In this morning's gospel text (John 17:6-19), Jesus prays for the protection of his disciples from evil. But what exactly does that mean? Likewise, we often pray the words “deliver us from evil” at least once each day, probably more on the rough days. But what are we actually praying for when we pray those words? Traditionally, the Church teaches that there are basically two kinds of evil:

1^st there are “natural evils” – things which cause suffering, but there is no intent to harm involved. For example, when we get sick, it is a natural evil. It causes us to suffer, but there is no “intention” in the sickness to harm us. Sickness is just something that happens to our bodies because of their natural vulnerability. Similarly, if a big tree falls on the roof of your house in the middle of Winter and makes a big hole in the ceiling of your bedroom... it is a natural evil. It causes us to suffer, but there is no “intention” in the tree to harm us (unless perhaps we live in an Enchanted Forest!) We are mortal. We have limits. And when those limits get exceeded, we suffer. If a hammer slips and falls on our foot, it's going to hurt us, even though we're Christians.

The 2^nd kind of evil is “moral evil” – moral evil is only possible when human beings are involved, because moral evil involves the suffering that is only caused by human actions, actions that arise out of vices – like greed, rage, arrogance, envy, and so on. It's these kinds of actions that we call unjust; because they aren't concerned with giving each person his or her rightful due. They result, not just by mistake, but from a person's actively making wrong choices, because he or she has not developed the virtue of caring about the consequences of his or her actions in the lives of others.

The particular kind of evil that Jesus was praying for his disciples to be protected from was moral evil. He wasn't praying for them to be somehow transported out of the natural world, so that they would not have to experience the suffering of natural evils. Because such suffering is part of being human. If a hammer slipped and fell on the toe of a disciple, it was going to hurt, even though he or she was a follower of Jesus. It wasn't such natural evils that Jesus was most concerned about here.

His disciples were at high risk of becoming the targets of moral evil, because the Living Word was within them.... Jesus' words are not ordinary words; they are spirit and truth; they transmit his Living Person, his very Being, into the hearts and minds of his followers. The Word that was within them was the Living Virtue of Jesus. It was a Living... Inner Compass, and Jesus knew... that as the disciples became more and more aware of its presence... and cultivated the spread of its influence in their lives, the more His own Life would shine forth from their lives like an awesome bright light....

And, ironically, that was the problem... Because people who don't want to be free from their moral character flaws... don't like the light of virtue. It frustrates and upsets them and makes them feel all sorts of things that they do not like to feel. And so, they will do all that they can to dim and to destroy that light. These were the kinds of moral evil that Jesus knew would arise in the lives of his disciples, and so he was praying for them. He knew that such encounters couldn't be avoided, any more than they could be avoided in his own life. But there was one thing that could be avoided. Jesus wanted his disciples to have protection against being inwardly injured and infected by these moral evils that they were surely going to encounter.

This week I went to visit a friend of mine named Brandon, who lives in Parkhill, a little town about a half hour outside of London. Brandon is a nice young guy, in his early 20's. He lives with his girlfriend, and her daughter, who is almost a year old. He works midnights in a factory that makes automobile seats for Cami. And his side job, which he is more passionate about, is as a tatoo artist. He has a little tattoo shop in Parkhill called the Neon Crab. If you saw Brandon on the street, you might make the mistake of thinking that he was a “tough guy,” because he has a lot of tattoos. But he is as gentle as a lamb, very kind, and honest. He doesn't drink or smoke or do drugs. I don't think I've ever even heard him sware. He's just a really nice guy. And he loves his girlfriend and her daughter. And they are a beautiful little family.

I arrived at his tattoo shop in Parkhill, and when I went in he looked up from his desk to say “Hi”, and I was shocked at what I saw. He had the worst black eye that I've ever seen, and the white part of his eye was full of blood. So naturally, I asked, “What happened!!!!!?” And he told me the story.

A couple of evenings earlier he was finished working in the shop, and he exited out the back door, as he did most nights, to meet his girlfriend, the baby, and their dog, to go for their usual evening walk together. And, as Brandon was walking toward them, some guy, obviously drunk, passed him and made a wisecrack about how tough Brandon must think he is with all of his tattoos. Brandon said nothing, just ignored the guy, and kept walking. But when he had almost reached his girlfriend and the baby, who were walking the dog, this guy reappeared, grabbed the dog's leash, and tried to lift it up off the ground by the neck. Brandon shouted “Knock it off!” When the guy wouldn't stop, Brandon reached out to rescue his dog, and the guy knocked him down and began punching him in the face. Brandon pushed him off, but he didn't hit him back. His girfriend immediately took her baby and the dog and ran to call the police. As a crowd started to gather... the guy ran off... leaving Brandon bruised and bleeding, waiting for the police.

When I asked him how he was feeling now, he said that the thing that really bothered him was that he hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't said or done anything to insult or harm this guy, but the guy got violent with him anyway. I asked him why he didn't hit him back, and he said that he knew the baby was there, and that he and his girlfriend had been teaching her not to “hit” when she gets frustrated about something. He said it left him feeling like a wimp, because he didn't hit the guy back, but he didn't even try. Because he felt that he had to live up to what he and his girlfriend were teaching the baby. I told him that I was proud of him, that the baby was very fortunate to have someone who was so actively keeping her and her needs in mind. He nodded, somewhat shyly, and said no more . . . .

Bad things, unjust things, morally evil things, happen to people who are innocent of wrongdoing all the time. Being innocent of wrongdoing is no protection against moral evil. In fact, in some ways, being innocent of wrongdoing can even attract moral evil. Because moral evil hates the light that exposes it for what it is. And the light; just by being light; inevitably exposes moral evil for what it is.

The protection that Jesus enables us to enjoy is not some magical suit of armor. It is instead an inner, spiritual protection. It protects us from being sucked into that dangerous cycle of violence ourselves. It protects us from allowing moral evil to destroy our faith, our hope, and our love. It protects us from being infected by that horrible longing for vengeance which will eat away at a person's soul until it is no longer recognizably human. What exactly is this inner protection that Jesus enables us to possess? It is the Mystery of Christ himself, the Living Word, the Crucified & Risen One, who dwells within us. Unlike us, his delight is always in the Father. Unlike us, he meditates on the Father day & night. Unlike us, he is always aware of our absolute need for the Father's Love & Wisdom, Guidance & Protection. And he is always ready, in every moment, to take us by the hand & lead us into the heart of the Father. That is Who we have dwelling within us. And that is how he protects us, (just as he himself was protected).

Would we rather have an outer suit of armor? Brandon probably wishes he'd had one that evening. I wish he had too. I don't know Brandon well enough yet to know the details of his spiritual history. But I'm quite sure that Christ is alive within him, actively delivering him from evil. I am also inclined to believe that Christ is alive within that nameless, violent young man, who injured Brandon. But how alive is that young man to Christ? How open is he to Christ's protection from evil? He certainly was no witness to the resurrection that night. I imagine that when he woke up in jail the morning after the assault and arrest, he may not have remembered many of the details of the night before. But I pray and trust that God will somehow help him to remember Brandon, the one who didn't return evil for evil, because Brandon has an Inner Reason not to. He has that inner virtue of truly caring about the consequences of his actions in the lives of others, and the power of that caring protects him from evil. May we all be so very well protected in Christ, our Lord.