Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled

 

 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, after the Passover Supper, 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?"  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.  My study Bible comments here that Jesus rebukes Peter (who is identified in John 18:10) for using the sword.  Peter still does not understand that Christ goes to His death willingly, so that salvation for humankind might be fulfilled.  A legion is 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions is equal to 72,000 angels.  That Christ's death was foretold in the Scriptures would strengthen the disciples at their time of greatest test.  

We note that the Gospel tells us that when Jesus was arrested, then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.  He will not fight in a traditional sense with material power and weapons, but He accepts what happens as a fulfillment of the Scriptures, and knows that the occasion of His Passion will also be the occasion for bringing Resurrection to the world.  This great paradox of acceptance of what is unjust -- because there is a greater justice being served by God's activity -- becomes something we must wrestle with.  How do we know God wants us to walk through something difficult and unfair?  How do we know, when we are going through a type of injustice, whether or not fighting in a conventional sense -- or even a judicial one -- is appropriate to us?  We know, moreover, that these events do not happen "because the Scriptures say so," but in fact the truth is the reverse:  the Scriptures say so because God foresees such events.  There is a well-known expression that says that one must pick one's battles.  But how do we know what battles God wants us to fight and in what way?  Certainly Christ's way of "fighting" in this particular battle will be with His words and His testimony, and all that He has preached and taught has already come before and will serve as refutation to the false charges made against Him.  But He will also go through His Crucifixion and suffering, even though Jesus could "pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels."   His reliance is not on the sword, but on God.  There have been times in my life where in prayer and according to my faith I have felt that God did not want me to try to correct every injustice, even every lie someone might want to tell about me.  This is so even for things I cared deeply about, even when I was going to lose people I cared deeply about.  But there are spiritual reasons behind such movements of faith, just as God has a salvation plan for the world in which Jesus' Crucifixion, even as an enemy of the Roman state and the Jewish nation, will play a key and inescapable role.  It will become the occasion for the greatest revelation of one of the miracles of God, the great sign that Jesus is the Christ.  This is the sign Jesus has repeatedly prophesied Himself when signs were demanded of Him, which He called "the sign of the prophet Jonah" (Matthew 12:39 16:4).  We live in a climate that is intensely focused on righting all wrongs, and it's quite possible that the story of Jesus and His Crucifixion has been entirely instrumental in our hyper-awareness of injustice, and even the demands of conscience that ask to correct such wrongs.  But in our personal lives, we live in a world where injustices happen, where evil is not conquered once and for all, where -- thanks to media of all types -- lies, half-truths, and deliberately misleading stories continue unabated and in ever-expanding ways.   Had Christ lived today, we can only imagine what means would be available for slandering His life and cause, deliberately misleading people as to His motivations.  But in our own personal experience of the world, especially in carrying our own crosses and following Him, we need to see our lives in the same way that Christ now faces His life.  That is to declare for ourselves that we must rely upon God and our faith to lead us through such times of trial and difficulties, even when we're lied about, even when an injustice is happening, for it is God who may bring us through them and use them as instruments of God's spiritual power and truth in the world.  We don't know all the ways and means and outcomes that may be effected even through our suffering when we do so with Christ at our side, and through strengthening our faith in all the ways that we can.  Sometimes we will be called upon to fight with words, as Christ so eloquently does, by clinging firmly to the truth and refusing to go along with lies.  Sometimes we will go into an arena with powerful testimony, and prepared as we might be.  But sometimes, when it is futile to speak even for the sake of the accusers, we might be prayerfully silent, as we will see Jesus do as well when He knows they are beyond repentance.  But nothing is lost or wasted in the economy of God and of our faith.  Jesus has told the parable of judgment, of the Sheep and the Goats in this reading, and, like the prophets and martyrs Christ has repeatedly mentioned, we don't know when our own suffering in our faith will be used as an occasion for God's purposes, for judgment, for the work of the Holy Spirit in the world (John 16:8-11).  We don't know how even our own suffering might be used by God when our faith tells us to accept.  We know that we will face difficulties in life; although we all could envision a life where every injustice is corrected, where we may right every wrong and challenge every slight, perfect justice does not exist in this world.   It is still beset with the effects of sin and evil, where every temptation to manipulate and abuse power remains with us, and may even be magnified through new methods of manipulation and coercion.  But our lives are meant for more than the simply worldly, and when we lose the rock of faith we lose this perspective.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus called upon the disciples to "watch and pray."  In the world of temptations which proliferate on social media, to participate in bullying or "canceling" others, to believe false stories or half-truths promulgated to encourage us to join a kind of mob, let us always watch and pray.  Let us be awake to the realities that are around us, trusting in prayerful faith to walk us through, to practice our own just behavior and righteousness toward others.  Let us remember that humility is a key to our faith.  Jesus teaches us to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16), so that we may pick our battles wisely, to stand in the deep truths of faith that matter, and remain a part of the foundation Christ has brought to us.  For this is the higher ground, the place we need to be, the place in which Christ stands and to which He calls us at all times -- even when our friends may flee.

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.