The darkest night

I put my babies to bed tonight with a more somber tone than usual. Normally if they have their teeth brushed and "jammies" on by 8 p.m. we do a little kick boxing, pillow fighting and weight training before our nightly devotions and prayers. ("Way to calm us down,dad!") But instead of our routine of raucous fun,this night started out on a more sedated tone.

We began with the story of Jesus' arrest in Matthew 26 and the "put away your sword" command. We talked about the violence done to Jesus, about his unwillingness to allow a follower to pick up the sword in his defense and his strange surrender to evil. "Those who live by the sword will die by the sword," Jesus told his friends. It's not the answer. Violence only causes more violence.