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 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 temple in Jerusalem, 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  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but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 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."   For our understanding of darkness in this context, my study Bible refers us to John 3:19-21; 13:30.  In these contexts, we observe that the power of darkness is that which resists the light, the true light that has come into the world, Jesus Christ, who is Light of Light (Nicene Creed).

 

 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 comments on the fact that it is a girl who is the first to test Peter.  In patristic understanding, this is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve in Genesis 3:6.  Our fallen state, it notes, is overcome in Christ when women are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (see Luke 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 that Peter is so overcome with fear that neither Christ's prediction (Luke 22:34) nor the crowing of the rooster calls him to repentance.  Only the gaze of the Lord causes Peter to weep bitterly.  St. Ambrose of Milan is quoted, who says that, nonetheless, "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud." 

 

What do we do when we have done something that seems unforgivable -- and most of all, unforgivable to ourselves?   Just prior to Christ's seizure by the authorities, He said to Peter, "Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail . . .."  But Peter responded to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."  See Luke 22:31-34.  But here, even before a servant girl, the first to spot Peter as a follower of Christ, he wavers and caves to his fears, denying that he was a disciple.  A man then affirms that he was one of them, and Peter denies it again.  Finally, another affirms that it must be so, due to Peter's Galilean accent he recognizes, Jesus' disciples having followed Him from Galilee.  It's only the gaze of Christ that causes Peter to come to himself, and to realize what he has done.  He hasn't simply denied Christ, he has also betrayed himself in so doing.  We can only imagine what it is to confidently predict what steadfast people we are, how we will uphold our values or principles, we will always be loyal and never waver -- and then, just like that, we are tested and we fail even in our own eyes.  No wonder Peter went out and wept bitterly.  Not only has Peter failed himself and, more importantly, His Lord, Peter's overconfidence came in the face of Christ's prophecy to him.  When we look at this story this way, we see that Christ, of course, was not trying to bring Peter down or even to criticize him, but to forewarn him of the test and temptation to come, to solemnly warn him of his own weaknesses and his need to be conscious of them.  How many of us could confess to making similar mistakes in our lives, only to have to come to terms with how we have come up short?  Certainly this author can say so.  But for St. Peter, for myself, and one may dare say for all, Christ is the answer to our bitter failures and shortcomings.  For Jesus, as He indeed indicated, still wants St. Peter for his mission.  Even if we fail in our own eyes, and in the eyes of the world, our disappointment is only really tempered through Christ, who has a place for us, a plan, a way to go forward.  That means is through repentance, through turning back to Christ through all things, and accepting the reality He offers us.  That is, just as in this specific case we're given in the Gospels with St. Peter, we need to accept His judgment instead of our own -- even on ourselves as well.  Jesus also predicts to Peter, ". . . when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."  There is a very important lesson here about our faith, about confidence in ourselves, about our own judgment and estimation of our own potential weaknesses.  But most of all, it also tells us about temptation, for the devil who wanted to sift Peter as wheat apparently helped bring along the means of the failure of his faith, a way to trip him up in his weakness.  But with Christ, such stumbling blocks become opportunities for growth and for the strengthening of our faith, in that we become more aware of who we are, grow in helpful knowledge of our weaknesses, and may always turn and return to Him in repentance so that He shows us the way for us to the future and a better destiny and life.  St. Peter, of course, went on to have remarkable faith, going to his martyrdom for Christ, finally true to his word.  But before that he became a pillar of the Church, part of the foundation as the "rock" that Jesus named him, giving to us in turn a faith against which the gates of hades could not prevail (Matthew 16:18).  Yesterday, across the world and across many denominations, was the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.  Let us be truly grateful for the foundation they gave us, and follow in their footsteps as faithful to Christ.  For we all may be tested by the power of darkness, but with Christ it shall never prevail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

 

 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

- Mark 10:17–31 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus arose from Galilee and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And He answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."  Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And He took them up in His arms, laid His  hands on them, and blessed them.  

 

 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"   My study Bible comments that this man does not come to test Jesus, but to seek advice from one whom he considers no more than a good Teacher.  It says that Christ's response does not deny that He is God, but is designed to lead the rich man to this knowledge.  The commandments quoted by Jesus are found at Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20.  Let us note that this man who approaches Jesus is often referred to as the "rich young ruler."  Jesus is now in Judea, and is going out on the road, perhaps toward Jerusalem, so this young ruler is likely connected to one of the important families of the temple leadership. 

 

And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  My study Bible comments that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  This young man had an earnest desire for eternal life, and sensed that he still lacked something.  So, he continues to press Jesus for the answer.   

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.   My study Bible says that to be perfect, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  Nothing is gained, it says, unless this sacrifice is given freely.  But the specifics for each person of how one follows Christ will be different.  Here, wealth had such a grip on this rich young ruler, his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  According to St. John Chrysostom, giving away his possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here -- to follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.  

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  My study Bible comments that there are various interpretations which have been suggested for this impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  Some suggest that this word was not "camel," but rather an Aramaic word that sounds similar but means "rope."  Others have said the "eye of a need" was the name of a city gate through which a camel might barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, symbolizing wealth.  There is an expression in the Talmud "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  But, whatever this phrase refers to, my study Bible says, it displays the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.   It notes that this is clearly evidenced by the response of the disciples, "Who then can be saved?"  But through the grace of God, even what's impossible for human beings can come to pass.

 

 Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  My study Bible says that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses or to abandon children.  Again, my study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who says that this refers to keeping faith under persecution, even if it means to lose one's family.  It means also to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of a believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, my study Bible says, but in a spiritual sense -- the father's and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.  

This story of the rich young ruler appears in all three Synoptic Gospels.  Therefore it forms a kind of highlighted, central story in the ministry of Jesus Christ.  We should be careful not to confuse a principle of sacrifice with an elevation to a purpose of modern concepts of sacrifice per se.  In other words, Jesus calls upon this young man to give up his wealth, sell it, and give to the poor, and to follow Him -- all in that order, and for an important intention.  As my study Bible points out, the whole purpose of this is because of his deep clinging to wealth as if it were an ineluctable part of his life and identity, so much so, that it gets in the way of his desire for eternal life and to follow Christ.  And this is the purpose of Christ's command to him, so that he may be able to find the eternal life he seeks.  There is nothing in particular that is inherently evil in wealth.  St. Paul writes that it is the love of money that is the root of all kinds of evil, not money in itself (1 Timothy 6:10).  Neither is Jesus suggesting that wealth is meant to be distributed for particular purposes of a social or political or even moral nature (for that one presumes that following Christ teaches and leads us in what to do with our wealth).  This young man is in earnest and truly seeks out Jesus as a good Teacher.  But there is one aspect we might consider about his identity.  As he's called a rich ruler, it's likely he's connected to the temple, and his possessions may in fact by the result of inherited position.  The Sadducees, for example, formed a kind of aristocracy around Jerusalem, and they were connected to the priestly families of the temple.  So, one aspect of wealth is its pervasive grip upon personal identity.  Who are we without our possessions?  Possessions also give us social status of a particular kind, and this in turn forms identity.  How others think of us forms a highly pervasive sense of who we are, but Christ calls us out of that place.  Let us keep in mind, for example, the experience of Jesus in His hometown, and how pervasive social status is within community.  So much so, that when He preached in Nazareth, the neighbors clung to their old ideas of Jesus and His family, and could not receive His gracious words, nor could Jesus perform any great work there (see Mark 6:1-6).  His wisdom both astonished and offended His old neighbors.  So important is this event that Christ's saying, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house" is found in some form in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24; John 4:44).  This young man's wealth likely ties him to his family and community in some particular way.  But Christ calls us out of our worldly identity and into one that He gives us in this sense of the eternal life.  Jesus points to that life when He teaches the young man that by giving up his wealth, selling it, and giving to the poor, he will have "treasure in heaven."  For we are called, as this young man is, to take up our crosses in order to exchange one type of life for another, just as we may have treasure in heaven by giving to those in need, a blessing for a blessing.  In the case of this man, that giving will set him free to follow Christ, for this is his particular need at this stage.  Let us note also that the text tells us Jesus gave this command out of love for this young man (Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him . . .).  The difficulties of giving up his wealth seem to keep him from becoming another beloved disciple of Christ, but of course we don't know what he did later on in his life.  For record, we should also note that there are wealthy people in the Gospels who become exemplary followers of Christ.  These are Joseph of Arimathea who donates an expensive tomb (likely made for himself) in order to honor Christ in burial, and Nicodemus the Pharisee.  Both give up a considerable amount to honor Jesus publicly, both endanger, and likely lose, wealth and position in so doing; both were among the rulers in the temple.  In fact, my study Bible notes that according to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by St. Peter and consequently was removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to flee Jerusalem.  As we read in the text, the disciples, while not men of great wealth, are also those who have left all to follow Jesus, exchanging their places, work, hometowns, and life for the life they are called to by Christ, to become disciples and apostles.  To follow Jesus is to be called out of past identity in one form or another, and to find oneself in His life, His Kingdom.  As my study Bible says, that calling will be different for each, the specifics of each one of us taking up our cross will depend upon the things God calls us out of, and how we're called forward.  For today, let us consider the pitfalls of wealth and even of what we moderns call progress, for so much of this is linked to possessions, to "keeping up."  For the world will always seek to dictate to us whom we are supposed to be, what we need to have and to do, how we look before others, what our social status is and where we fit.  This rich young ruler is directed by Jesus to follow the commandments of the Law as a good thing.  But he's also asked to go further and take up his cross. How does Christ call you forward, to follow Him?