O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will

 

 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  

 

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

- Matthew 26:36–46 

 

Saturday's reading described events at the Last Supper, the Passover supper of Jesus and the disciples. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And so said all the disciples.

 

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  My study Bible says that when Jesus speaks of this cup He's referring to His impending death.  As a human being, He wishes He could avoid it, for it is the mark of humanity to abhor death.  Jesus prays if it is possible that this cup be taken from Him, and thereby gives us full proof of His human nature.  Nonetheless, my study Bible says, He is without sin and He completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's divine will.  

 

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."  My study asks us to note Christ's words and their importance: "watch and pray."   It says that this is the key to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptation.  By this, Christ's human soul is strengthened, and He faces death with divine courage.  In contrast to the Lord's vigilance, the disciples sleep.  My study Bible explains that, since body and soul are united, the spirit is paralyzed by a lethargic body.  But a willing spirit, which recognizes the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power.  

 

 Jesus knows where He is going, He knows why He is going, in His divinity He will complete the mission of the Incarnation.  But nevertheless in the fullness of His humanity He asks that the cup pass from Him if it be possible.  For those of us who have struggled with our own temptations against the courage required in personal spiritual choices, Jesus gives us all hope.  For our Lord knows where we go, and how hard we struggle, even -- or maybe especially -- against things we know must happen, or we must find the courage to take on.  My study Bible says that "a willing spirit, which recognizes the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power."  Personally, having struggled in difficult times, I have found this to be true on many levels and in various circumstances.  The times I didn't think I had the wherewithal to face a difficult choice, or to undertake a difficult task, I found that in prayer there was renewed energy to do so, even creativity to find better solutions than I had understood were available to me.  Many times when in Church during the Divine Liturgy, it is there that I have found the ease in my mind and heart that allowed me to pray for God's forgiveness of others who had hurt me very deeply.  Otherwise, this was indeed very difficult.  But Jesus gives us courage in showing us that even He struggled with what He had to do.  Our example is not one that is without struggle, of some sort of "perfection" in stoic virtue, but rather One who grapples with the deepest, strongest, most difficult temptations and pains of life. This is the Christ who is with us always, in all the things that we have to do.  We should try to understand that in prayer, and in seeking guidance that leads us through our lives, if we like Christ seek to follow the things He wants for us and the ways in which He wishes us to conduct our lives, then the power of such a prayer is already accompanied by Christ, by His grace.  These are the times to consider and to seek discernment about what path we're on, whether or not we're pleasing God or seeking to find God's will, even before our own.  For the One who has already struggled is there with us, has gone there before us, and would not assign us to something or somewhere He has not already gone before for us.  Such a thought should prepare us for life and emphasize that as adopted children, we are part of a heritage that guides our steps and gives us purpose, even as we seek His way through our world.  In life there will always be things that are difficult, but the One who leads us finds us meaning and value and substance, leading us to share in His virtues, even as He voluntarily shares in our struggles and difficulties and pain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read 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 much 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.  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."  My study Bible comments that Christ's agony was the product of His human nature.  In asking that the cup be taken away, it notes, Jesus reveals His human will.  But by submitting His human will to the Father, Christ reveals His divine will to be one with the Father's, and moreover shows that every person must submit one's own will to God's will (Luke 11:2).  My study Bible quotes St. Gregory the Great, in affirming that Christ willingly takes in Himself the voice of weak humanity, thereby conquering weakness:  "The words of weakness are sometimes adopted by the strong in order that the hearts of the weak may be strengthened."

 

 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.  My study Bible tells us that this healing is recorded only by St. Luke the physician.  It indicates how we are to treat our enemies, it says.  There is a spiritual meaning in patristic commentary, in which it is Christ who gives people the ability to hear the truth and thereby come to salvation (Luke 8:8; 14:35).  

 

 Jesus goes as He has prophesied, despite His very human resistance to the prospect of death and what lies before Him.  To die on the Cross isn't just an agonizing procedure reserved for the worst criminals and punishment met out by the Roman Empire.  It is a whole host of disparaging, and humiliating, and grinding aspects of cruelty and spectacle.  To be crucified was to be cast before the society as worthless and degraded.  To die slowly, and naked on the Cross before all, is a humiliating and utterly depraved destiny for a religious Jew.  Jesus has been careful, at the Last Supper, to fulfill all righteousness, and He has continued to do so by overriding His human impulses in order to follow the Father's will for Him in faith.  These moments He faces give us a picture of what evil is and does, and they make it clear that we can never discount the words of St. Paul, "For 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).  Who but one who hated God and opposed Christ and God's plan for the future of humanity could possibly desire such a horribly cruel outcome for Him?  Yet, Christ expresses clearly for us that His opponents are not merely flesh and blood, as St. Paul says, but He seeks the defeat of the devil on our behalf.  This is made clear when He heals the ear of the servant of the high priest.  Jesus is not going after the religious leadership, nor the people who take part in this railroading of Him as an innocent man (Matthew 27:24).  St. Matthew also reports Jesus saying to the one who drew his sword on Christ's behalf, "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).  Jesus will face the worst the world can give Him, but it is an act of spiritual warfare in condemnation of the devil and his power, as will be confirmed in the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ.  In so doing, He claims all the world, and all of creation for Himself, and all authority given to Him by the Father including that of judgment (Matthew 28:18), which He in turn will share with His followers (see Thursday's reading).  He goes to the Cross for us, and to give us the most powerful sign of all, that which takes on the evil and defeats it; for this is the victory of the Cross and its power on our behalf.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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, 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." 

 

- Luke 22:39–53 

 

On Saturday we read that 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, 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."  My study Bible comments that Christ's agony was the product of His human nature.  In asking that the cup be taken away, Christ reveals His human will.  By submitting His human will to that of God the Father, my study Bible explains, He reveals His divine will is one with the Father's.  Moreover, it teaches us that this is the goal of each person in our own crossroads and choices (Luke 11:2).  Christ willingly takes in Himself the voice of weak humanity, and thereby conquers weakness.  My study Bible quotes from Pope 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."

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.  My study Bible tells us that this healing is recorded only by St. Luke the physician.  It's an indication of the way in which we're to treat our enemies.  In patristic commentary, it's understood to have a spiritual meaning, in that it is Christ who gives all of us the capacity to hear the truth, and thereby come to salvation (see Luke 8:8, 14:35). 

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."  Regarding darkness, see John 3:19-21, 13:30.

Hidden in today's text, there are hints of meaning in the loss of human capacity for perceiving the things of God.  First, there is the healing of the ear of the servant of the high priest.  As my study Bible notes, in patristic sources this is given a spiritual significance, in that it is Christ who enables our true spiritual hearing, our capacity to hear the truth as given by God.  It is not coincidence that, opening today's reading, we receive the passage that teaches us about Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane, in which He prayed His very human desire that this cup be passed from Him.  That is, the cup of the Crucifixion to come, as He knows He will be betrayed and arrested this night by those who will hand Him to the Gentiles to be killed.  Let's observe this great conflict between Christ's naturally human will to avoid death, and His desire to follow the divine will of God the Father.  He has prophesied several times what will happen to Him, and so He knows that "the Son of Man goes as it has been determined" (Luke 22:22), but we can see clearly His human response to what is before Him.  With this, Jesus puts everything before God the Father, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  Perhaps this is a good model for all of us, for the times when we are tried with a sorely difficult choice, and we, too, have struggles that are difficult in seeing our way through them.  Christ's impulse is to "hear" God the Father, but He also knows that He is heard, and puts everything before God in so doing.  This is a powerful scene about truth as it is heard and known, for He speaks the truth of His human desire, and hears the truth of the Father's will and lives it.  Then something significant for all of us happens:  an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  Again, it is an assurance of a process that happens also for us, for the angels are present to us to help to strengthen our own capacities for hearing, knowing, doing, for faith.  Jesus' response is to do what is most helpful at such a time:  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  His physical human response described here teaches us about the depth of His agony and the fervor of His prayer.  Next we're given the response of the disciples to their great sorrow:  they sleep.  Sleep is a time when we neither hear nor see what is happening around us, symbolic of cutting ourselves off from spiritual sight and hearing of the truth.  Jesus tells them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation," giving us to understand prayer as the way to rekindle our capacity for hearing and seeing, being awake and alert to the things God has in mind for us, wants us to apprehend.  Finally, Jesus puts His finger on the inability to see and hear spiritually, perhaps our unwillingness to do so, either in the face of challenges such as facing terrible difficulties, or deep sorrow, or other temptations.  He also describes the betrayal of Judas and the hypocrisy of these religious leaders who now arrest Him and plot to have Him killed.  All of this He sums up in His description of their hour:  the power of darkness.  Darkness, of course, obscures the light, and in particular, our sight.  So spiritual seeing and hearing -- and the lack of them both -- becomes a powerful component hidden in the scenes of today's reading, and something we have to consider at all times.  For Christ's time of agony is not an isolated event, but one that might come to each one of us, especially as we struggle with our faith.  The world can present us with alternatives we'd rather not face, hostility from those whom we love, even betrayal.  It can impose a kind of response of sorrow from friends who seem to abandon us and sleep when we need them.  Fortunately, Jesus gives us the true sword with which to meet such times of evil and the power of darkness, and that is the power of prayer and its fullness.  We see His fervent and deep prayers, letting God know all, and accepting God's word to Him in His great struggle.  He tells the disciples, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."  Sleeping is something we try to do in darkness, and it is the power of darkness at work in the arrest of Jesus by those who have shut out spiritual light and sound so as to follow their own desires only, under cover of night, even violating their own laws in the night trial of Jesus that will follow.  When life seems dark, take up the sword of Christ's truth, and the power of the prayers He so deeply prays.  Don't sleep, but follow His teaching to rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation. 

 

 

Pray that you may not 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, at the Last Supper, 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.  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."  My study Bible describes Christ's agony as the product of His human nature.  In asking that His cup be taken away, it says, Christ reveals His human will.  As Jesus submits His human will to the Father, He reveals His divine will to be one with the Father's, and moreover shows that each one of us must also submit our own will to God's will (see The Lord's Prayer, Luke 11:2).  Christ willingly takes in Himself the voice of weak humanity, and thereby conquers weakness.  My study Bible quotes Pope 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."

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.   My study Bible tells us that this healing is recorded only by St. Luke the physician.  It shows the manner in which we are to treat our enemies.  In patristic commentary, it is noted that there is a spiritual meaning here, in that it is Christ who gives people the ability to hear the truth, and thereby come to salvation (see Luke 8:8; 14:35).

Jesus tells the disciples twice, during His agony, that they must pray:  "Pray that you may not enter into temptation," and again, "Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."  This is before and after His own time of deep prayer, sorrow, and agony, His spiritual struggle to do as He knows God the Father wills for Him.  Let us know how Jesus deals with this time of great struggle and temptation.   He prays:  "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done."  This struggle, in other words, He gives to the Father as well.  An angel appears and strengthens Him, yet such is His agony that His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  This is natural, for what is more terrifying than the prospect of death?  What is more natural to a human being than to recoil from death itself?  And yet, Jesus is given this task by the Father; He is the One who will journey through death voluntarily, meeting death with His holiness in order to defeat death once for all, for all of us.  He will bring His presence even to this greatest "sting" of the evil one.  Christ is life Himself ("I am the way, the truth, and the life" - John 14:6), and in this journey and this mission, He will meet death and defeat it.  For He is life for all of us.  His very purpose is for the life of the world, and this will be achieved through His death on the Cross, and His Resurrection for us all.  But let us really pay attention to His teachings to the disciples.  He Himself needs prayer, and it is the one thing He counsels to the disciples, that they must pray so as to avoid falling into temptation.  Prayer remains for us the number one weapon we have in our lives.  It is not only for the avoidance of temptation, but so much more.  For Christ, who is life itself, is present with us in prayer.  When we pray, and repeat His name and call upon Him in prayer, we are asking Him to be with us in our lives and circumstances as well.  We are asking Him to help us to battle our temptations and help us in our struggles.  We are also asking Him to be present so that our own repentance becomes not simply a casting away of something that is improper or not good for us, but also so that we might change to become more like Him in the place of what we want to change.  He guides the way.  And this kind of prayer is what is involved in the process called "theosis" by the Orthodox.  That is, becoming more like Him, taking on the traits of the fruit of the Spirit.  In this kind of prayer, we allow Christ in to the deepest corners of the self, and we invite Him to help us to find ourselves -- the true nature that is created in God's image and likeness.  Poignantly, Jesus prays in a Garden, and He prays to overcome His own earthly nature to follow God, even as our earliest ancestors broke with God in a Garden once upon a time, and brought death into the world.  Jesus is in this garden, in agony, praying for Himself that He might follow God's will and complete His mission for all of us, for the life of the whole of the world, for all of creation, to restore us more fully to life as is promised, a life "more abundant" than what we know.  This process is available to us, as we pray and allow that prayer to dwell deep within us, and Christ to come and live there and work His grace and transforming power in us.  Sometimes we will also find ourselves in great struggle, like Him, even when we don't have the same challenges and can't possibly fill the same shoes.  But He has gone first, and so He is there for us, calling us forward in our own lives with our own crosses, so that we may be like Him and manifest His life for the world as well.  As we may experience our own agony, in the many forms and afflictions that may be characterized as death of one sort or another, let us remember that we are thereby also called to Resurrection in many ways -- to participate in His grace in this world and beyond.

 

 

And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground

 

 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.  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."

 

- Luke 22:39-53 

 

On Saturday, Jesus was speaking to the disciples at the Last Supper, after they ate the Passover.   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.  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."    My study Bible says that Christ's agony was the product of His human nature.  In asking that the cup be taken away, He reveals His human will.  By submitting His human will to the Father, Christ reveals His divine will to be one with the Father's.  Moreover, this shows that each person must submit one's own will to God's will (Luke 11:2).  My study Bible adds 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."

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."  The healing of the ear of the servant of the high priest is recorded only by St. Luke the physician, my study Bible notes.  It says that this indicates the manner in which we are to treat our enemies.  The patristic commentaries indicate a spiritual meaning here in that it is Christ who gives people the ability to hear the truth, and thereby come to salvation (see Luke 8:8; 14:35).  Regarding the power of darkness, see John 3:19-21; 13:30.

 

Verse 44 describes Jesus' tremendous pain, His agony:  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  In a recent video made while visiting the garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem, Jonathan Pageau views these elements as reminders of Christ's Crucifixion, that His blood will be spilled as is described here.  According to John's Gospel, when a sword pierces His side, blood and water will come out  (John 19:34).  But of course, Christ's very human side is responding to what He knows is coming.  It is interesting that before that, Christ prays that God's will be done:  "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  We are allowed to witness the wrestling going on within Himself, between His human and divine wills.  And then we're told, after this prayer, that then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. So as Luke invites us in to witness this extremely personal moment, we are experiencing what Christ experienced, and as He experienced it.  Note the tussle and the tug of war.  Before the prayer, Jesus told His disciples, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  So Christ's experience in the garden, begins with His warning to the disciples, an admonition that they must pray that they may not enter into temptation.  Then He Himself withdraws in order to pray, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."    Then, after He has made this plea, this commitment that despite His human desire that the cup be taken away, He commits voluntarily to God's will -- and then an angel appears in order to strengthen Him.    At that point, this struggle then draws Him into agony, and He prays even more fervently.  All of this is a model for us, so that we understand what prayer is and what spiritual battle is.  For this is an agony of battle for Jesus, and it is an agony of the deepest part of temptation.  He is struggling against every human instinct we have for self-preservation, and no doubt against fears of what will become of His disciples and the legacy of His ministry.  One might simply imagine all of the million and one doubts that would assail any normal human being.  But Christ models for us what our own struggles are going to be about.  Step by step, we're given to understand that we need to pray in order to battle temptation, that we need to withdraw so that we focus and concentrate on prayer when we can, giving it our all.  Note also that He asks the disciples, His friends, to pray as well.  But this struggle is visceral, real, it is not easy nor simple.  And it is indeed a struggle.  Even after Jesus has made the decision, prayed "not My will, but Yours, be done," even after an angel has responded to strengthen Him, then His agony comes.  But, as He has said, the ruler of this world has nothing in Him (John 16:33).  Let us note that we also may experience the same strengthening from spiritual forces that aid us in response to our choices, even when we are in the middle of a struggle -- and that we may still experience further pain and temptation to turn back from our choice to find God's will despite our choice to face the hardships that may come in so doing.  This is the struggle.  This agony in the garden is the description of a deep spiritual struggle, and the formula and model we're given for prayer and spiritual assistance.  We may not all be the One who is destined to lead this mission of Christ, who liberates all through the means of the Cross, but nonetheless on some levels we may also experience the same struggles, and so we should take the same cautions, guidance, and knowledge with us that we're given here in this glimpse of Him that is so personal.  We pray so as not to enter into temptation.  In prayer we make the choice and commitment for what God is asking of us, and while we are strengthened, we may yet fully feel the visceral and very human experience of that struggle, an agony that is as real as anything else with which we might struggle in life.  Let us go forward in understanding that Christ was not spared the struggle, and neither are we when we choose to commit to our faith.  Jesus teaches us what it is to face and experience this hour, and the power of darkness.  But nonetheless, despite the struggle, we will come to enter into His peace and His joy in so doing -- for there is where we reap the harvest of faith.  In this case, it is the eternal sign of Christ that saves and liberates and sets us free from from the slavery of the one who would bring us pain in all its forms.  He has overcome the world -- for us.

 

  

Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation

 

 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

'I will strike the Shepherd,

And the sheep will be scattered.'

"But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise.

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."  Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

- Mark 14:27–42 

 

Yesterday we read that on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?"  And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.  Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us."  So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.  In the evening He came with the twelve.  Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me."  And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?"  And another said, "Is it I?"  And another said, "Is it I?"  He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise.  Jesus quotes from the prophecy of Zechariah 13:7.  Speaking also prophetically, He tells Peter that, despite Peter's vehement assurances to the contrary, "today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."

 

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  Gethsemane means "oil press."  It is an orchard of olive trees at the foot of the Mount of Olives.  My study Bible comments that Christ intentionally came to the place known to His betrayer Judas, one of His disciples (see John 18:2).  This shows that He was going to His Passion willingly and voluntarily.  It reveals Christ went to find Judas rather than Judas finding Christ.  Taken together in this context, we understand Christ is fully aware of this night as the beginning of His Passion, His way to betrayal and the Cross.  Hence He is troubled and deeply distressed, and His fully human identity is revealed in His words and His need for His closest disciples (Peter, James, and John), the ones of greatest faith.  There is no doubt that the sorrow in His soul is also connected to His concerns about His flock, what they will undergo, how they will respond, and how they will fare without Him in the flesh as their Protector and Leader.

He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."    Abba in Aramaic is the familiar form for Father, my study Bible says.  It is equivalent to "Papa," and indicates Christ's intimacy with God the Father.  This cup is a reference to Christ's impending death, my study Bible explains.  According to His divine nature, Jesus goes to His death.  But as a man, He wishes He could avoid it -- for it is the mark of humanity to abhor death.   He prays to the Father, "Take this cup away from Me," showing His human nature; "nevertheless, not what I will but what You will."  He is without sin and completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's divine will.  

 

Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."  Jesus tells the disciples, "Watch and pray."  These are also the bywords He has given to all of us for the period in which we live, while we await His Second Coming (see this reading).   My study Bible calls this phrase the key to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptation.  It says that by this, the Lord's human soul is strengthened, and He faces death with divine courage.  In contrast to the vigilance of Jesus, the disciples are sleeping.  Since body and soul are united, my study Bible says, the spirit is paralyzed by a lethargic body.  A willing spirit recognizes the weakness of the flesh, and struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power.  

Jesus goes toward His death as a hero, in a heroic way.  This is not to say that He is a kind of conventional conquering hero -- one who slays His enemies in front of Him and dominates everybody.  On the contrary, He is prepared to go to His death on the Cross as a kind of victim.  That is, a victim of the plots of the religious leadership and their manipulation of the people, because He gets in the way of their power and positions.  But, on the other hand, a victim is not one with the power that Christ has, the miraculous powers witnessed throughout His ministry, or His compelling power to speak which subdued and daunted even the police in the temple who came to arrest Him (see John 7:45-46).  We also know of Jesus' testimony to the power of prayer (see Mark 11:23), and we certainly know the power of the Son to pray to the Father ("Do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?" - Matthew 26:53).  No, this is not at all a victim, except to the eyes of those who know nothing about the Christ and His identity as Son and the compelling nature of His character, leadership, and popular ministry.  He only looks like a victim to the eyes of those for whom strictly material appearances have meaning without depth of any kind.  Christ faces death for one reason only:  out of loyalty to the Father's will, and because He knows that this is the way to defeat death for human beings, the final enemy, and to destroy the "prince of this world" who holds human beings in a kind of slavery.  That is the power of the Cross, and there is so much more that His Passion, death, and Resurrection holds for us.  This is the ultimate power of God to transfigure and transform life for human beings, and the one way to salvation.  Because the one thing that God will not do is to compel us to love God.  Our choices are still our own.  Coercion will not save anybody; only repentance can work in the heart.  It is the devil who enslaves and compels and manipulates, not our loving God.  So Jesus goes to the Cross as a hero who faces sacrifice for the sake of all:  in yesterday's reading (above) Jesus says, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many" (for many is an Aramaic expression meaning "for all").  He tells His disciples to "Watch and pray" and so we should remember these words in Gethsemane.  For Jesus' earthly and human soul is in anguish, but nevertheless He subjects His human will to the divine.  He gives us a model of love.  This is the love of a man who walks into battle against the odds because it is the one way others have a chance of being saved, or of a mother who endures all manner  of hardship to care for her children.  It is not the way that sees only prosperity as the reward for good behavior or a simplistic and materialistic sense of the good life to which all are entitled.  This is the heroism of those who understand that we don't live in a perfect world, and there are times when we need to stand up to a crowd, or be humiliated for the sake of those whom we love, or even to take one on the chin for the team.  Life is not just a set of simplistic material values but involves a deeper sense of honor and ultimately of love that is the real treasure without which our souls seem empty.  Christ's heroism is the heroism of the One who cares for us and seeks to nurture and protect us, even to the point of dying for us.  And we watch His example and honor Him by taking His word to heart:  we must watch and pray with Him, even as He goes to His betrayal.  As human beings, we know His agony and we know His torment, the human loathing and terror of death and the terrible anticipation of extreme suffering.  We also will face betrayal in life, and friends who stumble, and who sleep when we need them, and we know the struggle against the weakness of flesh.  Let us watch and pray with Him, for our Lord has descended into this world to face suffering and death with us, to liberate us through His love and compassion and sacrifice for us, and He leaves us with the gift of His word.

 

 

But this is your hour, and the power of darkness

 

 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.  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." 

 

- Luke 22:39–53 

 

On Saturday we read that the Lord said to Simon Peter at the Last Supper, "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.  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."  My study bible comments that Christ's agony was the product of His human nature.  As He asks that this cup be taken away, Jesus is revealing His human will.  In submitting His human will to God the Father, Christ reveals His divine will to be one with the Father's, and this moreover shows that each person must do the same:  seek to submit one's own will to God's will (Luke 11:2).   My study bible makes the point, moreover, that Christ willingly has taken in Himself the voice of weak humanity, and thereby conquers weakness through transfiguration.  This is the crucial focus of the Incarnation and its power to heal our brokenness.  St. Gregory the Great comments:  "The words of weakness are sometimes adopted by the strong in order that the hearts of the weak may be strengthened."

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."   My study bible comments that this healing is recorded only by St. Luke the physician.  It is an indication of the manner in which we are to treat our enemies, it notes.  In patristic commentary, a spiritual meaning is seen in that it is Christ who gives people the ability to hear the truth (as it is the servant's ear that is cut off and healed) and thereby come to salvation (see Luke 8:8, 14:35).   Regarding the power of darkness, see John 3:19-21, 13:30.

 

 So what is the power of darkness?  Certainly darkness is the absence of light.  We say the light of the sun is dimmed when there is an object in the way, such as a cloud, or even the earth's face is turned away in our orbit around the sun, the axis of the world at certain times leaving our particular area of the planet in night's darkness, illumined only by the light of the moon and its phase at that time (also a function of obstacles in the way of the light).  In John's Gospel, its Prologue affirmatively declares that Christ is the light of the world that has come into the world; John 1:4-5 declares, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."  The cause of this darkness is the absence of the light, and in this case that light refers to Christ and all the things that are in Christ, particularly the light of spiritual truth, but also all the things implied in the Word, the Logos:  order, reason, wisdom, creativity, and a myriad host of good things that make for good life.  True peace and joy are also found in this light of Christ (John 14:27, 15:11).   St. Paul writes to the early Christians at Philippi, "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:8-9).  All of these things, and the capacity to give us grace that bestows them upon us and magnifies them in us, are in that light.  And the darkness is its absence, through whatever cause.  Sometimes that cause is deliberate choice.  The Gospel of John tells us, "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  Sometimes it is ignorance through no fault of the person who is in darkness.  Matthew's Gospel quotes from Isaiah:  "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles:  The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned" (Matthew 4:15-16, Isaiah 9:1-2).  Judas is betraying that light, but Christ the true light continues to try to save him, by asking, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"   This is another quality of that light in Christ, to love and to save and to heal, all on display in today's reading.  The brokenness of this world is essentially its darkness; but nevertheless John's words remain true, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  And we can see this all around us in our world.  But nevertheless, Christ gives us a mission, to spread His light in the world, and that light is in the word of the Gospel.  Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the light.  No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).  Soon we will be celebrating the birth of Christ into the world, the Light who comes to us and lives a fully human life in order to heal all of our own darkness.  Let us consider the darkness we may observe around us in corruption and violence and lies and all manner of problems, and understand that His mission to bring that light to the world continues with every new generation, every new worker that comes to join the harvest (Luke 10:2).

Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done

 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.  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."    Christ's agony, my study bible notes, is an expression of His human nature.  His human will is expressed through His desire to take this cup away.  But He submits His human will to the Father, and reveals His divine will to be one with God the Father's.  Moreover, Christ's agony teaches us about our own struggles as His disciples; we seek to submit our will to God's, even as we pray "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (see 11:2).   My study bible quotes Gregory the Great:  "The words of weakness are sometimes adopted by the strong in order that the hearts of the weak may be strengthened."  He willingly takes on and expresses our humanity in Himself, and thereby conquers weakness.  But moreover, His understanding and message is that all things are in the hands of God.  This goes hand in hand with His teaching to the disciples, "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.  Only St. Luke the physician gives us the story of this healing.  Christ has a way to go to His Passion, and it is not through violence.  There is also a spiritual meaning perceived in Christ's action:   Christ gives people the ability to hear the truth and thereby come to salvation (see 8:8, 14:35).

How do we know what God wants for us?  How do we know what God's will is, and what God wants us to do?  It seems to me that the one thing we can do always is pray as we have been taught:  "Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (11:2).  This prayer is not an abstract plea or petition.  It is a personal prayer (although corporate in nature, as we pray to Our Father in heaven).  This is not merely about some future time that might happen to someone else in some future generation or age.  It is about the kingdom of God which lives within us, and which we seek to live through our worldly lives.  Today's reading specifically exemplifies that struggle, as given to us in and through Jesus Christ and His life in the world.  He struggles with what He knows the Father wants from Him, but His human nature is completely contrary to what He is asked to do.  And this, as my study bible says, becomes our own struggle.  There are times in our lives when we pray to know what God wants of us, and we come to find -- when we give up all our ideas of what we "should" do and "should" want -- that what God calls us to will take us outside of worldly expectations, social rules, family assumptions about good behavior, and everything else we know and believe to be nominally "good."  In our struggle to be faithful, there will be times when we will need to follow Christ in His footsteps, although our own sweat may be like great drops of blood falling to the ground, there is something we know we have to do and with which we need to follow through because it is our "hour" to do so.  We live in a modern world that might quite frequently call upon us to do something that seems good, but is not the place where we live God's will and God's kingdom lives in us.  We may find that living such a life calls upon us to do things that seem like we're going about things wrong-headedly:  a call to mercy might not bring us immediate monies or remuneration of a different kind, a "no" to someone may seem like it's unkind or socially awkward, a changed value system may call us to stand out among family or friends.  But this is what it is to seek to dwell in this Kingdom and follow the Father's will for us.  St. Paul says of this strange way of living the Kingdom, "We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now" (1 Corinthians 4:12).  Can we imagine the conflicts going through Jesus at this time in His agony?  What will become of His followers?  He knows that going to the Cross will be a "stumbling block to the Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles" (1 Corinthians 1:23).  And yet, it is what the Father asks of Him.  It is what He has repeatedly warned the disciples was coming.  In faith, He will go where He is asked to go, although every impulse within Him focuses the other way.  God will call us each in a unique way to bear our own crosses.  We, of course, are not Christ Himself, but we will be asked -- in one way and another -- to participate in His life.  Through this participation our lives will be shaped, we will find ourselves changed, and looking back on the pathway we're given, we'll find that despite all our expectations to the contrary, God had a plan.  The times when we refuse that will and give in to the worldly pressures will turn out to be obstacles that later need to be overcome and revisited, and they will call for courage on our part.  This is my experience.  Let us pray, "Your will be done," and live that Kingdom in the world as best we can, and follow Him.  Let us note that an angel comes to strengthen Christ, in response to His prayer.  Moreover, it is prayer that He chooses at this time of struggle, and prayer to which He exhorts His followers in this terrible time of temptation.  These examples teach us how powerful prayer really is -- and what it means to be truly awake to the present moment of our lives.

And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly

 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.  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."

- Luke 22:39-53

Yesterday we read that after the Passover supper 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.  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."  This is Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane.  My study bible says that it is the product of His human nature.  When He asks that the cup be taken away, He is revealing His human will.   But He submits His human will to the Father, and in so doing reveals that His divine will is one with the Father's.  Moreover, it gives us a model for ourselves:  each one of us must submit our own will to God's will (11:2).  My study bible explains that thus Christ willingly takes in Himself the voice of weak humanity, and thereby conquers weakness.  It quotes the commentary of 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."

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.  This healing is mentioned only in the Gospel of Luke, the physician.  My study bible says that it indicates the manner in which we are to treat our enemies.  By patristic tradition, there is also a spiritual meaning here, in which we understand that it is Christ who gives people the ability to hear the truth and thereby come to salvation (see 8:8, 14:35). 

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."   In the New Testament, the understanding of light and darkness features prominently in various sayings of Jesus.  While He taught His truth openly in the temple, these men were afraid to seize Him before the people.  But here in the darkness there is the power of darkness, that which seeks to hide from the Light (see John 3:19-21; 13:30).

What is the power of darkness?  This is the hour when that which seeks the darkness strikes; it desires to work in a way that is hidden, and does so for a particular reason.  Jesus tells a truth that the people wish to hear.  When He engages in open controversy in the light, teaching daily in the temple, He does not do so in order to stir up a mob, nor to seize power under false pretenses, nor to sway people with lies.  But the power of darkness is that which embraces manipulation of all kinds, including violence and lies.  What we are given in today's verses of Luke's Gospel is not so much an exposition on darkness and light, as it is the quite essential teachings of Christ for how we seek to cope with the actions of the darkness, the times of its power, and its hour.  Most noticeable are  simply Jesus' repeated teachings to the apostles:  Pray that you may not enter into temptation.  When He finds them sleeping, after His own strengthening through prayer, He repeats this teaching to them:  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  What stands out in today's reading is Christ's teaching to us for coping with the times of darkness and its power:  Prayer.  This is the first way to shore up strength and personal reserves for coping with the times when we are under tremendous personal stress and difficulty.  These will always be times for us of temptation.  Think about the challenges one faces in life.  Perhaps our greatest challenges are those times of terrible stress and fear.  We might be faced with a healthcare crisis, either for ourselves or for someone who we love.  We may be in the middle of a family drama at the time of the death of a loved one, always a stressful time no matter what the circumstances.  Perhaps we find ourselves as a victim of a crime, or a loved one or a friend.  Maybe there is a different and frightening threat involved in some aspect of our lives.  Holidays themselves can be stressful and trying, particularly for individuals coping with addictions and family trauma.  In every single case, prayer can be understood as recommended by Christ (and as reported by Luke the physician) as our first and last resort for coping with the times of darkness, times when we are threatened by something that gives rise to terrible fears.  It is important to punctuate these times with remembrance of God through prayer, because it is through prayer that we find ourselves bolstered to make the difficult decisions, and as Christ says, to keep the temptations away for falling into error and stumbling with our own human frailties.   Taking time out for regular prayer is a must for such times, such as during a hospital vigil, for example.  Prayer has a way of feeding our reserves of strength, shoring up our better natures, giving us the courage to make difficult decisions in hard circumstances -- particularly when temptation abounds during times of darkness and we are coping with the effects of evil in any form.  Practices such as prayers of the Hours (see this page on my blog for an example),  or intermittent prayer of any type are helpful.  One can do an internet search for prayers written for specific hours of the day (such as Compline or Vespers) or for specific occasions.  There are types of prayer which suit all times and every personal need and individual capacity.   Even the stressful time of shopping for gifts for Christmas -- a time meant to be joyful, but reported by so many to be otherwise -- is a good occasion for intermittent prayer.   A short phrase repeated to oneself at any time in silence (such as the Jesus Prayer or "Lord have mercy") may be a helpful practice for getting us through it in gratitude.  This season, while we celebrate the birth of our Savior, can also be a time of disappointments, old hurts revisited, and a feeling that we are missing out on what others have.  In today's reading, in this reporting of the worst of times, both Jesus' example -- His action of prayer -- and His repeated teaching to the apostles, are the best ways to understand the true medicine we need for our souls to help us make the best choices, even in the worst of circumstances with seemingly only bad options all around.  Let us consider, as we head into the holidays, that we live in an imperfect world.  We don't practice magic.  Instead, we have faith and the tools and weapons of prayer, the whole armor of God, that He gives us and teaches to us.  They are with us and ready for us always.