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A moment occurs in the Garden of Gethsemane that presents a very good stance for Holy Week, indeed for the whole of our life: Jesus was at prayer; He returned to find His disciples asleep and said,

Watch and pray so that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak (Matt 26:41).

Let’s examine the passage and explore what it has to say about us and to us.

I. Problem – Jesus comes to His disciples and finds them sleeping. A great showdown between light and darkness, good and evil, Satan and the Lord, is about to unfold—is unfolding! But the disciples, the first leaders of the Church, are sleeping at this crucial moment in human history. Disgracefully, things have not changed since that time.

Yes, this is too often still the case. And lest you think that I am singling out popes, bishops, priests, and deacons alone, let me be clear in saying that the phrase “leaders of the Church” includes parents and community elders as well.

We in the clergy too often remain sleepy and quiet while our people are undergoing severe trials and exposure to terrible sin and error. Well does the Scripture describe many of us clergy when it says, Israel’s watchman are blind, the lack knowledge; they are mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep (Is 56:10).

But many parents, the leaders of the domestic Church, are also woefully out of touch with the struggles of their children. They have little idea what their children are actually listening to or watching; they seem to have higher priorities than monitoring their children and teaching them with clarity.

Yes, for all of us Church leaders, at the parish level and at the domestic level, we too easily doze off and dream away, seemingly unaware of the great cosmic battle that is going on all around us, claiming our people and our children.

Or perhaps we do have some sense of the awful battle, but don’t know what to do about it. Overwhelmed and stressed out, we medicate ourselves. Perhaps like the disciples we drink some wine and doze off in the garden while the critical battle unfolds around us. Overwhelmed, we tune out. We veer off to diversions, watch fantasies on television, or lose ourselves in virtual Internet “relationships” while our real relationships languish. Reality is too painful, so we medicate ourselves and go off to sleep, a spiritual sleep, a moral sleep, even a physical sleep.

Only the pure mercy of God can save us. If the Church or the world depended on human leaders we’d be doomed. If the Church were solely dependent on human beings to keep her together, she would’ve lasted 20 minutes, at best! Yes, only the pure mercy of God can see us through. Without Jesus, awake and sober in the garden, we’re surely lost.

Yes, a serious problem is described here: while the cosmic battle between good and evil rages around us, too many of us are asleep. And while God’s mercy can help to close the gap, we must be willing to do what Jesus commands, what He now prescribes.

II. Prescription – Jesus says, Watch and pray! That is to say, “Wake up; come to your right mind; be sober!” To be sober is to have a clear mind, a mind that is aware of what is going on, and that can clearly identify the signs of the times. The sober mind is able to identify the tactics of the enemy, the drives of sin, and know their moves. The sober mind is also in touch with the remedies of grace and how to apply them prudently. We simply must watch and pray!

In particular, our prayer needs to be rooted in the Scriptures and the revealed truth of Jesus Christ. There’s just too much “stinking thinking” in our world today to believe that our mind is going to be anything but polluted if we don’t cleanse it every day with the Word of God.

Our minds are like sponges. Put a sponge in muddy water and the sponge is going to come out muddy. How then is the muddy sponge to be cleansed? It is plunged into clean water and rung out; then it is plunged back into the clean water and rung out again and again and again. Similarly, our minds—like sponges muddied by the polluted, confusing, and erroneous thinking of the world—must be cleansed daily by being plunged into the clear, clean water of God’s Holy Word.

It is a sobering fact that if we are not praying daily and being deeply rooted in God’s Word, it is very unlikely that we will make it.

The Lord’s prescription is bluntly simple: wake up and keep watch by praying! We somehow seem to find time for everything else. It’s time to wake up and keep our eyes focused on the Lord, to watch Him, to listen to Him, and to be deeply rooted in the relationship of prayer and obedience to His Word. Otherwise, a terrible peril is upon us.

III. Peril – We are told to watch and pray lest we undergo the test, lest we give way to temptation. The Greek word for temptation use here is πειρασμόν (peirasmon), which almost sounds like the English word “peril.”

Now don’t let temptation become something abstract. Temptation is the work of Satan to drag you to Hell. Are you clear on that? If you’re not watching and praying, you’re defenseless; you’re an easy target; you’re low hanging fruit; you’re probably not going to make it. If you do not pray, Jesus warns that you will give way to temptation. That is, Satan will be able to drag you off to Hell and probably others along with you.

If you don’t even care enough about yourself to pray, then at least do it for the sake of others, who are probably depending on you for teaching and example! No priest goes to Hell alone; he takes others with him. And no parents go to Hell alone; they take others with them.

It’s time to wake up and recognize the peril. You will give way to temptation if you won’t watch and pray. Satan can and will drive you to Hell. This peril is real. If you don’t think so, take it up with Jesus; He said it, I didn’t.

IV. Prevailing priority – Jesus goes on to say, The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak.

Sadly, most of us interpret this passage as an excuse, as if Jesus were permitting us to say, “Well, deep in my heart I want to do what’s right, but I’m really not able to do it because of my weak flesh. So it’s really not my fault. I should get credit for having good intentions in my heart.”

This is not only an incorrect interpretation of what Jesus says here; it is a sinful interpretation. Jesus is not saying that our flesh excuses us. He’s saying that our spirit is willing, that our Spirit (by His grace) has the capacity to prevail over the weakness of the flesh!

We are going to have to battle against our flesh; that is true; that much is clear. But our spirit, the part of us that is open to God, has the capacity to prevail, if we will permit God’s Holy Spirit to strengthen our human spirit.

In other words, our spirit is to be our number one priority, over and against our flesh. With this as our first priority, we will open our spirit to God’s Holy Spirit and will be strengthened. We will prevail over temptation. We will be victorious over Satan’s attempts to drag us to Hell.

There should be no excuses here. Jesus says that although the flesh is weak, and we’ll battle against it until the day we die, our spirit can “will” us to overcome the drives of our flesh. Our spirit can and must have a priority that will empower us to prevail over the flesh and over any incursions of the evil one.

We must make a decision; our spirit must be willing to watch and pray. We cannot allow the emphasis to fall on the weakness of the flesh. The emphasis must always be on the prevailing power and priority of the human spirit, graced by God’s Holy Spirit, to win the victory.

Not a bad prescription for life and for Holy Week, too!

In the mockery of a trial that Jesus endured before Pontius Pilate, there came a critical moment, one dripping with irony: the crowd chose for release a fake messianic figure and “son of the father” (the literal translation of the name Barabbas) to the actual messiah and true Son of the Father, Christ Jesus, the Lord.

The version we heard on Palm Sunday was from the Gospel of Luke and it records the foolish cries of a crowd that has been misled by a kind of devilish bait and switch. Pilate has just offered to release Jesus our Lord:

But all together [the crowd] shouted out, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us.”—Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a rebellion that had taken place in the city and for murder. — Again Pilate addressed them, still wishing to release Jesus, but they continued their shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” … So he released the man who had been imprisoned for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked, and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.

As noted, “Barabbas” is a surname name that literally means “son of the father.” Some of the ancient manuscripts supply Barabbas’ first name as “Jesus.” The devilish irony and bait and switch doesn’t get much richer or darker. Two men, both named Jesus, stand before the multitude:

• One is named Jesus Barabbas, “Jesus, son of the father.”
• The other is Christ Jesus, true and eternal Son of the Father.

Both also have messianic credentials:

• One is “Jesus Barabbas,” who represents the lies and misconceptions of a fake messiah offering a merely worldly liberation. This worldly messiah would rescue Israel from the Romans by riding in on a war-horse and, after a bloody battle, lead Israel to victory. This fake messiah is represented here by Jesus Barabbas and others like him, who seek redemption in worldly terms and will use worldly, political, and military means to attain their goals. The Lucan text above describes Barabbas as an insurrectionist and murderer. He was likely involved in an uprising (common at the time) against the Romans by those claiming to be the promised Messiah.
• The other is Jesus, the Son of the Eternal Father, the true Messiah who has come to save us from our sins and from Satan. The blood Jesus will shed is not that of His enemies, but His own. The victory He will provide is not a victory over some passing worldly power, but over the ancient and perduring enemy, Satan, and the sin he inspires. Jesus applies His status as Messiah not to political and economic salvation, but to the spiritual salvation written of in the Suffering Servant Songs of Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1–9, Isaiah 49:1–13, Isaiah 50:4–11, and Isaiah 52:13—53:12).

Here, then, is the choice that is ever before us: a fake, contrived, worldly messiah or the true, promised, heavenly Messiah. Satan is the master deceiver and father of lies. It is no accident that he names his bait-and-switch messiah both “Jesus” and “Barabbas.”

The crowd then called for the release of Barabbas and insisted that Jesus, the true Christ, be crucified: Away with him! Crucify him!

It is as true now as it has been down through the ages. Satan, the father of lies, continues to craft false messiahs bearing false promises. Of course their promises are not usually outright lies, because those don’t sell as easily and Satan knows it. Instead, these false messiahs spout half-truths or promises of temporary relief (in the place of lasting healing); they promise quick fixes rather than deeper and lasting repentance.

Political liberation and economic prosperity have their place. But a sinful nation cannot ultimately prevail. Indeed, prosperity and power only further corrupt a sinful person or nation. Only a trusting, humble walk with God along with the resulting virtue and the mastering of sinful drives can bring lasting peace.

Still, the temptation to fall for false messiahs and utopian schemes continues. And so do the cries of many in the crowd, “Give us Barabbas,” or “Give us science,” or “Give us new policies,” or “Give us education.” Give us anything but Jesus; He has to go.

Again, science, philosophy, education, politics, culture, etc. have their place. They can bring us a temporary relief, chip away at injustice, cure certain diseases, or provide minor diversions; but they cannot save us.

• Science, can’t you save me? No, I can’t save you. I can tell you how far it is from the Earth to the sun. I can tell you how to fly rocket ships into outer space. I can tell you the secrets of the atom. But I can’t tell you how to climb to Heaven, or why you were made, or why anything exists at all. I can tell you some of the “what,” but nothing of the “why.” But I can’t save you.
• Philosophy, can’t you save me? No, I can’t save you. I can tell you more and more about less and less until you know everything about very little. I can tell you about the greatest thoughts and opinions of the greatest thinkers. But I can’t save you.
• Education, can’t you save me? No, I can’t save you. I can make you smart. But I can’t make you wise. And I can’t save you.
• Culture, can’t you save me? No, I can’t save you. I can make the world a more beautiful and entertaining place from which to go to Hell. But I can’t save you.
• Economics, can’t you save me? No, I can’t save you. I can make you richer, but not rich in what matters to God. I can’t make you rich enough to buy your salvation. I can’t save you.
• Politics, can’t you save me? No, I can’t save you. I can give you power and access to worldly power. I can make you fear the other political party. I can promise you utopia, but I can’t deliver it. I can’t save you.
• Entertainment, can’t you save me? No, I can’t save you. I can supply you with temporary diversions and even mesmerize you for a moment. But I deal in fantasy and dreams, not reality. I can’t supply you with the happy endings I describe. I can’t save you.

Yes, Satan still trots out many a “Barabbas,” and many of us still fall for the old bait and switch. Maybe it’s because it’s an easy solution, a quick fix, the promise of a cheap thrill with few consequences. But it is all a bunch of lies, or even worse, half-truths. It is anything but true repentance, self-discipline, or a humble walk with God. Away with Jesus. We want Barabbas.

Do you think these biblical stories are locked in the past? Think again. Satan never stops. But even more sadly, our collective cry still goes up all too frequently: “Give us Barabbas … Crucify Jesus!”

At the heart of our faith is the Paschal mystery: the Passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. All of salvation history leads up to and goes forth from these saving events. We call this “Holy Week” because Jesus’ public ministry culminates with His suffering, death, and resurrection.

What follows is a brief description of each day of Holy Week. I publish it every year, often adding a few details. I hope you will print out this flyer (Walking with Jesus in Holy Week) and read it each day this week. Walk with Jesus prayerfully in His most difficult yet most glorious week.

Some scholars of Scripture scoff at the idea that we can construct a day-by-day journal of Jesus’ last week. There are historical gaps as well as things in the different accounts that don’t agree perfectly. Further, St. John posits a slightly different timeframe (shifted by one day) for the Last Supper relative to Passover. The following sequence follows the timing of the synoptic (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) accounts. Despite certain scholarly doubts, the accounts really do add up fairly well if one uses a little imagination and views the differences not as factual discrepancies but rather only as variations in the level of detail.

So read this chronology as a likely, but not certain, outline of Jesus’ last week. It is a great blessing to consider the Lord’s last week and to walk with Him.

Plan to attend some or all of the special liturgies of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday at your parish. By celebrating them in community, we make them present today and we learn again, in a new way, the reality of our risen Lord, alive in our midst.

 PALM SUNDAY – Our celebration of Holy Week commences as we remember and make present the triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem to begin His final week and initiate His Passion. All four of the Gospels recount that Sunday morning so long ago. As you receive your palms, ponder being a part of that vast crowd. How will you journey with Jesus this week? Let the palms remind you to praise Him with your prayerful presence during the sacred Triduum (literally, three days). According to Mark 11:11, Jesus returned that evening to Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem. Perhaps He stayed with his friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Pray with Jesus this evening and think about how He contemplated the difficult days ahead of Him.

Monday of Holy Week – According to Matthew 21, Mark 11, and Luke 19, Jesus returned to Jerusalem on this day and, seeing shameful practices occurring in the Temple area, cleansed it. The Gospel of John also records that Jesus rebuked the unbelief of the crowds. Pray with Jesus and ponder His zealous desire to purify us.

Tuesday of Holy Week – According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus again returned to Jerusalem, where He was confronted by the Temple leaders for His actions on the previous day; they questioned His authority. Jesus also taught extensively, using parables as well as other forms. There was the parable of the vineyard (cf Mt 21:33-46), the parable of the wedding banquet (cf Mt. 22:1), the teaching on paying taxes (cf Mt 22:15), and the rebuke of the Sadducees who denied the resurrection (cf Mt. 22:23). There was also the fearful prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem if the inhabitants did not come to faith in Him: Jesus warned that not one stone would be left on another (cf Mt 24). Continue to pray with Jesus and listen carefully to His final teachings.

Wednesday of Holy Week – Traditionally, this day was called “Spy Wednesday,” for it was on this day that Judas conspired to hand Jesus over. For this, he was paid thirty pieces of silver (cf Mt. 26:14). Jesus likely spent the day in Bethany. In the evening, Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with costly perfumed oil. When Judas objected, Jesus rebuked him, saying that Mary had anointed Him for His burial (cf Mt 26:6). The wicked are plotting against Jesus; are you praying?

 HOLY THURSDAY – This marks the beginning of the sacred Triduum. Early in the day, Jesus gave instructions to the disciples on how to prepare for this most holy meal, which would be His last supper. Throughout the day they made these preparations (cf Mt 26:17). In the Mass of the Lord’s Supper we remember and make present the last meal that Jesus shared with His disciples. We place ourselves in the upper room with Jesus and the apostles and do what they did. Through the ritual of washing the feet (Jn 13:1) of twelve parishioners, we unite in service to one another. Through our celebration of this very first Mass and Holy Eucharist (Mt 26:26), we unite ourselves to Jesus and receive His Body and Blood as if for the first time. We especially thank God for His gift of the ministerial priesthood. After the Last Supper (the very first Mass), Jesus and the apostles made a short journey across the Kidron Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He asked them to pray while He experienced His agony (cf Mt 26:30). During today’s Mass we process with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament to a garden (the altar of repose) that has been prepared. The liturgy ends in silence. It is an ancient custom to spend an hour before the reposed Blessed Sacrament on this night. As we pray, we are with Jesus in the Garden as He goes through His agony. Many parish churches remain open until nearly midnight because it was at this time that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, was arrested, and was taken to the house of the high priest (cf Mt. 26:47).

 GOOD FRIDAY – All through the previous night, Jesus had been locked in the dungeon of the high priest’s house. Early in the morning He was brought before Pontius Pilate, who transferred the case to Herod. Herod promptly sent Jesus back to Pilate. Sometime in the middle of the morning, Pilate bowed to the pressure of the Temple leadership and the crowds and condemned Jesus to a horrible death by crucifixion. Late in the morning, Jesus was taken by soldiers through the city and up the hillside of Golgotha. By noon, He had been nailed to the cross, where He hung in agony for some three hours. Jesus died at approximately three o’clock in the afternoon. He was taken down from the cross and hastily placed in a tomb before sundown. Today is a day of prayer, fasting, and abstinence. To the extent possible, Christians are urged to keep the day free of work, social engagements, and entertainment, devoting themselves to communal prayer and worship. Many parishes gather together for the Stations of the Cross and for recollections of the seven last words of Jesus. Some offer the Stations of the Cross at 3:00 PM, the hour of Jesus’ death. In the evening, many parishes gather quietly to enter into a time of prayer, reflecting on Jesus’ death on the cross. We also pray for the needs of the world. To acknowledge the power of the cross in our lives today, each person comes forward to venerate the cross with a kiss. The hunger we experience as a result of this day of fasting is satisfied with Holy Communion, distributed at the end of the liturgy. As you pray on this night, contemplate how the apostles might have gathered together that night in fear and in prayer, reflecting on all that had happened.

 HOLY SATURDAY – Although the body of Jesus was in the tomb, His soul was among the dead, announcing the Kingdom. The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will Live (John 5:25). Consider what it must have been like for the dead in Sheol to awaken to the voice of Jesus! Meanwhile, the disciples, heartbroken at the death of Jesus, observed the Jewish Sabbath in sorrow. They had forgotten Jesus’ promise that He would rise. We, however, cannot forget His promise. Tonight in our parishes, after sundown, we gather for the great Easter Vigil, where we experience Jesus’ rising from the dead. We gather in darkness and begin by lighting the Easter fire, which reminds us that Jesus is light in the darkness; He is the light of the world. We enter into the church and listen attentively to Bible stories that describe God’s saving work of the past. Suddenly, the church lights are turned on and the Gloria is sung, as we celebrate the moment of Christ’s resurrection. He lives! In the joy of the resurrection, we then celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist for our catechumens and candidates, who have prepared for many weeks for this night. As a Church, we sing Alleluia for the first time in forty days. Do everything you can to be present at this Mass, and invite friends and family to join you. Our Easter Vigil ushers in an Easter joy that never ends!

The Passion, which we read in today’s liturgy, is too long to comment on in detail, so we will only examine a portion of it here.

It may be of some value to examine the problems associated with the more moderate range of personalities involved. The usual villains (the Temple leaders, Judas, and the recruited crowd shouting, “Crucify him!”) are unambiguously wicked and display their sinfulness openly. But there are others involved whose struggles and neglectfulness are more subtle, yet no less real. It is in examining these figures that we can learn a great deal about ourselves, who, though we may not openly shout, “Crucify him,” are often not as unambiguously holy and heroic as Jesus’ persecutors are wicked and bold.

As we read the Passion we must understand that this is not merely an account of the behavior of people long gone, they are portraits of you and me; we do these things.

I. The Perception that is Partial – Near the beginning of today’s Passion account, the apostles, who are at the Last Supper with Jesus, are reminded of what the next days will hold. Jesus says,

This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written, “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed.” But after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.

Note that the apostles are not being told these things for the first time; Jesus has spoken them before on numerous occasions:

1. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life (Matt 16:21).
2. When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief (Matt 17:22-23).
3. We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life” (Matt 20:18-19).

Thus we see that the Lord has consistently tried to teach and prepare them for the difficulties ahead. He has told them exactly what is going to happen and how it will end: not in death, but rising to new life. But even though He has told them over and over again, they still do not understand. Therefore He predicts that their faith in Him will be shaken.

Their perception is partial. They will see only the negative, forgetting that Jesus has promised to rise. Because they cannot see beyond the apparent defeat of the moment they will retreat into fear rather than boldly and confidently accompanying Him to His passion and glorification (for His passion is a lifting up; it is His glorification). Instead they will flee. He has shown the “what the end shall be,” but they can neither see nor accept it. Thus fear overwhelms them and they withdraw into a sinful fear, dissociating themselves from Jesus. Only a few (Mary, His Mother; John; Mary Magdalene; and a few other women) would see Him through to the end.

As for the rest, they see only what is gory and awful, missing what is glory and awesome. Their perception is quite partial. Paradoxically, their blindness comes from not hearing or listening to what Jesus has been telling them all along.

We, too, can easily suffer from a blindness caused by poor listening. The Lord has often told us that if we trust in Him, then our struggles will end in glory and new life. But, blind and forgetful, we give in to our fears and fail to walk the way of Christ’s passion boldly. We draw back and dissociate ourselves from Jesus, exhibiting some of the same tendencies we will observe in the people of that day.

Next, let’s examine some of the problems that emerge from this partial perception and forgetful fear.

II. The Problems Presented – There are at least five problems that emerge. They are unhealthy and sinful patterns that spring from the fear generated by not trusting Jesus’ vision. Please understand that the word “we” used here is shorthand and does not mean that every single person does this. Rather, it means that collectively we have these tendencies. There’s no need to take everything here personally.

1. They become drowsy – A common human technique for dealing with stress and the hardships of life is to become numb and drowsy; we can just drift off into a sort of moral slumber. Being vigilant against the threat posed to our souls by sin or the harm caused by injustice (whether to ourselves or to others) is just too stressful, so we just “tune out.” We stop noticing or really even caring about critically important matters. We anesthetize ourselves with things like alcohol, drugs, creature comforts, and meaningless distractions. Prayer and spirituality pose too many uncomfortable questions, so we just daydream about meaningless things like what a certain Hollywood star is doing or how the latest sporting event is going.

In the Passion accounts, the Lord asks Peter, James, and John to pray with Him. But they doze off. Perhaps it is the wine. Surely it is the flesh (for the Lord speaks of it). Unwilling or unable to deal with the stress of the situation, they get drowsy and doze off. Grave evil is at the very door, but they sleep. The Lord warns them to stay awake, lest they give way to temptation, but still they sleep. Someone they know and love is in grave danger, but it is too much for them to handle. They tune out, much as we do in the face of the overwhelming suffering of Christ visible in the poor and needy. We just stop noticing; it’s too painful, so we tune out.

The Lord had often warned them to be vigilant, sober, and alert (Mk 13:34, Matt 25:13, Mk 13:37; Matt 24:42; Luke 21:36, inter al). Other Scriptures would later pick up the theme (Romans 13:11; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 Thess 5:6, inter al). Yes, drowsiness is a serious spiritual problem.

Sadly, God described us well when He remarked to Isaiah, Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep (Is 56:10).

We do this not only out of laziness, but also out of fear. One strategy is to try to ignore it, to go numb, to tune out. But despite the sleepiness of the disciples, the wicked are still awake; the threat does not go away by a drowsy inattentiveness to it. Thus we ought to be confident and sober. Life’s challenges are nothing to fear. The Lord has told us that we have already won if we will just trust in Him. The disciples have forgotten Jesus’ promise to rise after three days; we often do the same. So they, and we, just give in to the stress and tune out.

2. They seek to destroy – When Peter finally awaken, he lashes out with a sword and wounds Malchus, the servant of the high priest. The Lord rebukes Peter and reminds him of the vision: Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? (John 18:11) Jesus then heals Malchus, who tradition says later became a follower.

In our fear, we, too, can often lash out and even seek to destroy our opponents. But if we are already certain of our victory, as the Lord has promised, why do we fear? Why do we need to suppress our opponents and enemies ruthlessly? It is one thing to speak the truth in love, boldly and confidently. But it is quite another to lash out aggressively and seek to win a debate. In so doing, we may lose a soul. The Lord healed Malchus, seeing in Him a future disciple. The Lord saw what the end would be. Peter did not. In fear, he lashed out with an aggression that did not bespeak a confidence in final victory.

It is true that we are required to confront evil, resist injustice, and speak with clarity to a confused world. But above all, we are called to love those whom we address. There is little place for fear in our conversations with the world. The truth will out; it will prevail. We may not win every encounter, but we do not have to; all we must do is plant seeds. God will water them and others may well harvest them. In Christ, we have already won. This confidence should give us serenity.

Peter has forgotten Jesus’ promise to rise after three days; we often do the same. So Peter, and we, give in to fear and lash out, driven by a desire to win when in fact we have already won.

3. They deny – Confronted with the fearful prospect of being condemned along with Jesus, Peter denies being one of His followers or even knowing Him at all. He dissociates himself from Christ. And we, confronted with the possibility of far milder things such as ridicule, often deny a connection with the Lord or the Church.

Regarding one of the more controversial Scripture teachings (e.g., the command to tithe; the prohibition against divorce, fornication, and homosexual activity) some might ask, “You don’t really believe that, do you?” It’s very easy to give in to fear and to respond, “No,” or to qualify our belief. Why suffer ridicule, endure further questioning, or be drawn into an unpleasant debate? So we just dissociate from, compromise, or qualify our faith to avoid the stress. We even congratulate ourselves for being tolerant when we do it!

Jesus says, If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels (Mk 8:38). But too easily we are ashamed. And so, like Peter, we engage in some form of denial. Peter is afraid because he has forgotten to “see what the end shall be.” He has forgotten Jesus’ promise to rise after three days; we often do the same. We lack confidence and give in to fear; we deny in order to avoid suffering with Jesus.

4. They dodge – When Jesus is arrested, all the disciples except John “split.” They “get the heck out of Dodge.” They are nowhere to be found. After Jesus’ arrest, it is said that Peter (prior to his denials) followed the Lord at a distance (Mk 14:54). But as soon as trouble arose, he “scrammed.”

We, too, can run away. Sometimes it’s because of persecution by the world. But sometimes it’s our fear that following the Lord is too hard and involves sacrifices that we are just not willing to make. Maybe it will endanger our money (the Lord insists that we tithe and be generous to the poor). Maybe it will endanger our playboy lifestyle (the Lord insists on chastity and respect). Maybe we don’t want to stop doing something that we have no business doing, something that is unjust, excessive, or sinful. But rather than face our fears, whether they come from within or without, we just hightail it out.

The disciples have forgotten that Jesus has shown them “what the end shall be.” In three days, he will win the victory. But, this forgotten, their fears emerge and they run. We too, must see “what the end shall be” in order to confront and resist our many fears.

5. They deflect – In this case our example is Pontius Pilate, not one of the disciples. Pilate was summoned to faith just like anyone else. “Are you a king?” he asks Jesus. Jesus responds by putting Pilate on trial: “Are you saying this on your own or have others been telling you about me?” Pilate has a choice to make: accept that what Jesus is saying as true, or give in to fear and commit a terrible sin of injustice. The various accounts in Scripture all make it clear that Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. But because he feared the crowds he handed Jesus over.

Note that Pilate did this. The crowds tempted him through fear, but he did the condemning. Yet notice that he tries to deflect his choice. The text says, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility” (Mat 27:24). Well actually, Pilate, it is also your responsibility. You had a choice and you made it. Your own career and your own hide were more important to you than justice was. And though you wanted to do what was right and were sympathetic with Jesus, merely wanting to do what is right is not enough.

So, too, for us. We also often favor our career or our hide over doing what is right. And in so doing, we often blame others for what we have freely chosen. “I’m not responsible because my mother dropped me on my head when I was two.”

We are often willing to say, in effect,

“Look, Jesus, I love you. You get my Sundays, and my tithe, and I obey you (generally, anyway). But you have to understand that I have a career; I need to make money for my family. If I really stand up for what’s right, I might not make it in this world. You understand, don’t you? I know the company I work for is doing some things that are unjust. I know the world needs a clearer witness from me. I’ll do all that—after I retire. But for now, well, you know… Besides, it’s really my boss who’s to blame. It’s this old hell-bound, sin-soaked world that’s to blame, not me!”

We try to wash our hands of responsibility. We excuse our silence and inaction in the face of injustice and sin.

And all this is done out of fear. We forget “what the end shall be” and focus on the fearful present. We lack the vision that Jesus is trying to give us: that we will rise with Him. We stay blind to that and only see the threat of the here and now.

III. The Path that is Prescribed – By now you ought to know the path that is prescribed: see what the end shall be. In three days we rise! Why are we afraid? Jesus has already won the victory. It is true that we get there through the cross, but never forget what the end shall be! Today we read the Gospel of Friday, but wait till Sunday morning! I’ll rise!

We end where we began with this Gospel: This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed;’ but after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.

Yes, after He has been raised He goes before us into Galilee. And for us, Galilee is Heaven. Whatever our sorrows, if we are faithful we will see Jesus in the Galilee of Heaven. Never forget this vision. After three days, we will rise with Him and be reunited with Him in the Galilee of Heaven.

So take courage; see what the end shall be! The end for those who are faithful is total victory. We don’t need to drowse, destroy, deny, dodge, or deflect; we’ve already won. All we need to do is to hold out.

I have it on the best of authority that Mother Mary was singing the following gospel song with St. John for a brief time while at the foot of the cross, as they looked past that Friday to the Sunday that was coming:

It’s all right, it’s all right.
My Jesus said he’ll fix it and it’s all right.
Sometimes I’m up sometimes I’m down.
But Jesus he’ll fix it and it’s all right.
Sometimes I’m almost on the ground.
My Jesus said he’ll fix it and it’s all right.

The video at the bottom of this post is a heartwarming one, and with a surprise ending. I see in it an illustration of something St. Paul wrote about the sacrificial nature of evangelization:

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings (1 Cor 9:19-23).

To be clear, what St. Paul describes here must be understood as solidarity and brotherhood, not compromise with sin or evil. St. Paul is willing to set aside anything that hinders preaching the truth of the gospel. Every pretense, every honor, every distinction, and every preference that interferes with the gospel message is forsaken when necessary. St. Paul describes here a great willingness for kenosis (emptying of oneself).

And of course St. Paul is imitating Jesus, who,

though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8).

It is remarkable that Jesus, though sinless, was not ashamed to be identified with sinners. He took baptism in the Jordan. He associated with sinners and even ate with them. He underwent the most humiliating punishment, one typically meted out only to the worst of sinners. Yes, He was crucified—and between two thieves at that! Everyone walking by that Friday probably remarked, “Look at that sinner!” Jesus was willing to be viewed as a sinner (by us sinners) in order to save us sinners. And, finally, He was assigned a grave with the wicked (Is 53:9).

There is an old saying that Jesus didn’t come just to get us out of trouble; He got into trouble with us. Yes, He endured every blow this world and Hell itself could dole out. Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody knows but Jesus.

Surely he endured our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).

Yes, He joined us and got into trouble with us in order to save us:

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers He says, “I will declare your name to my brethren …” (Heb 2:9-11)

I thought of all these Scripture passages as I watched this commercial. To be clear, there is no sin in paralysis. Let it be a metaphor for our weakness, which the Lord took up. Let it symbolize our sin, with which the Lord, though sinless, was willing to be identified. And what about us? Can we be like St. Paul and imitate Christ in this manner?

In daily Mass this week we have been drawing from the 8^th Chapter of the Gospel of John, which presents a riveting and stern rebuke by Jesus of the Jewish people of His time who refused to believe in Him. The video below is a vivid and literal presentation of a section of the text we are covering.

Passages such as those in John chapters 5 and 8 put the lie to the notion that Jesus was merely a pleasant fellow who would only console and never challenge. Many today trot out this reworked version of Jesus because they cannot abide a Lord (or a Church) that rebukes, warns, and even threatens them.

This reworked Jesus, who is only tender, is inauthentic. Jesus could and did console, affirm, and bless, but He was also a Lord and teacher who could speak bluntly and issue searing condemnations of unbelief, hypocrisy, and stubborn refusal to repent. He called His opponents out and would even label them liars, hypocrites, a brood of vipers, and/or evil. He told them that they were of their father, the devil. He also called them sons of those who murdered the prophets; He even called them murderers who were plotting to kill Him. He said that they knew neither God nor Abraham, that they were whitened tombs full of corruption on the inside. He told them that the reason that they did not accept the truth He declared was that they were not of God. And He warned them that if they did not accept that He was I AM, they would die in their sins.

Jesus apparently never got the memo that preachers are supposed to be nice and never confrontational. Neither did He accept the modern role description that He was to be only affirming and loving, not really caring about sin (like certain Church leaders today). In fact, 21 of His 38 parables were about judgment and Hell.

The real Jesus was no pushover. He was patient and encouraging of repentant sinners, but a truly repentant sinner does not ask Jesus to approve of his or her sin. For unrepentant sinners, for those who make light of sin or of their need for obedient faith, Jesus has strong words of rebuke and stern warnings of the consequences of failure to repent. Any straightforward reading of John chapters 5 and 8, or of the troubles that befell the unrepentant cities and unbelieving crowds, or of the woes described in Luke 11, discloses that our loving Savior expresses His love not only in soft encouragement, but also through sober and pointed warnings and rebukes. True love includes both. The modern world often separates love from correction, but Jesus joins them. He says, Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent (Rev 3:19).

With all this in mind, watch the videos below and behold a side of Jesus that many today would prefer to ignore. Yet the love of the true and biblical Jesus includes rebuke just as much as it does consolation.

Some engage in the wishful thinking that humans can suddenly and dramatically become converted and wholly different. To be sure, there are what are sometimes called “sudden conversions” of individuals. But what this usually means is that the person’s disposition against God and/or the faith is transformed into an openness to the truth and grace of God. It does not usually mean (barring a miracle) that the person is instantly possessed of all virtue and is suddenly free of all sinful inclinations. In order for fundamental change to take deep and lasting root in a person, he or she must work hard at it and must cooperate with God’s grace.

People change and grow slowly, incrementally, often in fits and starts. What we call our character is formed gradually over time. Thoughts and decisions produce deeds; deeds produce habits; habits produce character; and character ushers in our destiny. It is the steady march and repetition of virtue (or vice) that produces our character. True and lasting conversion takes time. It takes repeated good decisions to yield the fruit of a good character.

There are seldom any shortcuts. Expecting there to be a shortcut to good character would be like expecting a person with a newfound interest in classical piano, merely on account of this new interest, to be able to play Mozart Sonatas or Chopin Etudes immediately; it just doesn’t work that way. Rather, he must begin with scales and arpeggios, practice every day, master simple pieces, and then gradually progress to the full vision of classical piano.

The moral life is this way, too. A virtue is defined as a good habit. But habits are not acquired by doing something once. Habits, by definition, are repeated actions. Repeated (good) actions are the basis for virtue. Even if grace comes from God and can spur and enable virtue, virtue does not fall out of the sky. Grace builds on and cooperates with our nature, which is to grow and change slowly by habitual, repeated actions in response to grace. Over time, accumulated good actions become the good habits we call virtues and help to form the more lasting aspect of us that we call our character.

Sadly, the opposite is also true. Vices also build strongholds in our life and our character. Repeated sinful acts engender vice, which has a negative effect on our character. Character is rightly defined as the collection of moral qualities that define a person. And while qualities may change over time, it is wishful thinking to presume they can change quickly, dramatically, or substantially. Our character is largely the summation of our repeated decisions.

Among the more dangerous versions of this wishful thinking (that people can easily and fundamentally change in a moment) is the notion that upon death, those who have stubbornly indulged in sin and/or values opposed to God and His Kingdom will suddenly have a change of heart at the judgment seat of Christ. It is fancifully imagined that they will suddenly want what (until now) they had resisted, disliked, or outright rejected. The human heart seldom, if ever, changes on a dime. This is true even when we suddenly discover that we were wrong about something. We human beings are not even swayed by clear facts if we don’t want to accept certain truths. Instead, we will often grow angry and defensive rather than make a wholehearted change. And in those cases in which we do change our view, it is usually done slowly and in fits and starts, especially when it comes to deep-seated views such as those related to politics or religion.

Imagine a person who has, throughout his life, opposed or resisted essential aspects of the Kingdom of God such as forgiveness, love of one’s enemies, chastity, generosity, and the worship that is due to God. Values such as these are not simply hoops to jump through on the way to a magical kingdom or a personal resort of one’s own design. These are actual parameters of the Kingdom of God and the perfection of that Kingdom we call Heaven.

And herein lies the crucial point: by our repeated choices in life, we are either deepening our desire for God and His Kingdom or eroding it. Our character is either being configured to God and what He is offering through virtue, or disfigured and disinclined to what God is offering through vice.

It is foolish to think that a person who scoffed at chastity and God’s teaching on sexuality will suddenly esteem them when he dies, or that one who did not want to forgive his enemy will suddenly wish to do so. It is unlikely that one who spurned going to Mass and worshiping God in the Holy Liturgy will suddenly want to enter the great liturgy of Heaven, which is described consistently as featuring hymns (Rev 4:8-11; 5:8-14; 7:9-12), candles (Rev 4:5), priests in robes and miters (Rev 4:4), delight in the proclaimed words of a book (Rev 5:1-5), praise of the Lamb on the altar (Rev 5:8ff), incense (Rev 8:3ff), and so forth. How likely is it that one will go from considering these things boring, pointless, unnecessary, and not worthy of attendance, to suddenly considering them glorious and heavenly? How attractive will one find the worship and praise of a heavenly multitude of saints in Heaven if he was never attracted to worship with God’s people on Earth?

God will not force us to want what He offers or to obey His vision for us as portrayed in His Law. Heaven is the fulfillment of all that He offers; it is not our personally designed paradise.

The greatest tragedy of all is that the souls in Hell would be even less happy in Heaven, where the things that they rejected in this life are esteemed and are fully and perfectly present, where many whom they did not care for in this life are honored and in the highest places.

It is wishful thinking, therefore, to think that many who are disinclined to God or are outright hostile to Him and/or what He teaches and offers will experience a sudden conversion as they are escorted to judgment. Scripture says, Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie (Eccles 11:3). In other words, when we die, our character will be forever fixed. It is like a piece of pottery which, having been molded into any number of shapes while on the potter’s wheel, has its shape forever fixed when it is placed in the fire of the kiln. It is like the rich man in the parable of Lazarus who, though lamenting his awful state, shows no desire for Heaven and does not ask to be brought there. Rather, he asks to have Lazarus bring water to him in Hell.

Yes, it is a dangerously wishful thinking and presumption to think that an unrepentant sinner will suddenly want to repent, or that one averse to significant aspects of God’s Kingdom will suddenly wish to seek entrance or will suddenly rejoice in what moments before he found irrelevant or even odious. Instances of such sudden “changing of stripes” are exceedingly rare.

In this life there are certainly wonderful moments of conversion. But they must be followed by perseverance and reparative grace to undue the many lingering effects of years of bad choices. In the case of authentic deathbed conversions, purgatory seems a strong necessity.

A proper antidote to this wishful thinking is to have a sober urgency to summon sinners away from those things that deepen their aversion to the Kingdom. Repeated and unrepented sin hardens the heart and darkens the intellect. A sober reverence for this truth is both necessary and salutary. Wishful thinking is not only unhelpful, it is harmful; it detracts from the urgency that motivates us to work for the salvation of souls, beginning with our own.

Judgment day is but the final recognition and solidification of what has been a long series of decisions. Sow a thought, reap a deed. Sow a deed, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there it will lie (Eccles 11:3).