But this is your hour, and the power of darkness

 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who has come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

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

- Luke 22:52-62

On Saturday we read that, coming out from the Last Supper, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."  Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.  Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."  And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"  When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this."  And He touched his ear and healed him.

Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who has come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."  What is the power of darkness?  My study bible cites passages from John:  3:19-21 and 13:30.  The first speaks of the choices we make:  do we prefer the darkness or the light?  What we know to be good and worthy and truthful, or otherwise?  The second is about the betrayal of Judas, and him setting out after the Last Supper to betray Christ.  If we look carefully here, Jesus names the great lie in this scene.  They have come after Him as if He is a robber, while His deeds were done in truth and in light, teaching daily in the temple -- where they were afraid to seize Him in front of all the people.

Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house.  But Peter followed at a distance.  Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.  And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."  But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."  My study bible says that this scene of a girl as the first person to test Peter is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  But the Gospels teach us another story in Christ -- that it is women who are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (24:1-10).

And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are of them."  But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"  Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."  But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are saying!"  Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So Peter went out and wept bitterly.  My study bible notes here that Peter is so overcome with fear that neither Christ's prediction at the Last Supper (verse 34) nor the crowing of the rooster calls him to repentance.  Only the Lord's gaze causes him to weep bitterly.  But St. Ambrose of Milan writes, nevertheless, that "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

The power of darkness:  what is it?  Unusually for the Gospels, all of the events in today's reading take place in the darkness, even under cover of darkness.  The betrayal (with a kiss) by His disciple, Judas, takes place under cover of darkness.  Christ uses His one weapon, His word, to declare that they have come out under cover of darkness, as against a robber, with swords and clubs -- when He was daily teaching in the temple openly.  Such an act requires darkness:  not only is there a lie in the act itself, but these men feared the people and their response to such an injustice and public outrage, and so act under the cover of the night.  And then there is the scene of Peter in the courtyard, also by night.  While an illegal "night court" session goes on inside, Peter waits outside in the courtyard of the house of the high priest. Peter follows at a distance, and has come this far.  But the questions of a servant girl, and others around the fire, unnerve him, and he denies knowing Christ at all.  As my study bible points out, it's only after a glance from Christ (whom presumably Peter sees from outside) that Peter remembers Jesus' prediction that he will deny Him three times before the crowing of the rooster.  My study bible gives us a quotation about darkness from John's Gospel.  Here it is in full:  "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John 3:19-21).  This quotation is about judgment, and judgment has been a strong theme in these last days of Christ's ministry.  We remember that Christ also is the light, His truth is the light.  This truth establishes a strong call for a choice.  Has Jesus done evil?  Has He done good?  What has He taught?  Is He like a robber that they arrest Him in this manner?  But the questions go much deeper than that in today's reading.  Peter also hides under cover of darkness, in a sense.  What has he got to be ashamed of, to hide?  Why does he deny he knows Christ?  This is a shadow of darkness of a different kind, and one that lets us know the complicated nature of the world in which we live, and how we are to negotiate our lives through it.  Only Christ's glance reminds us of the true light that is always there, and always sees.  And it is there, in that glance, that Peter knows and goes to weep bitter tears of repentance.  It is most deeply in this personal relationship that we find ourselves face to face with a truth from which we can't hide.  When we come face to face with the true light, from which nothing escapes, we come face to face with ourselves, what we've done or chosen, how we can do better, and the things of which we need to repent.  It's in that great gaze of pure light and pure love that we find the strength to be truly honest, to know repentance not as a thing of shame but rather as a thing that cleanses and makes us stronger.  It is in that light that we find a humility that only makes us fuller, bigger, deeper, healthier, better.   Whatever else goes on in the world, it is in His light that we see light, that all can come to light -- because His light and truth is also perfect love.  When we forget that, we lose who we are and can be to darkness that has no substance and only seeks to take away the gifts of grace.