The upheaval of evil

It is difficult these days to be weighed down by so much evil in the world. Rulers have cohorted with thieves and murderers. States abuse the people by attempting to restrict people from worshiping God in spirit and in Truth. And those who prefer to live in fear exert their control over those who prefer to live normally. Even our church leadership has participated in the evils. They prefer earthly political power over Heavenly humility. Here, on this Great Wednesday, let us reflect though on the trial of Our Lord by the Sanhedrin. Jesus was God Himself, manifested in the flesh. He could have stopped all of this. Indeed, He makes this very point. "Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matt. 26:53 NRSV-ACE) This was in response to St. Peter cutting off the ear of Malchus. It is certainly not that St. Peter was unjustified in doing this, but rather it conflicted with the purpose of the earthly mission of Christ. Jesus came here for one purpose and now was the time to allow the purpose to be fulfilled. It was necessary that St. Peter allow His Lord to be handed over to the Sanhedrin to die for the sake of all. St. Nikolai Velimirovich writes:

"In His prayer in Gethsemane, He said to the Father: Thy will be done (Matthew 26:42). And He immediately knew the will of the Father: that it was necessary that He be given over to suffering. He was in agreement with the will of His Father and set out on the path of suffering. It was necessary to depict the background darkly, that the image of the Resurrection would appear clearer. It was necessary to allow evil to compete as much as it could, so that afterward it would explode and disintegrate into nothing. It was necessary to allow evil to cry aloud, so that soon afterward it would become speechless before the miraculous Resurrection. It was necessary that all the wicked deeds of men against God should be manifested so that all would be able to see the love and mercy of God toward mankind. The angels of God were not sent to defend Christ from the Jews; rather, the angels of God were sent, after three days, to announce the Holy Resurrection of Christ." (The Prologue of Ohrid, March 18)

If evil appears to be extending itself throughout this world right now, it is because God has permitted it for the purpose of bringing about a greater good. It is because the intention is to reveal a much stronger glory in the end. When the Lord was told of Lazarus's ailments, He waited four days before going to Bethany. Lazarus was allowed to die so that Martha would be able to see the resurrection of her brother Lazarus. The raising of Lazarus foreshadowed the Resurrection of Our Lord from the dead. The Sanhedrin had no power over Our Lord. They were allowed to think they had power over Our Lord. Power to make slanderous accusations in order to put Him to death. Power to send Him to the hands of the Roman prefect to have Our Lord put to death. And power to blaspheme Our Lord. But they were powerless. In all of this, they were fulfilling what had already been prophesied of what was to happen to Messiah. They were under the will of God. They believed themselves to have freedom but they were slaves to their passions. They believed that they had control over what was going on but they became agents of the will of God. There is no freedom in evil for evil leads to nothing. Evil is the very act of uncreation for creation is good and very good as declared by God. But evil is uncreation. It is destruction. The evil may seem like it is accumulating but it is truly not. Rather, it continues to rapidly disintegrate into nothing.

As Our Lord is handed over to the Sanhedrin and faces His trial, let us go through this trial with Him. Let us embrace the trials we go through from the Evil One. These are the will of God. We do not want this cup of suffering to pass, but not as we will but as He wills. We were shown at the Transfiguration the full revelation of His glory. But that glory must come to us through a fiery inferno of testing. It is painful because it kills our old selves. Our passions scream out against us refusing to let go, refusing to be changed. The trial is today, but the resurrection is our goal and to those who subject themselves to the trials allowed by God, holding fast to the trust in His mercy to transform our lives, our end will not be nothing but it will be the glorious resurrection. Hold fast to the Lord. The complete upheaval of evil is upon us!