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And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail, and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."
And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" So they said, "Nothing." Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.' For the things concerning Me have an end." So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough."
- Luke 22:31-38
In the Gospel of Luke, we are in Holy Week. Jesus is speaking at the Last Supper, the Passover meal. He has initiated the Eucharist, telling the disciples, "Do this in remembrance of Me." In yesterday's reading, Luke tells us that there was also a dispute among the disciples, as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But not so among you; on the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail, and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren." But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death." Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me." My study bible tells us that "Jesus sees Simon Peter's denial as a violent attack by Satan, which Peter endures through Jesus' intercessory prayer. After his tearful repentance and the experience of the Resurrection, Peter indeed returned to Christ and was able to strengthen the early Church as one of its leaders." Here again we're also given an example of Jesus' acute prescience, right down to the details, something we've been given already in Luke's Gospel twice during this week in Jerusalem (see here and here, events in which apostles were sent to make preparations for important events, and given detailed instructions on what was to happen). Here His prescience is used again in a "preparation" for an apostle, only this time it is as a warning to Peter.
And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?" So they said, "Nothing." Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one." Again, we read into these verses a theme of preparation for His apostles. My study bible notes: "In view of the coming death of Christ and the persecutions against the disciples, Jesus instructs them to be ready for anything. The sword suggests resistance against the evil one (Eph. 6:17)."
For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: 'And He was numbered with the transgressors.' For the things concerning Me have an end." A note tells us that "the transgressors were the two criminals crucified with Jesus. Have an end means come to fulfillment."
So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords." And He said to them, "It is enough." A note reads: "It is enough does not signify approval. The expression, according to most interpreters, is either ironical -- two swords would hardly suffice as a means of defense -- or an abrupt censure by Jesus, meaning, "Enough of this!"
A kind of irony pervades today's reading. Jesus tells Peter quite literally what is to come in his temptations, and alludes to the work of the adversary, the evil one, Satan, in Peter's stumbling. Preparing the disciples as a whole, Jesus gives them a warning also about what is to come: let them be prepared. In vivid images, He tells them about the change in circumstances. But in both cases, the responses of the apostles show they get it all wrong, somehow. They don't quite know what He's talking about yet. Peter swears his allegiance, and the impossibility that his faith should fail at all. The disciples search literally for weapons, and find two -- but they've missed the full point of the warning. They've missed the understanding of the times to come to which Jesus was alluding. And so the Gospels go, giving us a picture of ourselves in the humanity of the apostles, in their perceptions which are limited, in the fullness of Christ's vision and His words and teachings. He's preparing them for the times ahead, when His mission, and theirs, will face adversity and hardship and the devastation of the Cross, and Jesus "being numbered among the transgressors." We can't really ponder this ministry, nor our own life in the world, without understanding this adversity -- the fact of this adversity. It's very important that we not simply see failure in circumstances that may be complex, like the world, and in a setting where spiritual struggle goes on all the time. Peter will battle with his own cowardice, the apostles will be scattered and later persecuted, and there will be the Cross: an unjust trial and suffering and death, with Jesus "numbered among the transgressors." What we should be prepared for, therefore, is that everything in life is not going to go our way just because of our faith. Indeed, what Christ promises is that because of our faith we may in fact experience adversity: temptations to lack of faith in ourselves, and other forms of obstacles in our paths. To face spiritual struggle and difficulty becomes a part of the life that we expect. In this context, we're not to be defeated by setbacks, by our own failures, and particularly by circumstances that look hostile and menacing or difficult. I think there are times when all of us can respond to Peter's struggle and temptation. There are times when adversity just doesn't seem to let up, when we'll question every single decision we've made in faith because of difficulties we'll go through. We may second-guess all our choices. There always seem to be more practical considerations than where our faith may take us. Everybody in the world doesn't always want to honor what's righteous or just, or what takes moral courage to choose over other considerations of material gain or a simpler or easier life. Love isn't always welcome, and neither is truth. Innocence may indeed be just that narrow gate in the middle of a wide and broad field. It's those times when we have to understand that adversity is a part of our world, a part of spiritual struggle: both within ourselves and in our lives. Why the Cross? we might ask. But the Cross teaches us about our lives in the world, that we stand up for something, that we want to bring something into the world, and that our Teacher gave us the great example so that we learn from Him. We may face obstacles, misunderstandings, our own failures. Our difficulties or defeats, and our Resurrections in faith, may not be so dramatic as our Master's, but He has set the example. He has shown us the Way. He has warned us about the struggle and our need for watchfulness. Let us remember that it is this struggle, lived very fully and with as much awareness as we can bring to it, that makes us fully alive and truly engaging in our lives, making the best decisions we can, and bringing something into the world that makes a difference. What do you choose to bring to the world in His name?
