God the Father." Again, to my mind, this is another remarkable scene. As is His usual custom, Jesus does not mince words. But He characterizes for us the nature of this power of darkness and those who are caught up in it, and their attitudes. They cannot listen. They cannot believe nor hear with spiritual ears. They are of a deceitful purpose. Again, hypocrisy is the order of the day - they follow the law by waiting until daylight for the session, but they seize Him by night, and their questions are not honest. They do not sincerely inquire of anything. They do not seek a real identity of Christ here, only to get rid of Him and His popularity and criticism of their places and how they run things in the temple, their practices and the ways in which they use the law.

Have you ever been in a situation in which you, too, dealt with dishonest people who used an image of the good, the moral, only to condemn and to take away something that you had? You may not think your situation resembles Christ's, but the truth is that these pictures in the Gospel serve us all in any situation in which the "power of darkness" (to which Jesus referred in yesterday's reading) can operate in our lives. So if we juxtapose Peter's betrayal with the scenes we are given that follow, we are always in a common thread of identity. Who are we? Who is Peter? Who is Christ? At our deepest levels of personal identity, when we "come to ourselves," then, who do we find? How do we find our image in God, our Creator - the one whose image is stamped in us? What it means to be true to oneself is in fact the same as being true to Creator, and true to faith, because it is there in that identity that we truly find ourselves. A betrayal goes much deeper than we think it does when we succumb to temptation to deny who we truly are, to deny our trust in God to teach us the answer to that question. Remember these scenes when you are in the midst of those who really don't want to know, but rather to project their own image onto you - and remember in Whose hands that image really belongs, the only One who can give you the truth of who you are and how to respond to those who can neither see nor hear what you are, because they don't choose to. We look to the light of Advent for so much more than we think we do. We place ourselves in that light to teach us how to walk through the darkness of all things we may pass through in this world, and keep our souls, keep ourselves in trust to our real identity in Him. In the depth of injustice, we lose who we are; God's justice - just a glance - restores us to that which is real within us.