Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"

 

 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with one another. 

 

- Luke 23:1-12 

 

Yesterday we read that the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.  As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  And they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

 

  Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  My study Bible tells us that the religious accusations against Jesus (Luke 22:66-71, in yesterday's reading, above) wouldn't be adequate to justify a death sentence under Roman occupation.  So therefore, the chief priests need to invent false, politically charged accusations ("We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King"), so that Pilate can be persuaded that Jesus is deserving of a death sentence.  See also Luke 20:20-26.  Pilate's question ("Are You the King of the Jews?") is, according to my study Bible, more a mockery of the accusation itself than of Jesus -- as he clearly does not take the political charges seriously.  Christ's response, "It is as you say," can also be translated into the more ambiguous, "You say so."

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with one another.   My study Bible explains that Herod sees Jesus as a novelty.   Christ's silence, it says, is an act of compassion -- for to reveal divine mysteries in the face of such blasphemy would have brought Herod even greater condemnation.  St. Ambrose sees Herod as a figure representing all unrighteous people who, if they don't recognize Jesus as the Christ, won't ever understand His words nor recognize His miracles.

Jesus' defiance of Pilate and Herod takes on strange tones, things we're not necessarily familiar with in One who is subject to injustice and false charges.  Instead of fighting what are obviously lies -- even, apparently to both Pilate and Herod -- Jesus stands more or less completely silent.  Even to the question asked by Pilate, "Are You the King of the Jews?" Jesus offers a meek blurb of a reply we could translate as "You say so."   The chief priests and scribes respond ever more vociferously, and seeking to stir up the crowd against Him.  But Jesus remains silent.  He won't protest and He won't prove anything.  Not to Pilate, and not to Herod, who would be all too glad to witness some miracle or other marvel from Jesus.  He is not there to prove He's innocent.  He's put on trial by a world that cannot and does not understand Him, for that is only possible through the work of faith, and the eyes of those in the future which will hold and build and expand His Church upon the pillars of faith among His present apostles.  Pilate and Herod, like the religious leaders in the temple, represent in some sense a world that is passing away.  They might be the ones who hold power today, the worldly mighty in positions of support for Rome, the ruling empire.  But even Rome is passing away, just as sooner or later -- forty years from this time, to be precise -- Rome will overrun Jerusalem and destroy the temple which remains destroyed today.  All things are passing, but those who represent the power of the world in this scene work for regimes and entities which do not hold the future.  It is, ironically in light of what is happening in today's reading, the One who stands accused and mute before them who will be responsible for the demise of these empires.  It is the abuse of power and lack of faith which will ultimately condemn those regimes that are passing away and whose people will have to change and adapt to survive what is coming.  The world that they know is going to be upended and transformed through the ministry of Christ, in just one generation away from this time of this trial.  The very way that our years are numbered in the world will shift our consciousness away from what was before Christ, and dividing it from the years and centuries -- even millennia -- after Christ.  This mute and meek Man, unjustly accused, is the lever, the fulcrum, upon which all else hangs and divides.  And that is simply in a worldly sense!  We say nothing of the heavenly power that is at work, and which waits to make itself understood, and to change a cosmos and its order.  But the power in this Man who does not speak, does not protest, does not make a defense against injustice and brutality in the treatment He's given, is absolute, and it is all there whether or not these figures of worldly power understand it.  What we might take from the impact of this realization is simply that with God, all bets are off.  Anything is possible, and nothing is impossible.  There may be great power in the meek and silent, while those who become more fierce, and who vehemently accused Him in response, are ultimately powerless to protect and defend themselves from the change that is being implemented -- with God's grace -- through the effort they make to kill Him.  This is why we are to understand our dependence upon God for victories in ways we cannot predict and cannot comprehend.  This is the history we're told throughout the Bible, of a small people, dependent upon God, who go astray when they forget and seek to be like the other nations, and in this One who "will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street" at His trial (Isaiah 42:2).  For He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, even if lords and kings of the world cannot comprehend it.

Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him

 

Jesus Christ in Prison, Russian icon.  Praetorium Prison of Christ, Jerusalem, Israel

 Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  And they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

 

- Luke 22:63-71 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to arrest 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.

 

 Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.  The One who is the all-powerful Lord and Judge stands abused by those who wield power over Him.  St. Cyril of Alexandria comments upon Christ's endurance and lack of response, and His display of patience:  "This One is despised as one of us, patiently endures beatings, and submits to the ridicule of the wicked. He offers himself to us as a perfect pattern of patience. He rather reveals the incomparable greatness of his godlike gentleness."

 

 As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go."  My study Bible comments here that Jesus asked many questions of the Jewish leaders which they refused to answer because doing so would have meant confessing Him as the Christ -- see Luke 20:47, Matthew 22:41-46, Mark 3:4.

"Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  And they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."  My study bible explains that by His claim, "Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God," Jesus declares Himself to be equal with God.  This is in language which is clearly understood by His interlocutors, those who have put Him on trial.  They now have evidence with which they will charge Him with blasphemy.

The words of St. Cyril should really give us pause.  We must stop to think about this scene of Christ being debased and abused, humiliated and tortured.  This is a scene of  power, of a particular use of power.  St. Cyril also writes, "We of earth, mere corruption and ashes, immediately attack those who would disturb us, as we have a heart full of fierceness like savage beasts. He, who in nature and glory transcends the limits of our understanding and our powers of speech, patiently endured those officers when they not only mocked but also hit him."  This is a picture of the ancient world, one in which the "great and powerful" were also those who were ruthless.  Those who lorded it over others and were considered truly great and praiseworthy were also those who used power in ways that crushed and enslaved others.  Humility as virtue was introduced by Christ to the world as praiseworthy, and revolutionary.  And, if we are honest, this notion of humility as virtue is still revolutionary in many circumstances and places.  For this reason, when Christianity first began to spread to the world, in the very early centuries of the Church, it was derided by the pagan world as a "religion of women and slaves."  As we have visited many times, when the disciples began to dispute with one another over who would be the greatest, Jesus told 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" (Luke 22:25-27; in this reading).  Jesus accepts what is happening to Him, because He has understood from the beginning what the reality was going to be, and how the Father wanted Him to go to His Passion.  But what we are to understand is not a fatalistic philosophy.  It is instead our due to observe that Jesus has already exhausted every means whereby He can bring His ministry of salvation to the people and also to the religious leaders.  He has sparred with them and taught them at every turn over His ministry of three years.  And we should remember, also, that the Gospels teach us there were many times He chose to evade death at the hands of others in powerful positions.   If we think about it, we might even include the attempt to murder Him as an infant (see the Egyptian exile of the Holy Family, thus escaping what is called the Massacre of the Innocents in Matthew 2:13-18).  We should also remind ourselves that prophecy forewarns us of real events; events do not happen in order to fulfill prophecy.  But possibly our most important consideration is to ask ourselves precisely why the events surrounding Jesus and His "end" or "exodus" would happen this way.  Clearly, everything regarding Jesus' life and ministry is a gift to us.  All of this happens so that we have this story, and for the purposes of our salvation.  Jesus does not take on punishment because God demands it, but rather He endures all the cruelties and injustices of this world brought on by the evil one, by those spiritual forces who desire rebellion against God, desire to resist Him, and who resent human beings.  Whatever we go through, He has assumed through His human life, and that includes injustice and abuses of power, pain and torture, beatings and horrific suffering and death.  In what is known as the Critique of Apollinaris and Apollinarianism, St. Gregory Nazianzinus refuted the idea that Jesus did not have a human mind.  He famously wrote, giving us a landmark in our understanding of Christ and the Incarnation, "For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved. If only half Adam fell, then that which Christ assumes and saves may be half also; but if the whole of his nature fell, it must be united to the whole nature of Him that was begotten, and so be saved as a whole."  The same can be said for human pain and suffering:  in His Incarnation, Christ took on all that we experience in a world afflicted by evil, and thus brought salvation to us even in the midst of our own suffering.  He has forever transfigured this reality of our world through His endurance and patience, and brought us meaning within our own challenges, pain, injustice, and suffering.  He has been there, so that He is always there with us, and can truthfully say, "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).  Like Christ, our own times of suffering through evil may in fact be times of opportunity for greater spiritual harvest.  As we go through our own challenges in this world, let us remember that every struggle is a chance to go through it with Him, to be united to His saving life and mission in this world, to transfigure our own experience with faith by God's grace.  For He is with us always, and that is His promise to us.

And the Lord turned and looked at Peter

 

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

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 Passover supper, Christ 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 had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."  Throughout the readings of last week, in which the events of Christ's betrayal and arrest were given, the text clearly marks the ultimate culprit for this plot of Christ's death.  That culprit is Satan; that is, the one whose influence is the power of darkness, who works through the weaknesses, temptations, and passions of human beings.  Regarding "darkness" see John 3:19-21, 13:30.

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!"   My study Bible tells us that a girl being the first to test Peter is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  It notes that our fallen state is overcome in Christ when it is women who are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).

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 comments that Peter is so overcome with fear here that neither Christ's prediction (Luke 22:34) nor the crowing of the rooster calls him to repentance.  It is only when the Lord turned and looked at Peter that His gaze causes Peter to weep bitterly.  Quoting St. Ambrose of Milan, my study Bible says that nevertheless, "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

Peter wept bitterly at the realization of his own failure.  At the Last Supper (that is, the Passover supper which Jesus had eaten with His disciples just prior to His arrest in the garden of Gethsemane), Jesus warned Peter, "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."  (See Friday's reading.)  Peter replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."  But Jesus told him, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."  Peter has let himself down, despite his great protestation to Jesus that he was ready to go with Him, both to prison and to death.  The bitter tears are his response to the realization that his fear has kept him even from admitting to a servant girl that he is a follower of Christ.  But Peter's bitter tears give him a chance again at something.  They give him a chance to repent and to return to his brothers and sisters in the Church, to return to Christ.  Jesus says, tellingly, "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."  There is a role for Peter to play, and even this failure will not stop his faith.  Of course, we know that he did return and resumed his role as a leader among the apostles and the early church.  This great example of the apostle who would go on to serve and lead gives to us an important teaching for all.  Peter has his weaknesses, and they are on full display throughout the Gospels.  His exuberance often causes him to overestimate his capacity for strength, but his faith will be steadfast, and he will die a martyr.  Indeed, even in the words Jesus said after Peter declared he would go to prison and die for Him, Jesus affirms that he has prayed for the strength of Peter's faith and that Peter must use this faith to come back and strengthen his brethren (and by inference the whole of the Church).  St. Ambrose comments insightfully that Peter would not have followed Christ to the home of the high priest -- even though he was clearly fearful -- if he was not devoted to Christ in the first place.  But his denial comes as the result of sudden temptation.  St. Ambrose compares Peter to King David, who writes, "Now in my prosperity I said, 'I shall never be moved,'" but then  admits that his boasting had harmed him, writing, "You hid Your face, and I was troubled" (Psalm 30:6-7).  Peter had boasted of his conviction and courage, but at Jesus' glance realizes he has let himself down.  St. Ambrose writes, "At that same moment and time, Christ looks at you. If you perhaps fall into some sin, because he is a witness to your secrets, he looks at you so that you may recall and confess your error. Imitate Peter, when he says in another place for the third time, 'Lord, you know that I love you'" (see John 21:15-19).  If great figures of our faith show us the effect of temptation, then let each one of us have the humility to remember this before we ourselves boast.  King David and Peter are also figures who resemble one another as each would help to lead the world to Christ, to be examples of faith and devotion.  Let us not forget that where we love Christ, there the Gospel story also reminds us that we will be tempted, having repeated throughout the readings for this week that it is forces of spiritual evil (in the figure of Satan) who work to harm the faithful and thereby the Church.  This is the power of darkness at work through human beings, and our weaknesses, temptations, and passions.  Peter's temptation is attributed to his fear of death in patristic commentary, where it is noted that Christ has not yet died nor risen.  The Gospel gives us Peter's tremendous example which shows our own need for humility, our capacity for repentance, and the love that is restored to us with Christ.  All of these things must be in Christ's eyes when He turned and looked at Peter.  Let us not forget it is all there, too, including His love, when He turns and looks at us.

Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation

 

 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said 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. 

 

- Luke 22:39–51 

 

In yesterday's reading, 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."

 

  Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said 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.  My study Bible explains that Christ' agony was the product of His human nature.  In asking that the cup be taken away, He reveals His human will.  Christ submits His human will to the Father, and thereby reveals His divine will to be one with God the Father's.  This further shows that each of us must submit our own will to God's will (Luke 11:2).  My study Bible notes that Christ willingly takes in Himself the voice of weak humanity, and thereby conquers weakness.  It quotes St. Gregory the Great:  "The words of weakness are sometimes adopted by the strong in order that the hearts of the weak may be strengthened."  Christ's sweat, like great drops of blood falling to the ground, shows us that His agony is real.  He is not simply 'half human and half divine.'  He is both fully human, and fully divine.  The fully divine Son has taken on all that we are and all that we experience as well.

 

 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."  In the context of everything that we have read so far this week, we must understand the importance of these words.  It is a time of great influence by spiritual sources of evil.  Satan has been mentioned many times in the text.  So we need to understand the importance of prayer:   to rise and pray, to be alert about their circumstances and awake, so that they not enter into temptation, is for the disciples especially essential at this time of great darkness and fear.   As the text has taught us, Satan works through the weaknesses and temptations of human beings.  Specially at this time, we see this work in the religious leaders who envy Christ, and Judas whose weakness is greed.  Notice Jesus speaks of the urgency to avoid entering into temptation; that is, we will all be tempted by in some ways, but to enter in and engage in that temptation is another step into a snare.  We pray for the strength not to do so.

 

 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?"  What this question, Jesus continues, even at this time, to attempt to save Judas from what he is doing.

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.  My study Bible tells us that this healing is recorded only by St. Luke the physician.  It indicates the way in which we are to treat our enemies.  There is also a patristic perspective here which gives this event a spiritual meaning, in that it is Christ who gives people the ability to hear truth and thereby come to salvation (see Luke 8:8, 14:35).  This event also demonstrates Christ's complete reliance on and obedience to the God the Father.

At this stage, we might wonder why Christ does not resist His arrest in the garden of Gethsemane.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is reported to have 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?"  (Matthew 26:52-54).  But we truly have to understand Christ's full dependence upon God the Father, and that He is fulfilling a mission in a particular way that it must be fulfilled.  In Christ's Passion, we are confronted with what is called a theodicy.  That is, we're confronted with the question of why God permits evil to happen.  In this case, we can clearly see an atrocious evil, one that imperils, tortures, and seeks to put to death the greatest Savior of the world, One who is completely good.  Why should it happen thus?  But God does not work in the ways that human beings work and think.  God works through circumstances to bring about a greater plan, a more powerful goal.  And as we have seen via the witness of Luke's Gospel, in these evil events and working through human beings there is also a spiritual force of evil behind them.  On that greater battlefield is our answer, for Christ's death is a snare to that evil, to "hell" itself, for He will conquer the power of death through His death on the Cross.  These are hard things to grasp; they are not easy, and they are not simple.  We can only understand and experience them through faith, and sometimes through our own experience of going through a dark or evil time and clinging to our own faith even through times characterized by injustice, and witnessing the outcome.  Whether we perceive or understand these realities beyond worldly life, they are nevertheless part and parcel of the Gospel narrative, and we are being taught about the greater importance of faith in our lives than we can usually consciously appreciate.  The reliance upon God is consistent throughout the Old Testament and the New.  St. Paul clearly emphasizes the same when he quotes from Deuteronomy in his epistle to the Romans:  "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord (Romans 12:19).  That is, God's justice is not absent, but we are invited to participate in its fullness through faith.  There are elements of God's justice at work which are beyond our understanding.  But Christ's Passion, and the roles of the disciples which we have observed throughout this work, offers us something greater than we can perhaps know -- and that is, that we are also invited into this spiritual battlefield as Christ's disciples.  We, too, are asked to find God's will for us in all circumstances, to rely on God's justice, to practice prayer and call upon the strength to avoid entering into temptation, to be aware of our own weaknesses and passions.  This is not simply a struggle in heaven and unseen places of what is called the "invisible" or "unseen" realm; this struggle is in the battleground of our hearts and we are invited by Christ to participate fully engaged in our own lives, with Him.  St. Paul echoes the same.  It's not about picking out worldly enemies, but about an awareness of deeper spiritual truths at work that lie behind the patterns we observe and the struggles in our own lives by choosing what we will serve.  Everybody has choices to make, everybody is tested at times of darkness and fear, illness and death, tragedy and violence.  But even in the simplest life the choices are there:  in the fleeting moments and the pressure of dramas we can't control.  Often, in a modern context, we can understand such struggle in the healing from trauma, in the resistance to some powerful media manipulation or collective push into a struggle for political power, in our own struggle to overcome anger or envy and to find that thread in prayer where we turn to Christ -- and all the help available to us -- to find the right way to go through a hard time.  There is always the temptation to panic, to give in to easy answers and slogans, to stop the struggle against what we know is wrong, to follow the crowd we don't really trust, and a host of other temptations.  When we feel alone, or betrayed, or abandoned, we are especially vulnerable.  In our own time, we have powerful forces of manipulation of purely earthly natures which work through media and money, slogans and movements.  The dangerous motivations of envy, greed, power, and position are equally present as in the story we read in the Gospels.  We still live in a world of those who lord it over others and terrify with their might.  The history of the 20th century has taught us nothing if we do not come to understand that, and we now move into a new century with far advanced technology for such ends.  Let us rely upon God, and follow as Christ has taught, through all things.  Let us not sleep through these times, but always remember to "Rise and pray, lest [we] enter into temptation," and know what we are to be about -- and what we're up against.  Ultimately the victory must be the Lord's.  "For," as St. Paul has written, "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12), and these remain with us as well.

 

 

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

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, at the Last Supper, Christ's final Passover meal with His disciples, 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 twelves 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."   Just as we have observed over the course of the past few readings, beginning with Tuesday's, the Gospel does not tell us that the ultimate source of the evil events surrounding Jesus' Passion are simply the work of men.  Rather, the square blame is placed upon spiritual sources of evil, under the name of Satan, whom elsewhere is called the prince or ruler of this world (John 12:31, 14:30).  As we've seen, from the beginning of the synoptic Gospels and Jesus' temptations by Satan in the wilderness, and through the recent readings, Satan works through the weaknesses and especially the passions of human beings.  We've remarked upon the envy of the religious leaders toward Jesus, the greed of Judas, and the disputes among the disciples as to who would be the greatest among them.  Here, Jesus warns Simon Peter that it is not only he whom Satan has asked for, but all the disciples, as you in the first verse is plural (in Satan has asked for you).  But you in the following verse (in when you have returned to Me) is singular, which my study Bible says indicates that Jesus prayed especially for Simon Peter.  It says that because Peter's faith was the strongest, he would be tested the most.  Regarding Christ's words, "When you have returned to Me," see John 21:15-17.  Strengthen your brethren, my study Bible says, refers not only to the other disciples, but to all the faithful until Christ returns. 

 

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."  Jesus warns the disciples again about what is coming, and that this is a time of evil intent.   He reminds them of the prophecy concerning Him and this time of opposition:  "And He was numbered with the transgressors" (see Isaiah 53:12).  Regarding the sword, my study Bible tells us that we are not to understand this literally (compare to Luke 22:49-51, in which Christ heals the ear of the servant of the high priest).  Rather, it refers to the living word of God in the battle against sin (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12).   My study Bible also cites St. Ambrose, who gives an additional meaning to this text.  St. Ambrose comments that giving up one's garment and buying a sword refers to surrendering the body to the sword of martyrdom.  Because the disciples were thinking of swords literally, Jesus abruptly ends the discussion with the words, "It is enough" -- which are better translated, "Enough of this!"  (See Deuteronomy 3:26, Mark 14:41.)

As we have seen in the readings of this past week, and as indicated above, the Gospel assigns a particular root cause of the complicated machinations against Christ to spiritual forces of evil.  Satan works through human beings, on vulnerabilities and weaknesses, manifest in our passions.  The religious leadership is vulnerable to evil through envy; Judas is vulnerable through greed; and the disciples themselves have just engaged in a very petty and out-of-place dispute over which one of them would be the greatest in Christ's kingdom.  Let us understand that the disciples themselves have no idea what that Kingdom will be or will look like.  They only know they have come into Jerusalem in a Triumphal Entry, Christ has been teaching in the temple daily, and Christ's mysterious prophecies about what is going to happen in Jerusalem have not been things they can completely grasp.   Although they have been warned several times by Jesus, the events that are about to unfold are simply unthinkable to them.  At this point Jesus gives an explicit warning to Peter, but on behalf of all of the apostles, as the you is plural in the Greek:  "Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat."  In other words, Satan wishes to destroy this movement of the followers of Christ.  Jesus then adds (with you in the singular this time, directed toward Peter specifically), "But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."    As the one with the strongest faith, Peter will be tempted with denial in the courtyard of the home of the high priest (Luke 22:54-62), and at the same time Christ entrusts him with the job of strengthening his fellow apostles, and by extension all of us in turn.  Over the course of the past week, in these events in which great spiritual evil is at work (according to our text), we observe some things about spiritual opposition to Christ.  It works, first of all, through temptation, and secondly, it does so by playing on the weaknesses of human beings -- and specifically what are called in traditional spiritual language our passions.  That is, the things we lust for, things of which we make idols of some sort.  This should give us pause to think for a moment that the Gospels do not teach us that we are all to be superheroes who are without a single weakness or flaw.  On the contrary, even Peter, whose faith is arguably the strongest of all of the apostles, will display a weakness upon which temptation plays successfully, even when a servant girl confronts him as one of Christ's followers.  The text tells us that all of the disciples have succumbed to a truly petty and deeply inappropriate dispute about who would be greatest among them.  In other words, to be a human being is to have vulnerabilities and weaknesses.  We should not despair that we are not super human, or do not measure up to the sinlessness of Jesus Christ, who resisted every temptation put His way by Satan (see Luke 4:1-13), and completed His mission in the world with the fullness of perfection.  What the Gospels tell us, on the contrary, is about how much we need Christ, and how this help is always available to us.  Not only are we given examples which teach us why it is so important to understand our own passions and vulnerabilities and weaknesses (and to do something about them; see Matthew 18:6-9), but the Gospels teach us that we have strength and help through the Lord, and the whole host of the saints, which include the angels.  St. Paul writes of his own struggle with what he called a "thorn in the flesh":  "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  We needn't despair over our state as human beings, because the story of Christ and especially His Passion is all about God working through even the worst of our times, the deepest of our struggles, and in the midst of difficulties.  Our power is in humility, in knowing ourselves and our dependency upon God, and especially this spiritual place from which true strength comes.  This is what we rely on, and what we know we need.

 

 

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 twelves tribes of Israel

 

 Now there was also a dispute among them, 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 twelves tribes of Israel."

 

- Luke 22:24-30 

 

Yesterday we read that when the hour had come, Jesus sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

 

Now there was also a dispute among them, 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."  My study Bible comments here that this small-minded dispute is out of place in the context of the mysteries that Christ has just revealed (see yesterday's reading, above, in which Christ instituted the Eucharist).  Jesus corrects the disciples by first comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom they themselves considered an abomination, and He contrasts them to Himself, who serves us even though He is Lord of all.  

 

"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 twelves tribes of Israel."  My study Bible quotes commentary on this passage by St. Ambrose of Milan:  "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  A note adds that the apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  Since the kingdom of God begins with the Resurrection of Christ, the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (Matthew 16:19, John 20:23).  

Let us take careful note of the events that continue a pattern of temptation and correction, as this is the time of the great temptation of Satan on so many levels, which the Gospel has taken great pains to emphasize.  Luke writes that "the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve" (see Tuesday's reading).  In the understanding of the Church, the clear culprit who works through the weaknesses of envy and greed, in the cases of the religious leadership and Judas, successively, is Satan.  These are not simple plots of human beings, but rather the momentum of evil in spiritual places encourages these actions, seizing on the passions of human beings.  In today's reading, we read about the weakness of the apostles, manifesting itself in an argument over power and place; that is, who would be the greatest.  This is not the only time the disciples are said to have argued over this same question.  See, for example, Mark 9:34, Luke 9:46, Matthew 20:20-21.  So, we can assume this is yet another passion, another weakness, exploited by the spiritual powers of the prince of this world, at this time of great influence of evil.  But Jesus corrects their thinking, and importantly, gives us an understanding of power and how it works in His Kingdom.  "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."  He points to Himself as the example for all:  "Yet I am among you as the One who serves."   As Christ rebukes with the example of His own virtue, so the disciples are being shaped to do the same, and through this example in the Gospel, so we are being taught as well.  Importantly, there's a deeper lesson here, about how to counter spiritual evil.  Our job is to be vigilant, to watch and pray, and to exercise the kind of discernment that Christ teaches, which is one that judges by the heart and not the actions.  In our own practice of virtue is the greatest weapon against the spiritual powers of evil; our perseverance in faith and endurance through all things is what we have been taught is our rule through tribulation of all kinds.  In Romans 12:20-21, St. Paul quotes from Proverbs 25:21-22:  "Therefore 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.'  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  While a modern perspective may understand this merely as a moral teaching, it is actually a very profound spiritual practice.  Similarly to prayer, acts that we do with real faith have greater effects than we can frequently discern.  Jesus says, "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward" (Mark 9:41), and, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me" (Mark 9:37).  These statements describe spiritual realities we cannot fully grasp, but which are nevertheless true and real.  Let us follow Christ and understand that as He goes to the Cross in this time of evil, He engages in what is, in fact, the most profound act of spiritual warfare, and the supreme example for us all.  In another profound promise, the fullness of which we cannot imagine, He bestows a kingdom upon His apostles, who have continued with Him in His trials.  Let us follow as well.

 

 

 

This is My body

 

 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.

 

- Luke 22:14-23 

 

Yesterday we read that in the daytime, Jesus was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet with the other pilgrims to Jerusalem.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.  Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

 

 When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  Then He said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."   My study Bible tells us that Christ has a fervent desire for this Passover because this meal will impart the mysteries of the new covenant to His followers, and also because this event will inaugurate the great deliverance of humanity from sin through the power of the Cross.  

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  This first cup offered by Christ is a conclusion to the Old Testament Passover meal which Christ eats with His disciples in order to fulfill the Law.  My study Bible explains that until the kingdom of God comes means until Christ's Resurrection.  At that time He will again eat and drink with His disciples (Luke 24:43, Acts 10:41).  

And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."  Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."   The Greek root for the word translated as gave thanks is eucharist/εὐχαριστέω.  This word immediately came to refer to both the Liturgy and the sacrament of Holy Communion.  Before the end of the century, my study Bible explains, a manuscript called the Didache ("The Teaching") refers to the celebration of the Liturgy as "the Eucharist."  Moreover, in AD 150, St. Justin says of Holy Communion, "This food we call 'Eucharist,' of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing [holy baptism] for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ commanded us."  Jesus says, "This is My body."  For the Orthodox Church, these words have always been accepted as true:  in the words of St. Justin, "that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from Him is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus."  

"But behold, the hand of My betrayer is with Me on the table.  And truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!"  Then they began to question among themselves, which of them it was who would do this thing.  My study Bible points out that Judas, too, is invited to the table for the mystical supper, and that Jesus is seeking by all means to save him.  His unworthy participation, it says, leads to his utter destruction (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-30; compare to Esther 7).

While my study Bible comes from the Orthodox tradition, it explains that in Christendom there are at least three different interpretations of Christ's words.  It notes that for the first thousand years of Christian history, when the Church was visibly one and undivided, the holy gifts of the Body and Blood of Christ were received as just that:  His Body and Blood.  The Church confessed this was a mystery:  The bread is truly Christ's Body, that which is in the cup is truly His Blood -- but one cannot say how they become so.  In the eleventh and twelfth centuries began the scholastic era, the Age of Reason in the West.  The Roman Church by that time had become separated from the Orthodox Church in 1054, and it was pressed by the rationalists to define precisely how this transformation occurs.  Their answer was the word transubstantiation, which means change of substance.  These elements are therefore no longer bread and wine, but are physically changed into flesh and blood.  So the sacrament, which is comprehensible only by faith, was subjected to a philosophical definition.  This view was unknown in the ancient Church.  This issue of transubstantiation became one of the points of disagreement between Rome and the sixteenth-century reformers.  They were not able to accept this explanation, and so the radical reformers (who were also rationalists) took up the opposing point of view:  that these gifts are simply bread and wine.  They only represent Christ's Body and Blood, and have no spiritual reality.  My study Bible says of this third viewpoint, that these elements are only symbols, helps to explain the infrequency with which some Protestants partake of the Eucharist.  Although, I hasten to add, I know many who commune every week.  I must say that for myself I have considered all of these "options," and I tend to personally fall on the side of the first thousand years of Christianity, as I find it the most reasonable.  That is, these words of Christ remain a mystery, and only and just that -- something we accept, but cannot explain, in the same way that we cannot explain the other mysteries of our faith, such as the birth of Christ.  This is because, in my own understanding, there are things that reach so far beyond our own grasping and reality that we simply have no choice but to accept them on faith.  Either the light of faith reveals this for a person, or it does not.  I hasten to add that I feel that each of us is on a very long faith journey, and that this journey is one that changes us -- and as we in turn change, so does our perspective on our faith, and this indeed happens in so many ways.  Christ has spoken of Himself as a road:  "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me," John 14:6.  The Greek word translated as way (ὁδὸς) means "road," and is still used this way in modern Greek.  Therefore Christ speaks of Himself as the "road" to the Father, including the truth and life of God.  So, in the deepest and most original understanding of our faith, we are on a road somewhere.  The importance and significance of the Eucharist is not simply to remember Christ, but to take on the qualities of Christ, the fruits of the Spirit, to become more "like God," even as we hopefully move toward God in our faith.  This is the fullness of the Incarnation and the understanding of the patristic tradition of the Church:  that in Christ, God became human, so that we human beings could become like God.  So much of the understanding of Christ makes sense only through this lens:  His bodily ascent into heaven at the Ascension, thereby glorifying human flesh; His taking on of all that we experience and transfiguring all of life with meaning; and the other mysteries we celebrate such as Baptism, in which water becomes "illumined" with Spirit so that we, in turn, may be made whole and on our own way on this "road" of faith.  The elements of the world such as water for Baptism, or oil for chrismation, are understood to take on a mystical substance which interacts within and for human beings for illumination.  Thereby we are to understand in this same mysterious working of the energies of God as we partake of this mysterious body and blood of Christ.  It is our "supersubstantial" bread, as the prayer to Our Father literally states, in the special Greek word (epiousion/ἐπιούσιον) that appears nowhere in any literature but the Gospels.  As such Christ is our medicine, the fullness of nourishment for all of our real needs:  body, soul, spirit.  As if to underscore explicitly the difficulty of this teaching, John's Gospel tells us that Jesus taught:  "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you," and that for many disciples this was a point of turning away.  (See John 6:53-71.)   The fullness of the faith is understood through mystery.  That is, there is depth and breadth to our faith that none of us is fully-equipped to understand at the levels of its true founding, as only God can understand and fully know God.  But we begin with these words, which lift us into a promise of Christ as Passover, given in entirety for us, and making a new covenant for all.  Christ teaches us, "Do this in remembrance of Me."  In a profound religious sense, and certainly for the Jews of Christ's time, to remember is to bring into the present, to participate in something -- not simply to commemorate in a social sense.  St. Paul clarifies this when He admonishes the Corinthians not to take the Eucharist in an unworthy manner (see 1 Corinthians 11:23-32).  Let us take on the multiple ways in which our faith works in us, and seek to participate in the mystery offered to us.

 

 

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve

 

 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

 

- Luke 21:37—22:13 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke a parable to those to whom He prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and also His return in power and glory:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man." 

 

 And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.  Jesus stays on the Mount of Olivet, with other pilgrims who've come to Jerusalem for the Passover feast.  

 

 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.   My study Bible explains that the Passover (Pascha/Πασχα in Greek, which is also the name for Easter) is the celebration of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12 - 14).  In remembrance of this, Jews would slaughter an unblemished lamb, and partake of it with unleavened bread.  My study Bible says it is a prefiguration of Christ's Passion, in which the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from their bondage to sin and death, and is then raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  Therefore, Pascha is the primary term by which most Christians around the world (and in particular Orthodox Christians) refer to the death and Resurrection of Christ, known in the West as Easter.

Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study Bible says that Satan does not enter a human being except by that person's consent.  It explains that the reason Satan chose Judas and none of the others is that Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, while the others did not.  Luke's mention of Judas being numbered among the twelve is an emphasis on the depth of his betrayal.  It also shows that a religious position is worthless if it is not accompanied by faith and virtue.  

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"  And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.   The term Passover (Greek Pascha/Πασχα) can refer to several things:  it can refer to the original event itself, the celebration of that event, the food that is eaten, or the lamb that is slain.  My study bible suggests that according to the patristic writers, Peter represents zeal and John represents spiritual understanding, the virtues with which we are to partake of the Lord's Supper.  

If we think about the Passover, we are to understand that Christ Himself is our Passover lamb.  He honors reverently all the traditions and spiritual history of the Jewish people, as a devout Jew and spiritual Teacher.  But as the Christ, He also fulfills this entire history and its promise of His Incarnation and the life He lives for the salvation of all people.  Jesus has said that He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.  In the midst of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declares:  "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17).  As such He is our Passover.  He is the One who frees us from slavery on every level possible.  As we start today's reading, we are taught of the plot that gels and materializes to kill Christ, the sacrificial Lamb.  And there is one ultimate culprit assigned in the text, and in the patristic reading of the text, who works through and motivates others to this end.  St. Cyril of Alexandria comments on today's passage regarding the plot to kill Jesus:  "The devil had implanted in the leaders of the Jewish synagogue envy against Christ, which even leads to murder. This disorder always leads, so to speak, to the guilt of murder."  Envy is in some particular sense an archetypal sin, as we're told that it led to rebellion against God, just as it leads these religious leaders to plot to kill Jesus.  Ultimately, St. Cyril's commentary places the blame for the desire to kill Christ on this spiritual source of evil, Satan who rebelled against God, and Satan's influence.  Later, the text tells us that "Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve."  St. Cyril comments that Judas -- as opposed to the other disciples -- was susceptible to the influence of Satan through his particular weakness, a passion of greed.  In John's Gospel, in the passage on the anointing of Christ by Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus, we're told that Judas criticized Mary for this use of the costly perfumed oil (see John 12:1-8).  In that passage, we're told that Judas said, "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"  But, John tells us, Judas said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.  St. Cyril goes even further to explain to us that Christ's mysterious instructions to John and Peter in today's reading, regarding meeting a man carrying a pitcher of water, are given so as to avoid identifying the owner or the house itself containing the upper room:  in this way Judas will not be able to name him.  Therefore Christ will be able to eat the Passover with His disciples before His arrest in Gethsemane.  Let us note that in so doing, not only will Christ be able to institute the Eucharist at that time, but He will also be able to offer another chance of repentance to Judas as well.  In all things, let us note Christ's fulfillment of every possibility and potential, even in this most evil of times, and among the plots of Satan.  We should keep in mind that the saints of the Church see Christ Himself, as the human object of the plot to murder Him, as a baited hook for the powers of destruction.  The powers of evil which work through human beings do not understand that the plot to murder Christ will end their rule over this world, and what will be the outcome of this Pascha for all eternity and all humanity.  Let us enter into the upper room with Christ and the disciples as we follow what happens in our next readings.

Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man

 

 Then He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

 

- Luke 21:29–36 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught His followers regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and also about the end times:  "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.  For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.  And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.  Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." 

Then He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."  This generation seems to have a double meaning here.  Not only will the destruction of Jerusalem happen within a generation, but all these things refers to the generation of all believers at all times -- the generation of the Church, and not only those alive at the time of Christ.  Christ gives a solemn assurance of His prophecy:  My words will by no means pass away.

"But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."  Jesus warns that our real need throughout this time as believers await His return is to be sober, to be aware of who we are and what our faith is.  That this Day will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth is a vivid image teaching us about the unpredictability of dates and times, and the easy way we slip into forgetfulness of who we are.  

Origen has an interesting commentary on drunkenness, which Christ warns about.  He states that drunkenness is destructive in all things:  it weakens both soul and body together.  There are times when the body is weak, and the spirit grows stronger.  Even through illness, we see spiritual growth and a closer experience of faith in the interior life.  But with drunkenness this is not the case, and so it would seem regarding the other things Christ warns about:  carousing and cares of this life.  So with all three, body and soul are together diminished, destroyed, ground down.  We lose sight of what is important, and must draw ourselves away from these things in order to focus on what is good for us, and healing.  Let's note that each of these can be a kind of escape from life, often starting out as a way to avoid the deeper things that may be hard to fathom and to cope with -- but the end of each road is no longer an escape but another kind of deeper prison, even a desolate place.  Origen writes of drunkenness:  "Forgetfulness covers the mind so that one does not know oneself nor perceive he is a person."  Origen wrote in the early third century, before the time of modern pharmaceuticals and the kinds of epidemics of drugs that we know today.  But let's take seriously what he says about drunkenness to illuminate what happens to a person who seeks escape from these deeper struggles of life through whatever means is available.  For Christ, even "the cares of this life" form such overwhelming substance, as we see also illustrated in the parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4-15), when Jesus illustrates those who are "choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life" as the seed that fell among thorns.  Today we have other modern day distractions which may also serve to dissipate our lives and distract us from what is essential, but it's important to note the overwhelming nature of things that were common to human beings then and now, and Origen's comment about the dissipation of both the spirit and the body.  Let us not be lost in things that take us away from our spiritual lives, and give us only an immediate escape into forgetfulness or a type of obsession with something else.  It's a powerful thought to recognize how easy it is to lose ourselves in things that seem good but are dead ends in and of themselves.  Possibly the greatest power we have to put us in mind of the things that "bring us back to ourselves" is prayer and worship -- all the things that we can do to connect ourselves back to God, even for a brief period, even as we take just a bit of time from whatever we are doing in our lives.  Let us understand our dependence upon God, and that place where we truly remember who we are in God's love.  With Jesus' warnings, we are clearly to understand that this is true even in the midst of tribulations -- and that He is always with us even so, as we await His return with power and great glory.  Jesus teaches us that we are to "watch" and "pray always."  Let us take Him at His word, which will not pass away.