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.