This is your hour, and the power of darkness

Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayer, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done." Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."

And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this." And He touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "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."

- Luke 22:39-53

On Saturday, we read about Jesus preparing His disciples for what is to come. His arrest is imminent. Peter was warned that he would betray Jesus - "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me." Jesus also told His disciples they must prepare for hardship, in contrast to their first great apostolic mission. "But now," Jesus said, "he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.'"

Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. When He came to the place, He said said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." My study bible notes here: "One of the fundamental purposes of prayer is to strengthen us against temptation in terms of inner sin and outward trials." We know that Jesus has already warned Peter about the denials that are to come. Part of Peter's problem is his reliance on himself, his own strength and emotional conviction alone. We need God's help for the strength of the kingdom and the faith we need. Prayer is a way of seeking this strength. Jesus initiates the times of persecution here for His flock, as Jesus Himself is "numbered with the transgressors." The times of trial they will share with Him demand prayer and strength for the faith they will need.

And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayer, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not my will, but Yours be done." A note reads: "Jesus exemplifies what He taught in the Lord's Prayer -- 'Your will be done' (11:2)." This wonderful short snippet of prayer teaches us so much. We get the human Jesus, who has all the reasons in the world for wishing this "cup" of crucifixion be taken away: He fears for His flock -- what will become of them? How will His mission continue? At His return, will He find faith on the earth? Will it help the Church to come to be crucified, which will serve as a stumbling block and foolishness to worldly opinion? There are so many ways, in addition to the merciless suffering and death He will undergo, that our human perspective is at work behind this prayer to forgo this cup "if it is Your will." But the power of Jesus as Son - and our example of faith and how we are to practice that faith - is in the words, "Your will be done." We have a model of prayer for our doubts and fears, our worldly concerns, our relationship to God in whose image we are made - for all of what we are.

Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. A note reads, "These details, reported only by Luke, indicate the human agony of Jesus and the divine help given to Him as He contemplates His Crucifixion." I like the response to the prayer that we are given here: an angel appears from heaven, strengthening Him. How do we know what angelic presence responds to our prayers for strength? Can we be aware of the efforts made on our behalf? This response is instant. And, as my study bible notes, we are also given the tremendous agony He undergoes at the same time. In our own times of trial, of doubt and indecision, the agony of the loss we face, let us remember His example, this picture: the angel and the agony He experienced before we did.

When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation." And here is another important facet of faith: the encouragement of others. Jesus is lending His care to His disciples - they must pray for their own strength and well-being.

And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" A note here reads: "Son of Man is an expression that Jesus used for Himself which could mean (1) simply 'man' - that is, 'me' - or (2) the heavenly figure of Daniel 7:13, a title which both revealed and veiled Jesus' messianic identity." One thing that we can always count on from Jesus is straight talk: He is never afraid to confront accusers and those who harm others with their hypocrisy. He never minces words.

And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this." A note interprets, "Permit even this: permit the arrest and let events take their course in fulfillment of God's will." Again, a double-sided picture: Jesus speaks out against the moment of betrayal, but also speaks for God's will, "Permit even this."

And He touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?" A note says that "Luke reports only the Jewish participants of the arresting party, whereas John reveals a contingent of Roman soldiers was involved as well." "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." And again, His outspokenness, even in the face of arrest. To their faces He says that they are of the power of darkness.

A seemingly strange set of contradictions: clearly Jesus refers here to His arrest and the actions of His accusers as part of the power of darkness. And yet that darkness is somehow a part of God's will. Or rather, Jesus will submit for a reason. This is the deep paradox in Christianity, and why the Crucifixion is a stumbling block: How can good submit to evil? How can an all-powerful God, who is essentially the reality of the Good, submit to that which is not good? How can evil overcome God, if Christ is the Son of Man, the Anointed One? And so we enter into the depth of paradox here, that in our suffering, we seek God's will, even if it is to submit to the acts of those whose power is the power of darkness. Jesus came into the world to save the world. If nothing else, we are given this assurance. And what must it be saved from, but the power of darkness? I read a quotation recently from Simone Weil. She wrote: "The extreme greatness of Christianity lies in the fact that it does not seek a supernatural remedy for suffering, but a supernatural use for it." And Weil's insight here teaches us a thing or two about what we view in this scene: that God makes use even of the evil in the world to create a transcendent force against it, to prevail with a greater good. We don't win the battles in this world by fighting evil on our worldly terms, but rather we give up that evil to God, and seek God's will for how to walk through it, transcend it, and transform for the sake of the greater good. I asked some friends what they thought of this quotation from Simone Weil, and one responded with great insight, pointing out to me how many people will take their own tragedies and suffering and turn them into an opportunity to help others. Let us consider then how this works by the power of God, to take our suffering and transform it into that which works for the greater good. What suffering do you have to give up to Christ today, to let go of so that He takes it with Him on that Cross? How may it be transformed for the greater good? Let us pray in faith, as does Jesus in today's reading, for the capacity to do that which He did, as those who serve His faith, as His disciples.