THIS IS JESUS - THE KING OF THE JEWS

Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

"They divided My garments among them,

And for My clothing they cast lots."

Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:

THIS IS JESUS

THE KING OF THE JEWS

Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and built it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.

- Matthew 27:32-44

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' mocking and humiliation by the entire garrison of soldiers at the Praetorium. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They put a reed in His right hand. They bowed their knees and said to Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. I find something very powerful in the figure of Simon, because it tells us that we may help the Lord in His work in the world. God is almighty, all-powerful, and yet, God works together with us. We are and may become His helpers in the world; this is the way God has chosen to work. Tradition has it that Simon was a Jew from Cyrene, a Greek colony in Libya, northern Africa, and that his children became Christian missionaries. He may have been compelled to bear the cross, but his participation with the Lord led to family life as part of the Body of Christ. This is true of many figures in the Gospels.

And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. Elsewhere (in Mark) we're told this is a sour wine (like vinegar) mixed with myrrh. This may be a form of numbing or pain-killing. Furthermore, death by crucifixion may result from systemic failure of blood circulation to all the organs and tissues, characterized by low blood pressure, thus a slow and very painful death. Myrrh in medicinal form is said to stimulate blood flow. In its natural state, dissolved in vinegar, it would be extremely bitter (hence, like gall). His refusal here reminds me of His words to the Apostles at the Last Supper.

Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots." Again, the Scriptures are fulfilled. This is a quotation from Psalm 22:18. The entire psalm is a picture of the Crucifixion, and we will come back to reference it in Jesus' words from the Cross.

Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS - THE KING OF THE JEWS. How ironic is it that the accusation against Him is one in which we believe now? He is King of kings, Lord of lords. He was most certainly not a political king, nor a political Messiah. His entrance into Jerusalem proclaimed Him a man of peace, not one of war and the power of warfare. And yet, in the accusation, there is a truth we hold dear. It is a time out of step with truth, in which truth is mocked, hidden in plain sight, in ridicule, cruelty, torture, crucifixion, degrading and bitter treatment.

Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and built it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. Ultimately, though the prisoner is crucified, really, for the blasphemy declared by the Council, it is a time of blasphemy in itself. Though it is Jesus they crucify and call blasphemer, this picture is one of the soul which seeks to torture and crucify its Creator, to deny the reality of God's presence.

My study bible has an important note on this entire passage: "Jesus endures the weakness of our body in His own body on the Cross to take upon Himself our sufferings. This He does by the reality of the union of His divine nature and human nature in the One Son of God. His humanity is indeed our very humanity. He endures pain, is struck, tortured and crucified: He is wounded on account of our sins (Is. 53:5). And though He has no sin, He Himself was made to be sin for us, that through His flesh He might condemn sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 2:9)." In this picture of the crucified Christ, I find it very powerful that Jesus has earlier told these men who've condemned Him: "You are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." So this deed of crucifixion indeed does reflect the inner life which He saw within them: the death of dead men's bones, indeed, the murderers of the prophets and those who are sent. Without knowing ourselves, living in the truth Christ gives us about who we are and what we need to do in life, we, too, may fall prey to our own inner desires, the things we hide from ourselves, a hypocrisy which is projected outward in horrible scenes like this one. It suggests a time which is not just upside down, but inside out. The saving grace, even in a time like this one, is with God's power and grace, giving meaning to all things. In Christ's death, we find ourselves. His wounding, His suffering, all are the "stripes" of this world. There is no one who cannot find themselves in Christ. Through Him, our lives are transformed. Thereby the Cross becomes the instrument, the power and the symbol of Resurrection.

"Hail, King of the Jews!"

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison behind Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

- Matthew 27:24-31

On Saturday, we read of Jesus presented before Pilate, the governor of Judea. Pilate said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus responded, "It is as you say." While Jesus was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Pilate prodded Him, but He wouldn't respond, and the governor marveled greatly. It's the feast of Passover, and the custom is for the governor to release one prisoner. Pilate asked the crowds, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife told him: "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!" Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison behind Him. The Praetorium was the governor's residence. Here, we have to remark on the importance of the prisoner: the whole garrison is gathered here behind Him. This is an efficient Empire, and one which understands nothing if not power. A whole garrison would not be put to use without purpose.

And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. The prisoner, King of the Jews, is humiliated, mocked, stripped, spat on. It's like an official act of humiliation. My study bible has an important note: "Every king is proclaimed by his soldiers. Thus it is fitting that Jesus should be crowned by the soldiers, although they are unaware of what they are doing. His crown of mockery shows Him 'despised and rejected by men' (Is. 53:3) and thus the One who bears 'the iniquity of us all' (Is. 53:6). Jesus is clothed in scarlet (Mark 15:17 and John 19:2 have 'purple'), representing both His royalty and the sins of humanity which He has taken upon Himself (see Is. 1:18). That the Son of God would be so humble Himself to release us from our sin and death should melt even a heart of stone."

And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. Jesus goes to His crucifixion as Son of Man, with His own clothes on. The King of Glory is now a prisoner awaiting death by crucifixion, a horrible and torturous way to die.

Reading about Jesus' humiliation and mocking, I can't help but be struck by the love that He has given. Of the Roman soldiers, I think we can surely say - with my study bible and the words that Jesus will pronounce from the Cross - that they don't really fully know what they are doing. And yet we know what they are doing, Jesus knows fully what they are doing. The fullness of this time is unmistakable, and perhaps its weight will grow as we understand Christ's love more deeply for ourselves. We have to remember that all of this was done for us, out of tremendous love. This suffering, the extreme ironies, the agony of rejection, betrayal, humiliation, degradation, this is all for us. It's an inescapable part of the story. It teaches us about ourselves, gives us a picture of our world. What do we so easily degrade and step upon? What do we do with things we don't understand? When we suffer any form of humiliation or degradation in our lives, does it say something about who we truly are or does it tell us about the people who would do such things? Over and over, Jesus has preached against faith in appearances alone, a life lived for the construction of an image. In these images of Christ's torture and mockery, we have to see His words played out even more truly and vividly than we can imagine. Does this scene really show us who He is? Yes, He is the man of sorrows. He is also King of kings and Lord of lords. In His humiliation and sorrow, He teaches us something about ourselves: life is not about making a perfect image before others, but about being true to what we are. And the truth belongs, ultimately, to the Person who is Truth. It's there we find ourselves. Not in the images the world would paint of us, nor those we might seek to paint of ourselves. We can't put faith in what the world would show us, or a false face, a mask of an actor in life, a hypocrite (which literally means actor in the original Greek). We put faith in the place where we know who we really are, and where we are truly known. Christ gives us the gift of His humiliation and sorrow. He knows who He is, and He will teach you who you are.

"Let Him be crucified!"

Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "It is as you say." And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!" Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!"

- Matthew 27:11-23

In yesterday's reading, Jesus has been condemned by the Council, and given over to the governor, as they plot to put Him to death. Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. They said to themselves that they could not use the money in the treasury, as it the price of blood. So they bought a potter's field, in which to bury strangers. Matthew tells us: Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, "and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

Now Jesus stood before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "It is as you say." Again, we read Jesus' reply similar to that of two recent readings (the first was when Judas asked, "Rabbi, is it I?" and the second in response to the high priest). Here the variation is a slightly different word in the Greek, that denotes "you say" in a present tense, hinting to us the implication that this is what Pilate will write on the Cross, the identity of the prisoner. Rather than testimony as in the words of Judas and the high priest, this word implies a judgment. So the irony is similar in each circumstance: here, despite himself, Pilate is pronouncing the truth about Jesus. The charge is brought by the Council because a charge of blasphemy will be meaningless to Pilate; on the other hand, a king of the Jews is a political threat, a direct attack on Roman rule.

And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?" But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. Jesus is being consistent in not responding to the false accusations being trumped up against Him by the leadership of the Council. Pilate clearly has never encountered a prisoner like this one.

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. My study bible points out a deceptive irony, woven into this story. "Barabbas" means "son of Abbas" -- in Aramaic, it sounds like "Son of the Father," who is Jesus. We could mention the fact that Barabbas is notorious, and known as a popular violent rebel against the Romans, a murderer. We look at the contrast: Pilate notes to the crowd that Jesus is called Christ, "Anointed One." But to me the real hint here is that this political man, governor of Judea, servant in the hierarchy of Rome, knows very well what is going on. The leadership has delivered Jesus up to be killed out of envy: He has the faith and loyalty of so many. He is a leader not by title but by His very Person.

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of Him." A very interesting note here: Pilate's aware they've delivered up Jesus out of envy. Pilate's wife also knows somewhere inside of herself: this is a just Man. Her soul is disturbed in a dream by the injustice of what is being asked. Even those who know nothing of Jesus, nothing of Jewish spiritual history, have a natural sense of what is being done here. It's an indirect testimony to all the Gentile peoples who await direct knowledge of the revelation of the Son. My study bible points out that Pilate doesn't really know who's being judged, but he fears his wife's dream.

But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. Here is the abuse of leadership position, an example of wolves in sheep's clothing, about which Jesus has warned will also come in His name. For the sake of their own positions, they lead the people astray. Most likely the crowds here have been assembled by them in the first place. We remember that Jesus' disciples have scattered.

The governor answered and said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" They said, "Barabbas!" Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" They all said to him, "Let Him be crucified!" Then the governor said, "Why, what evil has He done?" But they cried out all the more, saying, "Let Him be crucified!" Here's another irony in the story: the people He's come to save cry out for His crucifixion. The Gospels never go with the crowds, who are always easy to persuade. (In another note in my study bible there is the expression, "the crowd follows the crowd.") In the story of Jesus, Matthew gives us today another understanding of justice and its principles: there is always a chance the innocent are persecuted by the powerful, and by a hateful mob. Jesus has preached over and over again about the protection and care of the little ones, the humble, the poor, the powerless. In any system of justice, the protection of the excluded, the minority, becomes paramount to our understanding of truth. In so many ways, the story of Christ gives us tools of understanding for how we are to live, to understand ourselves, to find truth.

So, in this picture the world is stood on its head. The crowd bays for Jesus' crucifixion. Stirred up by the leadership, it is assembled here even when Pilate understands there is something amiss. A pragmatic governor ruling in the name of an Empire known for its use of power, its excesses soon to be notorious at Rome, its ruthlessness in crushing opposition -- even he knows something here is amiss. Let it be a lesson to us of what a time upside down looks like. Hypocrisy -- a false mask -- can create an impression of leadership where there is none, where there is only care for the leader's position and not for what is truly good, not even for the things the leadership is supposed to care for. In this case, those in spiritual leadership pervert and corrupt spiritual reality, falsely present it to the people. And when this happens in the realm of the spiritual, so it filters down to all levels of social discourse and action. In every way, this scene is corrupt. We have the symbolic false face of the "Son of the Father" in the name of Barabbas the rebel, the false face of the Council, the false face of leadership that fails all around, and a false face of the people in a riled up crowd. So where is truth here? How do we know what truth is? In my opinion, we must view this story as a picture of who we are and what we may become. This past century has seen all kinds of pictures of riled up mobs, of crowds bent on collective insanity and persecution of religious minority, ruled by leadership that is fully corrupt and yet may present the face of the ones who guard collective social values. Through sophistry and deception, we may be persuaded to follow seemingly anything. Let us not forget that collective rage and anger get us nowhere, but to a nihilistic kind of spiral downward. Ironically, the individual life of Judas serves as a model of what can also happen collectively. To murder Jesus will not take away His truth, nor will it destroy the effect and presence of His Person. His Resurrection remains a real presence; grace is at work in the world no matter what we may see or persuade ourselves to believe. In all times, let us seek the secret place where we may pray to Our Father in secret, who sees in secret, and may guide us with the truth that we need.

I have sinned by betraying innocent blood

When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood." And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, "and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me."

- Matthew 27:1-10

Yesterday, we read about Peter in the courtyard of the high priest's home. Inside, Jesus is being falsely accused, mocked and beaten. A servant girl said to Peter that he was also with Jesus of Galilee. Peter denied it before all of them, saying, "I do not know what you are saying.” Another girl said he was with Jesus of Nazareth. Peter denied it again, this time with an oath, saying, "I do not know the Man!" Finally another told Peter that he must be with Jesus, that his Galilean speech gives him away. Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against Jesus to put Him to death. And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. My study bible tells us that under Roman law, only the governor had authority to pronounce the death sentence. So they must present Him with some sort of convincing charge. Notice the importance of the morning session: a night trial, to which Jesus has been subjected, was illegal under Jewish law.

Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." Perhaps Jesus' condemnation and the vicious nature of His accusers shocks Judas into understanding what he has done. We remember Jesus' warning to him, and His attempts to save him - including the offering of the Eucharist, and calling Judas "Friend" in the garden. My study bible notes that "Judas is remorseful but not repentant -- a sharp contrast to Peter's sorrow after his denials. Two accounts of Judas's death are given, here and in Acts 1:16-19."

And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!" Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. What is the difference between remorse and repentance, as my study bible points out? Here, Judas takes matters into his own hands. His focus is on the effects of his act, but not in the inner place of relationship with God.

But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood." And they consulted together and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, "and gave them for the potter's field, as the LORD directed me." How ironic that they should now take care for what is according to the law. It is yet another twist of remembrance for us about Jesus' scathing words against hypocrisy. Even as they plot to put Jesus to death in crucifixion, a field is bought for the poor strangers who have no one to bury them. It's a kind of ironic claim of the dead as their own, while Christ is ultimately rejected and hung on a cross outside the gates of the city - a sort of grim trade in death.

The question of Judas is a puzzling one. We remember that the fulfillment of the Scriptures is because prophecy foresaw what would happen. One wonders what would have happened had Judas turned to Christ -- after Jesus' rebuke for criticizing Mary's anointing, at the Last Supper, when Jesus warned him, "Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." But Judas' real repentance never truly happens here, if we are to take the note in my study bible seriously. Judas feels remorse at the effects of what he has done, but what would repentance mean? Perhaps remorse remains within the state of emotionality, is part of the same continuum of emotions that has led him to this lost place to begin with. Repentance, then, in a Christian sense involves a deeper change of heart, leading to a turn to Christ. One may wonder what would have happened had he come to Christ or to the Apostles. In some sense, Judas' turmoil of emotions is still in isolation, still something of himself alone. His alternative, in his perspective of despair and emotional turmoil, is suicide. It's still a cautionary tale to us about our own humility, and against excessive self-hatred as if we are our own judges. To be lost in a turmoil of self-loathing isn't to truly follow God who loves us. We lead ourselves down the wrong path. It's not the same as coming to Christ, no matter what mistakes we've made, and seeking His Way for us. Judas serves as a model of life without Christ, of the despair and darkness of a merciless state in which we're truly left only to our own devices and dejection, without the hope God offers for the future. He can't really undo what he's done, giving back the money won't achieve that. Without God, he's lost, in a place of true exile. In our darkest places, it's important to remember Jesus' words, that with God all things are possible.

I do not know the Man!

Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly.

-- Matthew 26:69-75

In yesterday’s reading, Jesus was taken away from the garden of Gethsemane and led to the house of the high priest. It is night, and an illegal trial gets underway. Outside, Peter has followed and sits in the courtyard with the servants of the high priest. Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none, even though many false witnesses came forward. Finally there are two who say that Jesus claimed He could destroy and rebuild the temple in three days. The high priest said to Jesus, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." The high priest tore his clothes and said they had no more need of testimony. He claimed they had all heard blasphemy from Jesus’ own lips. “What do you think?" he asked the Council. They answered and said, "He is deserving of death." Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?"

Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, “You also were with Jesus of Galilee.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you are saying.” We remember, of course, Jesus’ prediction (which Peter recalls at the end of today’s reading). At that time, Peter had sworn, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" But here is the first denial, before a servant girl.

And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.” But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” Here is the second denial, before another girl. Notice the details: Peter has gone out to the gateway. We begin to wonder, why did he follow Christ? The text tells us (in yesterday's reading) it was to see the end. This time, the denial is more vehement, with an oath.

And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.” Then he began to curse and swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” Peter becomes even more emphatic, this time with cursing and swearing. But his Galilean speech gives him away. He won't stand up to their questioning before this gathering of servants, and says he doesn't know Jesus at all.

Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” So he went out and wept bitterly. My study bible says here: "What is the proper response after sinning severely? Peter wept bitterly, beginning a process of repentance, confession, forgiveness, reconciliation and renewal." It quotes from Psalm 51, verse 17: "A broken and contrite heart -- these, O God, You will not despise."

In Peter's failure to live up to his promise here, we can see so many things about ourselves, and about our relationship to Christ and its central importance to us. First of all, Peter's exuberant promise that he would even be willing to die with Christ takes us back to a frequent problem Peter expresses in the Gospels. Of ourselves alone and our emotions, we can hardly rely on our own strength. Faith gives us something more, we participate in the energies of grace that give us strength we didn't know we had, and a process that transforms the way of thinking we've learned from our own worldly experiences. Secondly, Peter doesn't really know himself that well. There's no doubt in his sincerity in declaring he would die with Christ, and yet he lets himself down so bitterly. At the time, though, and in the moments in which he's questioned -- three times in the courtyard as to whether or not he knew Christ -- he simply grew increasingly vehement, agitated, to the point of cursing and swearing that he didn't know the Man at all. As with Judas, we see a very human phenomenon: when we always think we're right, and we can't step back from our feelings, we just may be setting ourselves up for a fall. Our feelings can carry us away to a place where we don't really know where we are, or how far away from the mark of prudence and discernment we just might be straying. Again, without the relationship that keeps us in the right place, our emotions alone can carry us away to a place that's not good for us, nor good for others. Christ's great gift to us is in the things my study bible notes here: we're saved through a process of repentance and reconciliation. We might be very frail and have a lot to learn, despite what we think we can achieve through our own strengths. But we're always called back, when we come to our senses. And then it becomes a question of going back, to the One who loves us, and starting again. Life, I find, is a continuous process of such self-knowledge (and in my case, surely through failures!) and going back to the One who teaches me to just start over right where I am, in His care. How do you experience failure and disappointment with yourself? Who is the loving Person that sets you back on the right path? Through God's grace and the work of the Spirit, Peter will become not just a fearless preacher, but a great martyr as witness and leader of the Apostles. Where does God's love take you? When we understand what is happening to Jesus inside the home of the high priest, I can't imagine Peter's shame later. And yet, there was a plan for him, a great plan in which Peter was to play a remarkable role. Let us remember that excessive guilt and self-loathing are also a form of self-indulgence; it's God's love we need to accept and follow.

Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!

And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'" And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?" They answered and said, "He is deserving of death." Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?"

- Matthew 26:57-68

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' betrayal by Judas. Judas came into Gethsemane, where Jesus is with His disciples, and he was accompanied by a mob of people with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and elders. Judas said, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him." Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" They laid hands on Jesus to take Him, and one of the disciples struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. But Jesus said, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end. We will see what role Peter plays as the night progresses. Inside, an illegal trial is commencing. Night trials were forbidden in Jewish law.

Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none. Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none. Again we are given further violation of Jewish law in Jesus' trial. It is a time of deep error in so many ways. It's important to note that pointing out violations of the law isn't the purpose of the Gospels -- but it is a part of the story of Jesus, something essential for us to understand as an element of this time. Even the false witnesses themselves cannot hold up as evidence. There is obvious failure here in so many ways.

But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'" This is quite an interesting detail. Of course we know where this statement comes from, as it's reported in the Gospels. These witnesses have misunderstood the statement, as did the leadership to whom it was made. John tells us that the disciples recalled it later, after Jesus' Resurrection. My study bible says that "some Jews believed the temple would be destroyed and a new one rebuilt by the Messiah," an important understanding.

And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus has been silent, keeping silence in what is already an illegal trial made with only one aim in mind. It's interesting to think of His warning to Judas at the Last Supper, His attempts to save Judas by including him in the Eucharist, and even addressing him as "Friend" at the betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane. But here, where there is nothing to be gained with these men who only wish Him to be put to death, who in order to do so are violating their own law which is theirs to protect, there is no point. So far, the witnesses really prove nothing worthy of this aim. Therefore the high priest demands the word of Jesus.

Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." My study bible notes, "Quoting from Psalm 110 and the prophecy of Daniel (Dan. 7:13), Jesus confesses He is the Messiah, both fully man, indeed, the Son of man, and fully God -- for only God can sit at the right hand of the Power, sharing the authority of the Father. Jesus also proclaims He will yet establish the Kingdom of God in its fullness, coming in His glory on the clouds of heaven." "It is as you said" is a variation of what we will hear from Jesus in several places; it is the same phrase He said to Judas at the Last Supper. The phrase seems to me to imply their own witnessing, the words out of their own mouths.

Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?" They answered and said, "He is deserving of death." The sentence is pronounced abruptly, through Jesus' own words and not those of any witness. None of the other accusations could stand, so the judge makes this one - yet another violation of the law. My study bible says that Jesus' "claim to be God is the real reason the high priest sentences Him to die. Jesus' statement is befitting His divinity, but the high priest can neither comprehend nor endure such a thing."

Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?" This ridicule strikes us as the most base treatment. It's not yet scourging nor crucifixion, but an example of the most heinous sort of thinking. To my mind it is a truly crude example of blasphemy of the Spirit. It's an example of ignorance at work, debasing and hating what it does not understand. We have been witness, through these latest chapters in Matthew, to Jesus' prophecies about Jerusalem and the temple, to His foreknowledge regarding arrangements for His entry into Jerusalem and the Last Supper. This abuse of power regarding a prisoner, seeking to abase His spiritual gifts, to this Man who fed multitudes and healed so many, serves to us as an example of everything He preached against. It's a vivid warning by illustration of our own capacity for the worst kind of error.

Despite the trial errors and evil intent, the overwhelming evil of this hour in darkness, I just can't get out of my mind the crude treatment rendered to Jesus. Whatever their opinions and aims, Jesus was popularly considered at least a holy man, or a prophet. We observe the intense irony of contradiction here: even as He professes Himself to be Son of Man, coming into the Kingdom, on the right hand of the Power, He goes through the debasing ritual of the powerless, the crude blasphemy -- after He is falsely accused of blasphemy. It's hard to think of a more profound example of what it is to seek to debase another human being, of the perspective of those in whom there is no mercy and no justice. And yet, it is quite possibly a scene we could imagine anywhere. The victim may not be the Son of Man Himself, but it very well could be any person acting in good faith, or through faith, whose actions someone else wants out of the picture. If we are to see in the "littlest ones" the image of Christ, we best think about this scene, and how easy it is to turn something good into something spat upon. Jesus' story also tells us of the importance of justice and truth, of institutions that preserve for us an honesty in the seeking of justice. Let us understand the impact of His life and His story upon us all, our cultures and our institutions. He is a gift to us in so many incalculable ways.

Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?

And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him." Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

- Matthew 26:47-56

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' agony in the garden of Gethsemane. He went apart to pray, taking Peter and James and John Zebedee with Him. Then He began to feel the deep distress of this time. He told them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." He prayed, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." He found the disciples sleeping, and said to them, "Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." He prayed again: "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." He prayed again a third time, and found them again sleeping. He said, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."

And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people. In the night, Judas comes with a great multitude, armed as if to take on a violent criminal.

Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him." Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?" Here's the depth of betrayal, in a simple kiss -- a gesture that has launched an uncountable number of reflections, poems, stories of loss and a terrible kind of grief. But what we have to notice here is Jesus' continual efforts to save Judas from himself. He gave Judas the Eucharist at the Last Supper, along with all the rest, knowing what Judas was about to do. Here, Jesus simply asks him, "Why have you come?" and calls him "Friend." But the potency of this act is something that has not yet hit Judas. The greeting Judas gives to Jesus here is the same one given to Mary by the Archangel Gabriel in announcing the good news of the Child; in Greek it means "be joyful." The depth of hypocrisy, a false mask as in an actor's role in the ancient plays, reinforces for us Jesus' words condemning the hypocrites.

Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him. And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword." In John's gospel, the one who drew his sword is identified as Peter. The Gospels are consistent in giving us Peter's exuberant character. We can all understand his perspective in this act, and yet it is a warning to us. My study bible says that Jesus' severe rebuke to Peter for using the sword, and then His healing of the servant of the high priest shows "at once His patient forbearance and His great power." In another commentary, I read that it was contrary to the rule that anyone would carry a weapon on a feast day. We must therefore also begin to note the illegality of this time, this time out of synchronization with a normal time, in which all is in arrears, a time when all evil comes to impinge on this moment, as they prepare to take Him to an illegal night trial in which all procedure is violated. "He who takes up the sword will perish by the sword" is a very profound statement coming from the One who will Judge everyone. He's taught that when we do good things in secret our Father who sees in secret will reward openly. This is the flip side: faith in the violence done here means one lives and dies on these worldly terms, forgoing the life that He has on offer.

"Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" Jesus expresses His reality, the truth behind what is seen and seems to be apparent. It's the perspective of faith and the Kingdom. My study bible explains: "A legion is 6,000 soldiers. Thus, the One who heals is the One who can also call for an army of 72,000 angels! But He does nothing of the kind. He goes to His Passion voluntarily." It adds, "By saying that the Scriptures must be fulfilled Jesus quenches the Apostles' anger, indicating what is happening is proper because it is in accordance with the Scriptures."

In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled. And Jesus is still teaching them, here in the garden and in this moment. He is telling them all, warning them all. It is a kind of saving teaching, an opportunity to consider what they are doing. Ironically, we've reached the moment of great stumbling: all of the disciples deserted Him and fled.

Have you ever had moments in your life when you felt it was best not to fight? Even if all the other things around you were telling you to, even if it seemed rational and logical, expected. Even when friends and others were encouraging and egging you on. Have you ever had a time when the inner voice of prayer told you to turn away, when in faith there was some reason why it was better to give up and give in, even when it didn't seem "just" or "right"? Sometimes God calls us to humility in a very deep and powerful way. We don't exactly know why, but we do understand within ourselves the voice that calls us there in faith. We may not have Scriptures written about ourselves, but we do have faith in this Scripture and what it teaches us: that what God calls for us to do trumps everything else, all other expectations and appearances, and worldly understanding. From my perspective, he who takes up the sword is a person who lives by worldly power alone, by the worldly understanding of power and manipulation, without God's input and faith in God's will, even when it seems to make no sense to our own natures. We always want to win. Why does God call upon us sometimes to "lose?" In this paradox, we have our Christ to look to, and to understand that life is far more complex than what it appears to be on the surface. The battle we lose today may mean there's a war we've somehow won on the inside, or in places within ourselves we don't know very well -- and most certainly for ourselves in the long run. We live by something else, something more -- we look to the life in abundance He promises. We get there by faith, in Him, the One in this story in today's reading, who served so that many could live. We look to the power of His Resurrection, the real power behind all things, all appearances, and we count on it to be at work in our lives.

My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand."

- Matthew 26:36-46

Over the past several readings, Jesus has been in Jerusalem, in the days before His Passion and Crucifixion. He has told His disciples of the end of the age, and His Second Coming. He has prepared them for the time in which we now live, as we await His return. He has told them what is to come. At the Last Supper, He told them all that one of them would betray Him. On Saturday, we read of Jesus' institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper, conveying the sacrifice He is making, and their participation in His life. Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." He told them that He would not drink wine again until He drank it new "in My Father's kingdom." They sang a hymn, and went to the Mount of Olives where they stay during the Passover. Jesus said, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter said he would never stumble, but Jesus told him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." But Peter claimed he would die with Jesus first. All swore the same as Peter.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there." Well, here is the moment in the garden, the time when all the weight of this particular time falls upon Jesus -- that is, the very human Jesus, who feels the tremendous pressures of this choice He has made. His response is to pray, and so should all of ours; this is a moment of this teaching and witness for us.

And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me." Here is Jesus' inner circle, Peter and James and John Zebedee. They are the friends and disciples who were witnesses to His Transfiguration. He calls on His friends, His disciples, His closest circle. He reveals His deepest distress. How can we find stronger words than this? "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death." The "exceedingly" here is meant to express a word in which Jesus reveals a kind of grief that is all-encompassing in the Greek, something that has completely engulfed or surrounded Him, even to the point of death.

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." Here is yet again the response of Jesus. He asks His friends to keep away with Him, to watch -- separates Himself again and prays so vehemently that He falls on His face. The human Jesus responds, while His divine nature knows what there is for Him to do. He prays. My study bible says, "According to His divine nature, Jesus knows He must drink the cup. As man, He wishes the chalice to pass, for it is a mark of humanity to abhor death and struggle against it. He prays if . . . possible the suffering be taken from Him. Thus, He gives abundant proof that His flesh is true flesh, but without sin. Through Jesus' body is the temple of His divinity, we do not attribute to His divinity the properties of the humanity united to it: the Passion, the suffering and death."

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Here is, in some sense, the first betrayal. His friends cannot respond to His request to stay and watch with Him. There is an added note here, added to Jesus' words of disappointment, and that is His love for them, His concern. They must pray for their own sake, to stay away from temptation to stumble, to falter. Again, we see the conflict, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." This is another reason to stay in a prayerful state, to keep on the road on which we need to stay. My study bible has another important note here, which I will quote: "Watch and pray is a key to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptations. Hereby Jesus' soul is strengthened and He faces death courageously. For, while the divine will of the Father and the Son is one, the Lord becomes obedient to the Father in His humanity [my italics]. In contrast to Jesus' vigilance, His disciples sleep. Since body and soul are united, the spirit is paralyzed by a lethargic body. A willing spirit, recognizing the weakness of the flesh, knows it needs God's presence and power. True faith is nourished by ardent, vigilant prayer."

Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done." And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Jesus prays three times in this same way. Continually, it is the same experience: although they want to remain awake, they cannot. He is, in this sense, alone. The three times of prayer teach us about emphasis, and continual effort. Three times might as well be seven, to my mind, or seventy times seven. St. Paul teaches us to pray without ceasing. But we get the picture, the emphasis on His human nature, aligning with the Father, praying in dialogue.

Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand." Jesus knows where He is going, He knows what is to happen. His night of prayer and agony has been a shoring up of His willingness to do what He knows must be done, the divine will of the Father, the sacrifice that is for all -- "for many for the remission of sins." Thereby, ultimately, for love. It is Jesus who leads the way, who rouses the ones who slept and could not keep awake with Him in His time of exceeding sorrow, even to the point of death.

The human Jesus keeps coming back to me, and I think that we have to understand the dynamic of this incarnate God and its impact on the world and all of our cultures. Jesus is both God and man. He's not a man with a tremendous stoic sort of courage, in which emotions pass from Him like they've never touched Him. He's not an all-powerful god who uses thunderbolts or who promises certain things depending on our slavish sacrifices and his personal whims. Jesus is an altogether different sort of reality coming into our midst to teach us about what is truly of God, but most especially about God's love for us. He became so completely one of us. Before God asks of us what God will, in order to bring His kingdom more deeply and truly and fully into this world, God comes to us as one of us -- as fully, deeply, powerfully one of us with all the emotions attached. As one who will go through all the trials we may have to face in our lives as well, and who leads the way with His example of prayer for us. When we look at Jesus, we see love in action: a God incarnate as human, making a great sacrifice for all of us, who loves His Father, but also is a son, to a loving mother and guardian father, with disciples who are also friends and brothers and sisters. Let's remember His example of prayer in all circumstances, that prayer isn't a matter of just asking for what we want, but also of relationship, of dialogue -- something that keeps us on the right path, and helps us to stay away from the temptations that lead us off course. How can love get deeper than this? What makes Him really different? He died. For us; for me and for you. So that we may live, and have life in abundance.

This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

'I will strike the Shepherd,

And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

"But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." Jesus said to Him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples.

- Matthew 26:26-35

In yesterday's reading, we read about the Last Supper of Jesus and His disciples. He is in Jerusalem, and has predicted the eventual destruction of the temple, and also taught about His Second Coming. He has taught them of His imminent Passion and crucifixion. The disciples asked Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" Jesus gave detailed instructions on meeting a man and telling him, "The Teacher says, 'My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.' " After they sat down at dinner, Jesus told them: "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." Each asked, "Lord, is it I?" Jesus said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?" He said to him, "You have said it."

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." My study bible says that here is the institution of the Eucharist, "the long-awaited messianic banquet, to which He admits even Judas, seeking by all means to save him. These words are repeated in the Divine Liturgy at the invitation of Christ to receive His body and blood. Thus it is clear we are invited to a feast, to the Last Supper, at which we become truly united to Christ. He gave thanks to teach us (1) how we should celebrate this sacrament, (2) that He comes willingly to His Passion, and (3) whatever we may suffer, to bear it as He did: thankfully." In His words there is the immediacy of His sacrifice: He is going to the Cross to give His body and His blood for this Covenant that He is instituting. My study bible points out that the Old Covenant was sealed with the blood of bulls and goats. "The New is sealed by the gift of Christ, who shed His own blood to reconcile us with God and reunite us to Himself. He calls it the blood of the new covenant, that is, God's promise, the new Law. By new He means we now have immortal and incorruptible Life. For many is a Semitic idiom meaning 'for all.'"

"But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. At the Last Supper we encounter a sense of overlapping time, the eventual fullness of this moment that is initiated at the Supper. Jesus speaks of the eventual great feast of the Kingdom. My study bible points out that He drinks of the cup Himself, "His own blood, in order to lead the disciples into participation in the heavenly mysteries. In My Father's kingdom relates the Eucharist to the age to come, for the Last Supper inaugurates the future messianic banquet." This Covenant is a promise on many levels, of the abundance of the Life that He adds to ours, in so many ways that they are uncountable.

Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'" Jesus quotes from Zechariah, and predicts their stumbling, that they will be scandalized, literally in the Greek, because of what is to come to Him -- the Passion and death to which He willingly goes. As we step closer and closer with Jesus toward the climax of the Gospel, the different elements before us are almost daunting, and overwhelming to consider. What must the human Jesus be going through? The divine nature of Christ understands what is happening and why; He understands what will happen. He puts His faith and and trust in the will of the Father. But we can't ever forget the very human side of Jesus. One betrayal is coming -- that we read about in yesterday's reading. Here He knows full well they will all be scandalized, caused to stumble. And to take it even further, it will be "because of Him!" In addition to the burden of emotional pain and turmoil (and temptation) this must place on Him, we have also to understand the possibility that He could lose them all. Christ's faith in this case teaches us, and this is yet another factor of His Passion we must think about as teaching to all of us through the Father's will.

"But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee." Here is the promise, the silver and gold lining around the dark clouds that gather before dawn. What could this mean? One wonders how the disciples could have taken it all in, at all.

Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble." Jesus said to Him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" And so said all the disciples. One disciple, Judas, is actively betraying Him at this moment. Here, even as He knows what is coming, the rest promise they would never desert Him -- never be scandalized nor made to stumble -- no matter what comes, even to the point of death, even if all others stumble! Never, used here by Peter, is a very strong word, a very bold declaration. But Jesus knows Peter and knows what is coming. This, too, we must add to the mix of all the pressures building on Jesus, building through the Father's will, through His willingness to meet this world and its ruler through the Way the Father has chosen.

There have been times in my life when I thought I was risking all for the sake of following what I believed God wanted me to do. How could I have faith like this, except because of the Lord and His grace in my life? I simply had no choice but to follow in faith where I felt my prayer life was leading, and just hope I was doing the right thing. Sometimes faith asks of us great things that seem counter-intuitive, destined for failure, and especially to cost us dearly in terms of the ones we love and value, in whom we've placed our hopes in life to a great extent. I can't explain it any other way than to compare it to what is written here in the Gospel. A leap of faith is sometimes all that we have to go on, we don't really know a better way. I've had the experience of betrayal, and of loss, and of those who were scandalized by my choices. But in the end, faith builds life. It is just that simple, and that is my experience. His promise of the life He adds to us is just that: a promise of abundance that we simply don't know about. Perhaps others will never understand this. But in faith we just may find that what seems entirely out of order is simply the Way, and the only way. It might offer us (and by grace, others) so much more than we think we may be losing. Sometimes this faith is what we have, and everything else rests upon it. Let us follow His example and trust in that relationship, knowing He was there before us, with so much more thrown into the balance than we can ever imagine.

"Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me"

Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples." ' " So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?" He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?" He said to him, "You have said it."

- Matthew 26:17-25

In yesterday's reading, Jesus first warned - once again - His disciples of what is imminent, His Passion and Crucifixion: "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people." Then we read the story of the woman in Bethany, who came to Jesus with an expensive alabaster flask of fragrant oil while He sat at table. She poured it on His head, anointing Him. Some grumbled and complained against her: she wasted such a precious object. It could have been sold and the money given to the poor. But Jesus said, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." After this, Judas decided he would betray Jesus. He went to the chief priests and asked, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?" And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples." ' " So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover. This is one of several times in recent readings when Jesus has displayed this particular character of divinity, an omniscience that refers to specific acts in the future. It's very mysterious: it begs us to ask, how does He know this? It's an intersection of time and space that perhaps only Creator can know (or one given such understanding by grace). It's also an intersection of persons, of encounter, and that takes us deeper into the character of God as we understand God. My study bible points out that this is Thursday of Holy Week. It notes, "Whether this was Passover or the day before Passover is debated. What is certain is that Jesus regarded the Thursday evening meal as the Passover meal for Himself and His disciples." We note also Jesus' remark that His time is at hand: He knows what is to come. As Lord and Teacher, it is He who declares it time for the Passover meal. Again, a note in my study bible is helpful here for us to see what is truly happening in our spiritual context: "The Passover commemorates God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the Land of Promise. It prefigures the Passion of Christ, the new Passover, God's redemption of all humanity from sin and death to the promised Kingdom."

When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve. Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me." And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?" He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born." Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?" He said to him, "You have said it." Again, we have the evidence of Jesus' foreknowledge, that is specific to the person. He doesn't only know He will be betrayed, but He also knows by whom. We note that Jesus doesn't disclose this secret to everybody, nor make a pointed accusation. We're reminded that Judgment belongs to the Day that is to come; for now our Lord is the humble Son of Man. My study bible points out that He does, however, allow Judas to disclose His own guilt. Jesus answers with a phrase that will also be used before Pilate: "You have said it." Put this way, what is spoken confers a kind of admittance, out of their own mouths something has been said. In an interesting note, my study bible refers to prophecy, another form of foreknowledge: "It is written of Him does not cancel Judas' responsibility. God foresees, but does not cause, the evil actions of humans, who always have free will." But not even Jesus' seemingly private confrontation with Judas in knowledge of what will be done brings about repentance. As my study bible puts it, it does not bring Judas to his senses -- even Jesus' warning. It gives us an idea of Judas' state of mind.

I can't quite get over the fact of betrayal, and most strikingly its effect on a Teacher like Jesus. We know His love and His compassion, in the feeding of those who followed Him to places in the wilderness (twice in Matthew's gospel: see here and here). We know His tremendous capacity for love and empathy, as when John's gospel gives us the shortest verse of all: Jesus wept, filled with pain at the sadness of His friends in their grief at the death of Lazarus. He wept, even knowing Lazarus was not yet to truly die. So how must betrayal by one of the chosen Twelve have struck Him at this time? Yes, He knew it was coming. But Christ's divine identity never stopped the human Jesus from being susceptible to every human characteristic that we understand, especially those in the expression of pain and sadness, and even longing. The great crux of this God is His humanity! The Incarnation teaches us so much about the God that loves us, and most especially about His willingness to go the full way to share our pain. There is nothing that He escapes. So how hard is this final betrayal of one whom He loved and chose, but who cannot truly embrace all that is offered through the Teacher, who has rebuked Judas for his condemnation of the woman who expressed a great act of love? Our Lord will go through every physical pain -- that is before Him. But what of His emotional pain from the betrayal of one whom He had loved and chosen? In this we have to see ourselves and our own lives, especially our perceived failures and deep humiliations and betrayals even by those whom we have loved. He was there with us, so long ago. There was nothing He was spared, and His love was perhaps much greater in capacity to all of ours. Certainly there was no failure on His part. Only acceptance of the free will of Judas. Let this be an example to us. Judgment will come when Judgment comes. Jesus gives the warning of what it is to betray the work of the Spirit, that which is truly at work through Him, and may be at work in any act of grace, an act of love, a true intention. Let us understand His pain, and His justice, and Follow Him, His Way.

For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on his head as He sat at the table. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor." But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

- Matthew 26:1-16

In yesterday's reading, Jesus summed up in very plain and striking speech, His teachings on mercy, and how we are to live in this time in which we await His Second Coming. He has told us three parables regarding His return and how we are to live in this time: about how to be faithful and wise servants while the Master is away, the foolish and wise virgins, and the parable of the talents. In yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke about the Judgment. He did so to teach us once more His teachings on the practice of mercy. In Judgment He will come in His glory, with all the holy angels, and separate the sheep and the goats, on His right and left. Jesus taught that He will say to the sheep: "'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I as sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" Then He will turn to the others, stating how they failed to do for Him any of the things listed above. Jesus taught: "Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him. But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people." Here Jesus foretells His death; He knows the time of it, He knows how it will happen. My study bible points out that He goes willingly. "Others," it says, "ignorant of their fate, die against their will. Or, if they know they are in danger, they seek to avoid it. Jesus foretells His Passion and approaches it with the joy of knowing its fruit: the Resurrection and our salvation." In yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke of the mercy we are to show those who are in need, and His return as all-powerful King. We contrast that to the Man who is going to His death to be crucified as a criminal and treated absolutely unjustly, even outside the normal process of the law among His own. In itself, this part of the story reminds us that He came to us as One in need, an outcast, among the poor and humble. We must never forget that. It is an indispensable part of the story, something so integral to our faith and the workings of salvation that it becomes central to our understanding of God and God's will for us.

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on his head as He sat at the table. But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste? For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor." Again, there is in itself the significance of this story as juxtaposed so soon after Jesus teaches about our need to practice mercy. Is His teaching of the practice of mercy all about money, the bottom line, what is most efficient? Or is it, instead, a teaching of the heart, of love? Money does not solve all problems, nor is it always the most loving gesture that fills a true need! Here the criticism is against this woman and her gesture of love for Christ. In this case, one could say, to my way of thinking, that a focus on the money alone is a focus only on good works for show, and a lack of understanding of mercy and grace at work in her and her action. Simon the leper would be another example of the excluded or ostracized being included in Christ's brotherhood, another example of what it may mean to be among the poor and humble. He must have been healed by Jesus earlier, says my study bible, for lepers were forbidden to live in towns.

But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her." Here it is, the statement that the poor we have with us always. (See yesterday's reading for a reference to it in Jesus' teachings on the practice of mercy and our preparation for His Second Coming.) This great gesture of love, for His burial, becomes a deeper affirmation of what it is to know God, to be in dialogue and relationship with God. My study bible says, "Should we give to charity or to the Church building fund? What specifically is to be done with our personal funds and the Church's money is not resolved here; but Christ establishes that a believer's gift of his very best to honor and glorify the Person of Christ is just as worthy as giving to the poor." In this anointing we once again see an image of the Spirit and of grace at work: we remember the Greek word for oil as practically identical in sound to the word for mercy, and the connotations and connections therein. She is acting in the Spirit, it is again a gesture of prayer in this context. It is also one of great beauty and love, an apposite gift. Beyond that, it is an acceptance of His death that He has foretold, a willingness to serve the mysterious will that He teaches us to follow always.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him. In Judas, perhaps we see the results of too strong a focus on works alone in the sense of appearance before human beings, and a lack of understanding of the grace in the loving gesture of this woman. A focus on money is consistent with the historical understanding of the Church, that this is an act of greed on Judas' part. But elsewhere, we are told that it was Judas who criticized this woman. (She is most likely Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, Jesus' close friends, as reported in John's gospel). So, Judas is also responding to a public rebuke from Christ, another sign of emphasis on appearance before men, a lack of understanding of love and relationship to Christ, and even Christ's love for him as Teacher.

This story of Mary and the ointment may be a hard one for many people to accept, but in the gesture I find tremendous beauty and love, and a deeper teaching than the way in which we usually think about charity and sharing. I think that acts of love trump everything. They don't always make sense in a worldly way of thinking. They may not be efficient in a purely cost-base sense. But love can be as easily expressed through a simple gift as a very costly one, and from such an example we take our cue here. We know, also, that Christ will make the greatest sacrifice for all of us through love, and that her sacrifice of a costly ointment is out of love for Him. The acts of the heart, of a loving heart, are those which are prompted through prayer. That is, those that are prompted through union and relationship to a loving God who urges us to love in the language and understanding of the heart -- the mystical place where the Spirit may be at work in us and in our lives, prompting us to our works. In this gesture is an affirmation of love, and in Christ's rebuke is once again the sense that with our worldly perspective alone we can't really fully understand what this is all about. We can't always know what is best apart from the loving reality we may find in dialogue and acceptance of God and the grace of the Spirit. How else could we possibly understand the Crucifixion, except as an act of love that would do so much more good than its evident harm in the worldly sense? There is also the love in the rebuke of Christ, telling Judas the truth, and teaching him about love. One extraordinary gesture, one rebuke, and the commitment to His crucifixion and death -- all these things we have in today's reading. But all of them become acts of great grace, astounding and powerful, as we reach toward the Passion and Crucifixion in Matthew's gospel. If there is anything we could take from today's reading, it is perhaps simply a prayer for discernment, for the understanding of the mysterious law of love that comes from relationship to a loving God, and for the eyes to truly see what love wants and what love does. The bottom line won't tell us that. We need a different understanding to truly know what is best, and what serves the most.