The Gospel for December 13, 2004
Luke 22:39-53
He then left to make his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, with the disciples following. When he reached the place he said to them, ‘Pray not to be put to the test.’ Then he withdrew from them, about a stone’s throw away, and knelt down and prayed. ‘Father,’ he said, ‘if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will be done, not mine.’ Then an angel appeared to him, coming from heaven to give him strength. In his anguish he prayed even more earnestly, and his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. When he rose from prayer he went to the disciples and found them sleeping for sheer grief. And he said to them, ‘Why are you asleep? Get up and pray not to be put to the test.’ Suddenly, while he was still speaking, a number of men appeared, and at the head of them the man called Judas, one of the Twelve, who went up to Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of man with a kiss?’ His followers, seeing what was about to happen, said, ‘Lord, shall we use our swords?’ And one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. But at this Jesus said, ‘That is enough.’ And touching the man’s ear he healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and captains of the Temple guard and elders who had come for him, ‘Am I a bandit, that you had to set out with swords and clubs? When I was among you in the Temple day after day you never made a move to lay hands on me. But this is your hour; this is the reign of darkness.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
The eleven -- who didn't betray Jesus by delivering Him up to the temple guard -- nevertheless betrayed His trust in them by falling asleep instead of praying as He had asked.
And although He told them that His discourse about "swords" was only a figure of speech, look what happened! And look what He said to get them to stop their swordplay: identically the same thing He said when he wanted them to stop talking about swords. "Enough!" Jesus reminds his opponents that they are in cahoots with the dark powers.
These words had all been written before the gospel attributed to John was started, but look what words are used at the fifth verse of that book:
and light shines in darkness, and darkness could not overpower it.
A Reflection
When I was a child, I always hated it when the Advent lessons were all about the triumphant entry, the betrayal, and the crucifixion. Why, I wondered, couldn't the stupid old church just leave well enough alone and let us all be happy. Remember, this was back in the day of the "Prayer of Humble Access," which started, "Lord, we are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table...."
Now that I'm older, I can handle the liturgical calendar with a bit more finesse, and am content to have just the one big blast on Christmas Eve. But when reading this text today, I can't help but wonder if there couldn't have been a different plan of salvation. The answer is always, "no," of course, but I can still wonder.
And I also begin to detect that the Christmas season is far over-rated. Yes, it was necessary for Him to join us, somehow. But the far more necessary act was his departure.
So, I'll hang on to my juvenile wonderings and be content in knowing that Easter is the big deal; Christmas is just a necessary pre-condition.
A Collect
Father, we beg you to give us your loving kindness to protect us from the evil one and the time of trial.
7:46:05 PM 
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