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  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but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).

Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?

World's oldest known sword, discovered at the San Lazzaro Armenian Monastery in Venice (link)

 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  But Jesus said to him, "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?"  In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

- Matthew 26:47-56

Yesterday we read that Jesus came with the disciples 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."

And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"  If we look carefully at the text, we see that Jesus is still trying, even at this moment possible, to save Judas.  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  Even though he comes with a great multitude with swords and clubs, Jesus calls him "Friend."  And although Jesus knows perfectly well why Judas is there with such a mob, Jesus asks him, "Why have you come?"  The text does not tell us that Judas made any reply at all.

And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  But Jesus said to him, "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?"  In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.   The one who stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear is identified as Peter in John 18:10.  Jesus rebukes Peter for using the sword, as Peter still does not understand that Christ goes to His death willingly, and so that salvation for mankind might be fulfilled.  (See also this reading.)  A legion is 6,000 soldiers according to my study bible, which means that twelve legions equals 72,000 angels.  That Christ's death was foretold in the Scriptures served to strengthen the disciples in this time of their greatest test.

Jesus is taken willingly, for this is the way the plan for salvation for all is unfolded.  It is what He has known, and the very thing for which He has sought numerous times to prepare the disciples in advance.  Here Jesus emphasizes once again to the disciples -- through Peter's action with the sword to defend Him -- that He goes as the Scriptures say He will.  He emphasizes that should He desire, He could pray to the Father and more than twelve legions of angels (the "military" of God, if you will) could appear to defend Him.   St. Hilary of Poitiers comments on this passage asking us to note that there is a particular order to the different facets of the suffering of Christ.  He writes that the reason for Judas’ kiss is that we might learn that we should discern all our enemies and those who we know would delight in raging against us. But the Lord knows why Judas has come, and does not resist his kiss.  Why does Jesus not resist?  Why was it wrong for Peter to draw a sword to defend Christ?  In this topsy-turvy time of the greatest evil, the salvation plan does not call for worldly solutions to problems that essentially lie within the heart of human beings.  Jesus does not force faith on anyone.   His "army" of believers is one of volunteers, as faith comes from a mysterious place deep in the heart where we love God and seek to cooperate with grace.  In John 16, Jesus tells the disciples at the Last Supper:  "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:7-11).  The solution Christ brings to the evil in the world, and part and parcel of this salvation plan into which all have entered at this time depicted in the Gospels, is rather the judgment that is to come at His return.  In the meantime, it is the work of the Spirit through which all will be reproved:  of sin, righteousness, and judgment, for the choices of the depth of the heart cannot be known and understood any other way.  Christ allows Judas to betray Him with a kiss, but consider His words in Matthew at the Passover supper:  "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!" (see this reading from Friday).  Everything comes down to this power of choice and action, the promptings of the heart upon which we choose to act.  In the Revelation, the vision of "one like the Son of Man" includes that "out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword" (Revelation 1:16).  In Hebrews 4:12, St. Paul describes the reality of this image quite distinctly:  "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."  It is through the word of Christ that judgment will happen.  Indeed, this is the word that Jesus tells us the Holy Spirit will bring to mind:  "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26).  In the time in which we now live, as we await His return, the Holy Spirit is active and present, at work in the world.  An Orthodox prayer which begins every service tells us that the Spirit is "everywhere present and filling all things."  Jesus meekly accepts Judas' kiss without resistance, but this does not mean Judas' action will not have its consequences for Judas and for so many others participating in this scene, and far beyond.  Jesus will state to Pilate:  "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here" (John 18:36).  Christ's kingdom is present with us now, within us and among us.  It does not work as does a worldly kingdom, but nevertheless our lives are under its influence one way and another, and whether we know it or not.  We may explicitly comprehend its work beginning this night that is described in today's passage, if we might discern the power in Christ's acceptance even of those things done against Him.  Let us consider Christ's constant emphasis on the importance of the heart and its spiritual condition.  We "watch and pray" (see yesterday's reading, above) especially to guard the heart, so that we are truly aware of where and how we go through our lives, and to what we really respond.  Let us understand with St. Hilary of Poitiers that we are beings called to discernment, and not simply the surface of life.  We are to learn to know ourselves, and thereby to know others as well, as we remain in Christ's word. 

Watch and pray

 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

On Saturday, we read that as Jesus and the disciples were eating the Passover supper (known as the Last Supper), 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."   This cup, my study bible notes, refers to Christ's impending death.  According to His divine nature, Jesus willingly goes to His death; but as human being He wishes He could avoid it.  To abhor death is the mark of humanity.  Jesus prays if it is possible the cup be taken from Him, thereby He gives us abundant proof of His human nature.  However, Jesus is without sin.  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 bible calls the phrase "Watch and pray" the key to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptation.  By this, it says, the Lord's human soul was strengthened, and He faces death with divine courage.  In contrast to the Lord's vigilance, the disciples sleep.  As body and soul are united, my study bible reminds us, the spirit is paralyzed by a lethargic body.  A willing spirit, through recognition of the weakness of the flesh, struggles against weakness and relies on God's presence and power.

Watch and pray:  My study bible calls this the great formula -- the key -- to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptation.  So, in this context, let us think about applications and meanings and understanding in our own lives.  If we examine temptation in the context of today's reading, we come up against something very startling.  As Christ is life itself in His divine nature ("I am the way, the truth, and the life" - John 14:6), it is hard for us even to consider that, in fact, He struggles against His human impulse for life and against death.  But, as He has told the disciples several times already (and also is found repeated in prophecy and in the Psalms) going to the Cross is part of "the way" of the salvation plan for the entire cosmos, all of creation.  It is indeed "the cup" that is before Him.  Earlier, He called it His cup and His baptism.  When Peter suggested that He should never be crucified or killed, Jesus replied to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!"   In popular culture, we think of temptations as things which might give temporary pleasure but in the long run aren't good for us -- like overindulgence in food, or deleterious sexual behavior, or excessive greed (all products of a lack of good or healthy boundaries).  But in this case, Jesus' temptation is something we hold sacred:  the impulse to abhor death and to cling to life.  In Jesus' example, we must face up to the paradoxical nature of our faith, which is a result of its truly transcendent nature.  We serve not simply a good set of ethics or values or rules, but something that supersedes all:  we serve the God who is the source of all life, who is beyond limitations of space and time, and even in this time of temptation in the garden of Gethsemane, the boundaries of what we know as good and evil.  In this case, it is the evil of death itself -- even the work of the devil -- which will be used for God's purposes.  In effect, Jesus' temptation is to resist normal and healthy human impulses in order to follow the will of God and complete the salvation plan for an entire created universe.  He must go to the Cross, and drink His cup and emerge through His baptism.  Without the Cross, there is no Resurrection:  just as without Resurrection, there is no Christianity and no salvation.  Each is essential within the divine plan of God for a world beset by evil and separation.  Jesus must, in effect, transcend His most basic human impulse in order to fulfill His mission as Son.  How can we begin to understand these things?  How can we apply them in our own lives?    We so often think of temptations as having set boundaries and definitions, things that apply within particular structures we can rationalize and condense into formulae.  But God works in ways we can't necessarily calculate.  Naysayers of our faith often call it simplistic or "pollyannaish," but as we read in today's passage, it is anything but that.  St. Paul writes in Romans 11:33-36, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!"  He then quotes from Isaiah 40:12 and Jeremiah 23:18.   It is Jesus who teaches that the work of the Holy Spirit is mysterious indeed (John 3:8), and the Old Testament is filled with stories of evil being ultimately used by God for good, such as the life of Job or of Joseph.  But no truth is more powerful than Jesus' struggle against the temptation to flee death in this story of what transpires in the garden of Gethsemane.  As Adam and Eve failed to resist temptation in the garden of Eden, Jesus is now tested by temptation in another garden.  But this time, the struggle is met with faith against overwhelming pressures and the most powerful human impulse to preserve life.  In this context, Jesus pleads with the disciples to watch and pray, and He gives us the key to all things in our faith.  The disciples fail Him, and sleep although He asks for them to watch and pray with Him as He struggles against His sorrow.  Luke tells us that the disciples themselves "sleep for sorrow" (Luke 22:45).  This in itself could be considered an example of a failure to struggle against something nominally good which in this case acts as temptation (that is, against the sorrow at the approaching betrayal and death of Christ).  What we can take away from today's reading is that our own struggles against temptation, if we take up our cross following in Christ's footsteps, might be anything but clear and simple in actual experience and practice.  Something nominally good can become a temptation or exploited for the practice of evil.  A filial love of a parent, for example, can be abused to exploit loyalty for purposes of greed, sexuality, violence, or otherwise.  In this case the temptation on the part of the child or other family member is to allow one's love for the abuser to override a loyalty to God if in prayer we understand our role must be different from what is demanded within the family.  Such struggles against what is nominally good are not necessarily as strange as we might think, as it was Christ Himself who spoke of being a sword which will come between family members (10:34-39).  Indeed, at the end of that passage, He emphasizes what quite literally comes to pass in today's scene in the garden:  "And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."  Let us consider our own temptations in life.  We may find ourselves, also, in circumstances that are not easy or simple, and the thread of our lives as followers of the way of the Cross difficult and complicated, even struggling with temptations of what is nominally good.  But our key is to watch and pray, and to invite other faithful to help us also through their prayer.  We struggle against things unseen, unclear, things which are not necessarily black and white to the rational intellect and the world of "flesh and blood," but, as St. Paul puts it, "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).  Let us consider the necessity at all times for prayer -- that we both watch and pray, remaining alert to temptations which may not be obvious to ourselves or to others, even the paradoxical times when our prayer may ask us not to struggle openly against what seems evil or bad.  For it is in this way, and at such times that the light shines in the darkness -- even though the darkness will not comprehend (John 1:5).

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.