The Hour of Darkness

Every life has a moment of deep darkness where the temptation arises "I won't survive this." When Jesus faces His hour, He grants us powerful insight to passing through to the other side!

Everything has a season. I remember talking to my daughter about a particularly painful breakup. She was truly wounded, crying, and sure, this was the end.

Of course, it wasn’t. But it was tough for her to see that in her pain and fear.

There’s something about maturity and life experience that brings wisdom in times of pain and sadness. The wisdom of the ancients says, “There is a time to laugh and a time to cry.”

Much of this wisdom concerns the mature discipline of attentiveness and discernment. When I am mature enough to set Christ and the eternal as the lens through which I look at life, I am invited to embrace a severe mercy: Darkness may have an hour, but Christ and His life are eternal. In the face of eternity, an hour melts into a manageable perspective.

Look at our lesson today in Luke 22:39-42, 45-71; 23:1. We won’t read the whole thing here, but I hope you do.

At that time, when Jesus came out, he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place he said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but yours, be done." And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, "Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."

While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of man with a kiss?" And when those who were about him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."

Here we are, just after Judgement Sunday, as we approach Great Lent, and the Church has us prepare for this focused season of spiritual discipline with the darkest moment in the Life of Jesus. He is betrayed, arrested, and tried.

In this “hour of darkness,” He takes His disciples, Peter, James, and John, and asks them to pray with Him as He prepares to enter the Arena of Mortality for His Final Battle.

There is so much here, but let’s focus on what Jesus says to His Disciples and His tormentors. Let’s learn how to pass through the “hour of darkness” and come out the other side victorious.

First, He tells His disciples to “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” He says this at the start of His prayer to the Father and again when He returns to them and finds them sleeping.

What temptation is the Lord warning His disciples about?

The temptation to assume the “hour of darkness” is eternal. The temptation to live as if there is no hope. The temptation to compromise with the darkness in exchange for some temporary comfort. The temptation to give in to despair and to forget that the Light always (ALWAYS) overcomes the darkness. Light is Eternal. Darkness isn’t even a thing. It is the absence of a thing.

To give ultimate power to something as defeated as death and darkness is to fall for the greatest trick the evil one has - to assume darkness wins. It is the foolish abandoning of eternal reality for temporary delusion.

Next, Jesus heals the servant whose ear is cut off. At the “hour of darkness,” when He is unjustly arrested, He comes to the aid of His enemy and rebukes His disciple.

The Lord helps Peter understand the proper priorities in the “hour of darkness.” It isn’t to fight the darkness but to be Light in the face of darkness. This disciple and this temple servant are forever reoriented to the way to pass through the darkness. It is the way of hope and trust, not fear and anger.

Finally, Jesus invites His enemies to reality.

He asks the men following the orders to arrest Him in the “hour of darkness” because these calculating religious bureaucrats know He is popular with the people, and they dare not risk arresting Him in the Light. Jesus confronts this hypocrisy, not out of anger but confident love for these men, inviting them to the path out of darkness into the bright Light of reality. Confront your foolish delusions and hypocrisies so that you aren’t enslaved in the “hour of darkness.”

St. Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople, was a nobleman’s son in Constantinople in the 8th century. The Church was finishing a century of conflict over the Holy Icons, where those who venerated icons had been persecuted and even killed for 100 years! St. Tarasius was the best and brightest of the Emperor’s counselors and was elected Patriarch of Constantinople in 784. He went on to convene the 7th Ecumenical Council that restored the Holy Icons to the Church and reaffirmed the Church’s Orthodox theology of God becoming visible for our salvation. He is remembered today as a hero of the Faith and a genuine light to the clergy! Even though the “hour of darkness” lasted a century, it was not eternal!

Today, are you faced with an “hour of darkness?” Perhaps not, but you know someone who is. Pray that you will avoid the temptation to succumb to despair. Face the rejection of thinking that fighting the darkness means treating others as an enemy. And reject all false delusions as real. The Light is eternal and invites you to reorient your vision by being a Normal Orthodox Christian.

P.S. A model of faith and the image of gentleness, the example of your life has shown you forth to your sheep-fold to be a master of temperance. You obtained thus through being lowly, gifts from on high, and riches through poverty. Tarasius, our father and priest of priests, intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV