But Now

 

Luke 22:31-38 (CJB)

31 “Shim‘on, Shim‘on, listen! The Adversary demanded to have you people for himself, to sift you like wheat! 32 But I prayed for you, Shim‘on, that your trust might not fail. And you, once you have turned back in repentance, strengthen your brothers!” 33 Shim‘on said to him, “Lord, I am prepared to go with you both to prison and to death!” 34 Yeshua replied, “I tell you, Kefa, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know me.”

35 He said to them, “When I sent you out without wallet, pack or shoes, were you ever short of anything?” “Not a thing,” they answered. 36 “But now,” he said, if you have a wallet or a pack, take it; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your robe to buy one. 37 For I tell you this: the passage from the Tanakh that says, ‘He was counted with transgressors,’[a] has to be fulfilled in me; since what is happening to me has a purpose.” 38 They said, “Look, Lord, there are two swords right here!” “Enough!” he replied.

The first thing that struck me was that the text in Greek implies that the Adversary had asked for and gotten permission to “sift you like wheat.” Jesus prayed on behalf of Peter, not for him to be spared the sifting, but that he wouldn’t lose trust in God. Next, it’s clear from the syntax that Jesus is being quite pragmatic about Peter’s ability to turn around and get his head back on straight after the crisis is past. Not only that, he’s confident that Peter will be able to settle the other disciples down and be a source of stability for them. Jesus didn’t name him “Rock” for nothing, after all.

It’s clear to me that Jesus is telling me that no doctrine is ever set in stone. Sometimes things are one way, and sometimes another. When the whole countryside is hospitable and welcoming, when the weather is good and the roads are kind, there’s no need to wear shoes or carry any food or money. On the other hand, when everything suddenly goes pear-shaped and you’re on the run, then you’d better grab your bug-out bag, hit the road, and arm yourself to fight for your life.

It reminds me of a passage in the Tao te Ching:

 

29

Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it?

I do not believe it can be done.

The universe is sacred.

You cannot improve it.

If you try to change it, you will ruin it.

If you try to hold it, you will lose it.

So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind.

Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily.

Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness.

Sometimes one is up and sometimes down.

Therefore the sage avoids extremes, excesses, and complacency.