Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance

 

 Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me.  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."

 

- Mark 2:13-22 

 

Yesterday we read that again Christ entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

 

  Then He went out again by the sea; and all the multitude came to Him, and He taught them.  As He passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office.  And He said to him, "Follow Me.  So he arose and followed Him.  Now it happened, as He was dining in Levi's house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.  And when the scribes and Pharisees saw Him eating with the tax collectors and sinners, they said to His disciples, "How is it that He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?"  When Jesus heard it, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Levi is also called Matthew, and he is the Evangelist who wrote the Gospel we know by that name.  In the system of the Empire, Roman overlords assigned specific areas to Jewish tax collectors, who were then free to collect extra revenues for their own profit, as my study Bible explains it.  It notes that therefore, their collaboration with the occupying Romans, their fraud, and their corruption caused other Jews to hate them and to consider them to be unclean (Matthew 11:19).  Here Christ dining with them and also accepting a tax collector as a disciple ("Follow Me") is an offense to the Pharisees.  But Christ's defense is quite simple:   He goes where the need of the physician is greatest.  He has come not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.

 

 The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were fasting.  Then they came and said to Him, "Why do the disciples of John and of the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?"  And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?  As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.  But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, and the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined.  But new wine must be put into new wineskins."  My study Bible explains that the Jews typically fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12), on Monday and Thursday.  Moreover, there were public fasts which were regularly observed, or occasionally proclaimed (2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21-23; Esther 4:16; Joel 2:15), particularly on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:31-34) and also in times of mourning (Zechariah 7:5, 8:19).  However, the Jews saw the day of the Messiah, by contrast, as a wedding feast:  this is a time of joy and gladness.  Here, Christ is proclaiming that day, and He declares Himself to be the Messiah/Bridegroom, my study Bible explains.  For Christians, it notes, fasting is not gloomy but desirable; it is a bright sadness.  For by fasting, we gain se;f-control and we prepare ourselves for this Wedding Feast.  In this light, we understand that Jesus uses the illustration of the old garment and old wineskins to stand for the Old Covenant and the Law, viewed as imperfect and temporary.  The new wineskins are the New Covenant and those in Christ.  The new wine is the Holy Spirit dwelling within renewed people, who cannot be constrained by the old precepts of the Law.  

If we look closely at today's reading, we might see a kind of revolutionary concept at work between the Old and the New.  That is, once a person is identified as a sinner, or as someone detrimental to community, Christ's work is healing, rehabilitation.  His aim is to save, to redeem.  He says, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  As Physician, then, Christ is here to heal, and that healing -- most significantly -- is repentance.  One wonders, at times, if today we have lost sight of this teaching about repentance.  Forgiveness is God's glorious purview, but it is not realized without some significant action on the part of the one who is forgiven their sins.  First of all, we must couch all concepts about faith within the understanding that we are called into relationship to God.  This is the nature of the reality we inhabit, that we are creatures of God.  Of course, we have the freedom to repudiate this should we so choose.  But that road is not a road of repentance; it is moving in the opposite direction.  To forgo forgiveness is also possible for God's creatures -- even, it seems, for angels -- but the consequences of such choices remain.  Repentance is not a kind of "Get Out of Jail Free" card, which we can just pull up when we think we need it, but like all things concerning our faith and the deep things of God, it really depends upon the state of the heart.  Jesus most solemnly condemns hypocrisy, even in those who are meant to represent God on earth and shepherd God's people (Matthew 23).  So, therefore, in considering Christ's eating and drinking with tax collectors and other sinners, people who were considered to be harmful to the community and spiritually impure, we need to think about what this repentance is that Christ puts so much stress on.  Certainly the good news of Christ's gospel of the Kingdom is first that repentance is not only possible, but desired by God.  In yesterday's reading (see above), the scribes ask, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" and thereby make it clear to us that Christ possesses this authority to forgive and to judge.  But what is repentance?  How does it work?  Why is this the great good news of our Physician, the healing and liberation which He brings to us?  Perhaps as a result of 2,000 years of Christian history, often we find people who may be so assured that they cannot sin or endanger their spiritual welfare through their choices, because we now have been so conditioned to understand God's love and forgiveness.  But repentance, nonetheless, remains an important work for us to do.  Perhaps it is the most important work of all we should consider, for repentance isn't the same thing as simple remorse or regret.  Repentance is the action of change, of turning toward God to be more reconciled to God and the ways God would ask us to walk in life.  And this is indeed the great light we need in our lives.  To neglect this saving and healing work in us is to ignore the gift we're given of the light of Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit at work.  To refuse to take this notion seriously is to refuse the gift, or to practice the hypocrisy Christ so condemns in the actions of the Pharisees and scribes in Matthew 23.  The New Covenant is all about recognizing our capacity for change and healing and renewal under the actions and guidance of the Physician who is Christ.  When we forget what a great wonder and marvel this is, we have only to turn to those systems in which forgiveness never seems to take place, where to cross a social rule or a particular value system or even a political opinion renders a person hopelessly assigned to oblivion -- and rehabilitation only comes at the expense of personal integrity and particularly of what one believes to be the truth.  Let us consider the great gift of the Physician, and remember the power of healing always present in Christ.  For if we are afraid to change, or admit our mistakes, or refuse this reconciliation in God's sight, we lose ourselves, we lose our spiritual health and understanding in God's light.  That is simply too much to lose, and bears all kinds of sacrifices to achieve it.  It's God's wisdom we need in order to determine who we are in our best sense of self, for to refuse is to lose one's life to delusion and fantasy, to a self-created idol rather than God's gift to us of true identity and spiritual health.  Let us rejoice within the new wineskins for the new wine of the wedding feast of Christ the Bridegroom, for He brings His love in order to invite us in where life is truly good. 

Who can forgive sins but God alone?

 

 And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

 

- Mark 2:1–12 

 

Yesterday we read that, as soon as they had come out of the synagogue where Jesus had been preaching (and cast out a demon), they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. Now in the morning, having arisen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

 

  And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house.  Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.  And He preached the word to them.  Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men.  And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was.  So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you."  And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this?  Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?  Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'?  But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"  My study Bible emphasizes in ts comments that, as shown by this healing of the paralytic, faith is an indispensable condition for salvation.  Faith, we understand, is collective as well as personal, because the faith of the friends of the paralytic (the four men who carried him) helped in his healing.  It notes three signs of Christ's divinity on display.  First, He knows the secrets of hearts (see 1 Samuel 16:7; 2 Chronicles 6:30).  Second, He forgives sins, which is a power belonging to God only.  And finally, He heals by the power of His word.  My study Bible further elaborates on the fact that one purpose of Christ's coming into the world is to forgive sins, which frees humanity from its bondage.  It notes that to forgive sins is a greater power than physical healing.  As the scribes correctly note, God alone can forgive sins.  So, therefore, it is the easier task to grant physical healing.  Although Christ is fully God and He holds the authority to forgive, to heal this man is to condescend to those gathered in order to draw people to God, whom they then glorified.

In a worldly perspective, we would see the healing of this paralytic as truly a more extraordinary power than forgiving sins.  But from a perspective that includes some sense of the reality of God, the forgiveness of sins is more extraordinary, as noted by my study Bible (see commentary above).  Perhaps in our modern world, we take forgiveness for granted, as in what is now frequently called a "post-Christian" culture, we are inculcated into a sense in which for centuries we have prayed the Lord's Prayer, the Our Father, which was given to us by Jesus, and in and through which we are taught to forgive as we are forgiven.  Forgiveness can be a tricky problem, as we don't necessarily think of it in the correct paradigm of understanding God's forgiveness as first and primary, and our own as something which is secondary to God's.  Christ teaches, in giving that prayer, that we can't ourselves realize God's forgiveness without being forgiving ourselves.  But the primary judge, our Lord, is the One who is the true arbiter of such forgiveness, as He shows in today's reading.  Once again, we may turn to the paradigm and culture of the ancient Jews which existed at the time of Christ, the context in which this event took place, and within which Christ so stuns the scribes in today's reading.  As discussed in yesterday's commentary, the system of sacrifices and institutions of the temple were a process whereby the people not only could understand what sin was, but in and through which they were reconciled to God.  Christ's remarkable forgiveness then, comes as a shock indeed to the scribes, for how could a man forgive sins?  Or, as they ask here, significantly, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  Indeed, and therein is the riddle that poses the question of just who Christ is.  Who is this Son of Man, as He refers to Himself?  And we know the answer, that Christ is both fully human and fully God.  It's within this understanding that the greater power is to forgive sins, but to express also the truth of the Son of Man, a miraculous healing is also given, expressing concretely the identity of the One who is present to them in a "worldly" sense that can be perceived and understood.  But if we don't have the mind and the understanding of the truth of the spiritual reality behind Christ and within which our world is created and known by God, then we moderns fail to understand the real impact of sin and its detriments to us.  Is it possible that this paralytic suffers from something sinful that has affected his condition?  This is possible, but one thing is clear:  although he suffers physically, he is still in need of forgiveness for his sins, and this is the great grace of God, and our Lord Christ, in response to the faith of his friends who help to carry him.  In the same way, we can pray for our friends and help to "carry" them to Christ.  Moreover, it's helpful to understand that in the tradition of the Church, paralysis is often seen as a metaphor for the condition of being "stuck" in a sin, unable to repent -- or to change -- that is, to get past it, to grow.  For sin is like paralysis, like slavery, as my study Bible describes it.  We are stuck in a repeated pattern, perhaps even despite our best efforts, and we need help to break it.  For that also, the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a gift of Christ and His Incarnation into the world, so that we have a Helper.  We might, today, take for granted this possibility of forgiveness, but for those who have experienced the freedom of God's forgiveness, the effect upon the soul and upon our lives is boundless, for we are set free to live differently, to establish something good in our lives, to live as we are taught to live in Christ's light.  Let us consider the power of God to forgive, for it is also the power to liberate us, to set us free from our paralysis within something detrimental to ourselves and our mental, physical, and spiritual health.  Let us also glorify God in return.

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed"

 

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them. 

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. 

Now in the morning, having arisen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

 

- Mark 1:29–45 

 

Yesterday we read that, after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 

  Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.   Here, Jesus heals by touch, taking Peter's mother-in-law by the hand and lifting her up.  Notice once again the use of the word immediately in Mark's Gospel, how her fever immediately left her.  Jesus restores her to her place of honor in the household, as who serves Christ and His ministry.

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  My study Bible notes that Mark tells us that Jesus did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  This is yet a second emphasis in Mark's Gospel of this need for His messianic identity to be kept a secret (the first was in yesterday's reading, when Christ cast out an unclean spirit who identified Him as "the Holy One of Israel").  

Now in the morning, having arisen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  My study Bible comments on this passage that here Jesus sets forth for us an example of spiritual life.  It says that although He is God Incarnate, Jesus prayed continually, frequently finding a solitary place so that He is free from distraction, despite the multitude's need of Him.  Christ's ministry comes forth from that communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and it flows to people in their needs.  His praying in the morning, it says, teaches us that we must put as first priority our commitment to God, and only then will we be equipped to serve others.

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.  My study Bible tells us that the biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus 13 and 14.  In Deuteronomy 24:8 we find the description of the purification of lepers and of leprous houses, a duty which was entrusted to the priests.  For this reason, Jesus tells the healed man, "Show yourself to the priest," as this was necessary according to the Mosaic Law for re-entering into the community.    Leprosy was considered to be a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were therefore unclean, they were not permitted to live in the community or to worship in synagogues or the temple, my study Bible says.  To touch the unclean was forbidden (Leviticus 7:21), but here Jesus touched the leper nonetheless, and showed His compassion.  Moreover it shows also that He is not subject to the Law but over it.  My study Bible comments that to the clean, nothing is unclean.  

In his Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul writes an extensive discussion concerning practices within the Church.  It's important to remember, in that context, that the early Church was made up of people who were Jews and also of people who were non-Jews, and all were living in a society that was nominally pagan in its codes and practices.  The discussion of eating meat found therein is important because virtually all meat available in the wider marketplace was from animals that had been sacrificed to idols, so therefore for Christians this presented a significant problem, as food sacrificed to idols was to be avoided (Acts 15:28-29).  In Romans chapter 14, St. Paul writes, "I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean."  In the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul has an extensive discussion based on what is good for the whole of the community, the importance of not scandalizing others in the faith, and preventing sin. All of this is based on and around what is called the Law of Love.  While his topic is ostensibly about food, this teaching clearly applies to other things as well, and here is where the comment in my study Bible, "to the clean, nothing is unclean," is used to frame Christ's touching of the leper to heal him.  Let us note that this saying is not used to justify or to permit just anything, but rather to teach us what it is to first begin -- as Jesus does in today's reading -- within our relationship to God, which is the basis for all else that we do in the world.  To be "clean" in this context is all about this inner reconciliation to God, as illustrated in today's reading by Jesus starting His day a long while before daylight, and finding a solitary place, in order to pray.  If we look carefully at the Torah and its system of sacrifices as established for the temple, we will understand that the entire root and aim of the practices was setting the community in right relationship with God, as community and as individuals.  (A very good book on that subject is Welcoming Gifts: Sacrifice in the Bible and Christian Life, by Fr. Jeremy Davis.)   As Jesus practices a day begun very early in prayer, He shows us how His ministry must flow from there.   It is our orientation to God that focuses us on what we do with our lives; and, as God is love (1 John 4:8), it is to God we turn to learn what it is to live love, to "do" love, so to speak, how to live in community in a proper and righteous and truly loving way.  It is in this right relationship to God that we find what is "clean," and that our sight is cleansed so that we view the world and our place in it properly.  This, of course, is an ongoing process, and full of change, as life is full of changes, and we are asked basically to grow as learners and disciples of Christ.  We are meant to learn to see by His light.  Psalm 36:9 reads, "For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light."  Jesus Himself, through His life, death, and Resurrection, and of course His own voluntary sacrifice on the Cross, and therefore in the Eucharist, becomes that reconciliation for us, and so He teaches, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12).  What we find with Christ is an ongoing relationship of love, and teaching, and learning, and growth toward God, deepening who we are and cleansing what we need to cleanse, making right our relationship with God so that we find how we need to walk in accordance with His light.  Christ's compassion teaches and instructs us, but without His guidance, we lose our way in abstractions and demands and self-flattering hypocrisies.  For we are those who, without that light, find all kinds of idols to worship, even things which seemingly are good but nonetheless lead to harm.  Let us have the humility to be cleansed by Christ, in order to find our way to see as He asks us to see.

 

 

 

Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men

 

 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  

 

Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 

- Mark 1:14-28 

 

Yesterday we read the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, according to St. Mark.  As it is written in the Prophets:  As it is written in the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You." "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  My study Bible comments that Mark's written emphasis on John being put in prison before Jesus begins preaching reveals that a key purpose of the old covenant -- to prepare the people for Christ -- had been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).  Once Christ came, the time of preparation was fulfilled.  To repent, my study Bible says, is to do a total "about-face."  In Greek, the word translated as repentance (μετανοια/metanoia) means literally to "change one's mind."  My study Bible adds that repentance is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart.  That is, a complete reorientation to a life centered in Christ.  This is a lifetime endeavor, not a one-time choice.  

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  My study Bible comments that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist and were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  Although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion (as opposed to the leadership in the temple), these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to the be the wisest of all. 

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.   My study Bible tells us that the word immediately occurs nearly forty times in Mark's Gospel, nearly all of these occurrences before our Lord's entrance into Jerusalem.  It says that the sense of urgency and purpose as Christ journeys toward Jerusalem to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world helps make Mark's account not only the shortest but also the most direct of all four Gospels.

Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.  My study Bible observes Christ's command to the unclean spirit to be quiet.  It explains that our Lord's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  It gives the following reasons for secrecy:  First, there is the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; second, the people misunderstand the Messiah as an earthly, political leader.  Finally, our Lord's desire is to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs. 

Christ's casting out of the unclean demon is a sign of the spiritual warfare that is always going on unseen by us on worldly terms.  But this is yet another expression of an idea we explored in yesterday's reading, in which Christ's temptation in the wilderness served as a picture of the world.  Yesterday, we quoted from my study Bible, which noted that the wilderness (into which Christ was "thrown" by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by Satan) is a battleground, an image of the world, both the dwelling place of demons and a source of divine tranquility and victory.  Here, Christ's first bold public act is the casting out of a demon, an exorcism.  We should note that the demon knows full well who Christ truly is, "the Holy One of God!"  It gives us a clue about the demonic, that demons do not act out of ignorance, as human beings so often do, and it gives us a clue about judgment, and the time that we human beings are given in this world for repentance.  In essence, right from the beginning, Christ's Incarnation, and of course His public ministry, is all about revelation, exposing or uncovering the spiritual reality of the kingdom of heaven in our midst, but also of the demonic at work.  So, we should not be surprised that as persons and communities we so often find ourselves torn between these choices that can't really reconcile with one another.  So often we seek a compromise in our lives, but when challenges to our faith arise there are times when we simply cannot cross that line.  Thus the history of Christianity is filled with martyrs and confessors, those who have suffered for their faith.  When Jesus teaches (as we shall read) with such drastic sayings such as, "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it" (Mark 8:35), or "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37), He's talking about the times when we must make such choices.  Perhaps He puts it into clear context when He says, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).  The demons have chosen one way, a rebellion against God, and they have done so within an entirely different context than straying human beings, for they are not human.  We, on the other hand, as human beings are born into a world where we must make choices often as steps to learn, one way or the other, from our mistakes and failures, but also from the joy that comes from serving the Lord, and the peace we may find therein.  We must pause to reflect that in the Greek, the word for "disciple" literally means "learner," and this greatly differentiates us from the demons.  Time is an important concept of our identities as human beings, for it is this living in time, moment to moment, which gives us the sense in which life is a journey, but in spiritual terms for us, it is a journey of the capacity for repentance, to change, to change our minds, to grow.  In this understanding is the mission of Christ:  He brings His light into the world in order for us, and for our world on so many levels, to be transfigured, to become more like Him, to find His "way" for us.  In today's reading, Jesus tells the fishermen, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  Here in Christ's words we find a great illustration of what it means to be transfigured into the people Christ calls us to be:  they are fishermen, but He will make them become fishers of men, of people.  His light will transfigure their lives, change them, and they will become something richer and deeper, who they are called to be in His name.  We live in a world of perplexing choices, complicated chances, strange coincidences, and one that demands of us faith.  But we must know ourselves enough to understand that as human beings, we are made for worship, and so we must choose carefully Who and what that is, what we will serve and what we put first.  It is Christ who calls us by our true name, who gives us true meaning.  Who will you follow? 

 

 

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God

 

 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets:

"Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You."

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

 

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."   

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

 

- Mark 1:1-13 

 

  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  The word gospel is an English word which at its root means "good news" (from Old English godspel, "good news" or "good story").  It is a translation for the Greek word ευαγγελιον/evangelion which also literally means "good news" or "good tidings."  This Greek word was frequently in use for missives or announcements by the Emperor in the Roman Empire.  My study Bible says that "gospel" here refers not to Mark's writings per se, but rather to the story of the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ; it is the good news of our salvation.  Beginning, it says, points to the opening events of Christ's public ministry, and in particular here, the preparation by the one who we call Christ's forerunner, St. John the Baptist, and Christ's encounter with him. 

As it is written in the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You." "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  Here St. Mark quotes from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3.  When reading quotations from the Old Testament in the New, it's important to remember that they come from the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible; therefore translations may vary somewhat.

John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  My study Bible notes here that John is clothed in a manner which bears resemblance to Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), significant in that John fulfills the prophecy of the return of Elijah (Malachi 4:5-6), as we read clearly in Matthew 17:12-13.

It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.   My study Bible asks us to note that the Spirit of God hovered over the water at the first creation (Genesis 1:2).  Here, the Holy Spirit descends like a dove to anoint the Messiah, the Son of God, at the beginning of the new creation.  Jesus does not become the Son of God on this day; but rather He is revealed to all as the Son of God, upon whom the Spirit has always rested.  The feast day of Epiphany (meaning manifestation or revelation) or Theophany (meaning a manifestation of God), celebrated in the East on January 6th, commemorates this day and points to the age to come.  In the early Church, and to the present day in the Armenian Apostolic Church, Christ's Nativity (Christmas) and Epiphany (Baptism) were celebrated together on January 6th.

Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  This is a quotation from Psalm 2:7, "You are My Son,/Today I have begotten You."   This event is often called Theophany, as it is a revelation of the Trinity:  the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends, and the Incarnate Son is baptized. 

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.  My study Bible notes that to be tempted is to be tested in fundamental areas of faith.  Note the powerful action of the Spirit, He is driven into the wilderness.  In the Greek, this word translated as drove is perhaps more accurately translated as "throws."  Jesus is "thrown" into the wilderness to be tested by a struggle with Satan, the devil.  My study Bible comments that we who are baptized in Christ need not be defeated by temptations because we also are aided by the Holy Spirit.  It says that the wilderness is a battleground, an image of the world, both the dwelling place of demons and a source of divine tranquility and victory. 

These last words from my study Bible are very intriguing:  that the world we live in is both the dwelling place of demons and a source of divine tranquility and victory.  Perhaps for many people, these days it seems like this contrast grows stronger and deeper.  We're challenged by yet new circumstances and seemingly bigger crises:  wars in various places and concerning powers with fearsome technological weapons, even massive fires we're witnessing today in Los Angeles which devastate beautiful and highly upscale historical neighborhoods and places cherished by people such as schools and churches, and cultural decadence which seems to strike hard at the heart of traditional Christian values with contempt.  But my study Bible is true to its words, the world yet remains also a place of divine tranquility and victory, regardless of how we're tempted to think about it.  There remains yet Christ present to us, and the Holy Spirit in our midst, and the kingdom of God within us (Luke 17:21).  We are created, as humans always were, to be worshipers and lovers of God, in communion with God, and that redemption of the soul -- to realize we are created as good -- is always there with us as possibility, right here and right now, no matter where we are and no matter our circumstances.  Christ has made sure of that in His Incarnation, and all that He Himself suffered and even in how He Himself was tempted by Satan.  One can read the details of those temptations, essentially seeking to get Him to abandon His faith in and obedience to the Father, His identity as Son of God, at Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13.  Today, of course, we all face the same kinds of temptations, things that seek to deter us from understanding and taking our place as children of God, those who are obedient to God in loving communion.  So often the distractions of the world, and its evil, seem to serve as false identity, taking us away from what we're created to become in relationship to God.  But if we are tempted to say that things are so bad that we don't find the place for divine tranquility and victory, we need to go back and read our Bibles a bit better again.  For Jesus was not just tempted by Satan, but tried at every turn, and we know how He died on the Cross.  Even in the midst of such a horrific event, nevertheless, Resurrection also took place, and for all of us.  In Psalm 110:2 we read, "The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!"  That "rule in the midst of Your enemies" is a sign that it was always understood that God was present, even in a world beset by evil.  Christ was born into world with ruthless values of Empire and conquest, long before His influence curbed things which were common and accepted in the pagan world like infanticide and slavery.   Today, whatever we think we might see or encounter, these circumstances essentially remain the same for us.  We have Christ in our midst where two or three of us are gathered in His name (Matthew 18:20), and even through our prayers, we may find, as the Psalm says, that God prepares a table before us even in the presence of our enemies, even if we walk through "the valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23).  We must remember that Christ is always our option in life.  Whatever happens to our world, whatever we think we see happening around ourselves, He is always there waiting for us to pray and listen, and we, too, have the Holy Spirit indwelling (as my study Bible says), and angels who minister.  Let Christ, as always, be our example, and live as He did.  Perhaps for today's reading we should make John the Baptist the front and center of our focus, for he fulfilled his identity in being Christ's forerunner, playing his own part in the story of our salvation, in this beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  For like John the Baptist, and the Prophets before him, we are each called to play our own role in this yet unfolding story, and therein we find our joy.

 

 

 

 

If I tell you, you will by no means believe. And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go

 

 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house.  But Peter followed at a distance.  Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.  And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."  But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."  And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are one of them."  But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"  Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."  But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are are saying1"  Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So Peter went out and wept bitterly. 

Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?'  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.  

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."

 

- Luke 22:54–69 

 

Yesterday, we read that, coming out from the Passover Supper (the Last Supper), Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.  Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."  And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"  When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this."  And He touched his ear and healed him.  Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."   

 

Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest's house.  But Peter followed at a distance.  Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.  And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, "This man was also with Him."  My study Bible notes that it is a girl who is the first to test Peter; it teaches us that she is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  The Gospel shows us that our fallen state is overcome in Christ when it is women who are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (Luke 24:1-10).  

But he denied Him, saying, "Woman, I do not know Him."  And after a little while another saw him and said, "You also are one of them."  But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"  Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, "Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean."  But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are are saying1"  Immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.  And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.  Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So Peter went out and wept bitterly.  Peter is so overcome with fear, my study Bible says, that neither Christ's prediction (verse 34) nor the crowing of the rooster calls him to repentance.  It's only the Lord's gaze that finally causes him to weep bitterly.  St. Ambrose of Milan is quoted as saying of this passage that, nevertheless, "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?'  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.  Our Lord as prisoner is humiliated, ridiculed, abused, in a brutish way.  But we must consider how He condescended to experience what we may experience in our lives.  

As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  My study Bible comments here that Jesus asked many questions of the Jewish leaders which they refused to answer because doing so would have meant confessing Him as the Christ (Luke 20:4-7; Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 3:4).  His final statement here is a declaration that He is equal with God. 

Let us compare the two responses of Peter and Jesus in today's reading.  St. Peter's expression is to deny that he is a follower of Christ.  In that sense, it's a negative expression, a denial of something.  Three times people identify him as a follower or disciple of Christ, and three times he denies that this is the truth.  "Woman, I do not know Him."  In a sense, this is a refusal to speak, to confess that he is a follower of Christ.  Then we can turn to Jesus who also refuses to speak.  In the first case, He is mocked and beaten by the soldiers.  They tie a blindfold on Him, strike Him across the face, and demand that He prophesy who hit Him.   He is treated to all manner of blasphemy, but He doesn't say a word (Isaiah 42:2).  Then when He is questioned by the religious leaders as to whether or not He is the Christ, He already knows that to answer them is futile.  He says, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go."  But then, He knows where He is going and what is going to happen, telling them only, "Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  In a sense, with this last statement, He's answering their questions by declaring Himself, but not answering them directly as they desire.  Son of Man is a title for a messianic figure in the Book of Daniel, the right hand of the power of God is in the position of power with God.  In St. Peter's case, he is denying who he is as a member of Christ's followers, with his strong and vehement denials, as predicted by Christ.  In Jesus' case, He doesn't speak where it will do Him no good, and neither will it do any good to those to whom He might speak.  Indeed, revealing Himself to those who scoff or mock or beat Him would only condemn those people more for their refusal to hear.  It is Jesus who teaches us, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces" (Matthew 7:6).  Finally, He will not answer the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, who bring Him in to trial.  As He said at His arrest, "When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness" (see yesterday's reading, above).  But here they ask Him again, although they have no intention -- and perhaps no capability at this stage -- of believing His answer, of responding to Him, or of letting Him go.  This truth about them He will declare Himself, and finally, He will make a statement about where He knows He is going, and whom He knows He is and the role He will assume.  Jesus' denial to speak contrasts with Peter in that Jesus is absolutely true to Himself, to the One whom He is in the sight of God the Father.  Peter is denying himself by denying Christ; he isn't being true to the identity he's been called to assume by Christ.  Both do not answer in the ways their interrogators desire them to, but one denies the truth, and the other embodies the truth in all things and through all things.  What these poignant and terrible scenes teach us is all about how to comport ourselves as Christians, as His followers.  There will be proper times to speak and proper times not to speak -- but in all cases, our personal integrity is the truth of Christ that we can live, even through the worst of things we may experience.  We should not get caught up in formalities, but rather rely on our faith to teach us and guide us through all difficulties properly.  There is a deeply powerful moment written into this account in Luke, and that is also a moment of 'not speaking.'   We're told that the Lord turned and looked at Peter just as the rooster crowed.  How many volumes of truth does the Lord's gaze tell to Peter, and even to all of us who will one day also stand before that gaze ourselves?  He doesn't need to say a word, for He has already foretold what Peter would do, and Peter is at once brought back to himself, and to the truth of what he's doing -- even to his failure to hold to his promise that he was willing to go to prison and to die with him (Luke 22:33).  St. Peter weeps bitterly in repentance after Christ's look brings all things back to his remembrance.  Let us remember the power in silence, in a look, in a refusal to speak, even in an answer that's not really an answer someone wants to demand from us.  Let us remember the power of truth in all things, and the One who is the truth that guides us in our responses to the world, our identities and loyalties to Him first of all.

Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation

 

 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.  Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."

And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"  When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this."  And He touched his ear and healed him. 

 

Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." 

 

- Luke 22:39–53 

 

On Saturday we read that the Lord said, "Simon, Simon!  Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."  But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death."  Then He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me."  And He said to them, "When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?"  So they said, "Nothing."  Then He said to them, "But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.  For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me:  'And He was numbered with the transgressors.'  For the things concerning Me have an end."  So they said, "Lord, look, here are two swords."  And He said to them, "It is enough."

 

  Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.  When He came to the place, He said to them, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow.  Then He said to them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."  My study Bible comments that Christ's agony was the product of His human nature.  In asking that the cup be taken away, Christ reveals His human will.  By submitting His human will to that of God the Father, my study Bible explains, He reveals His divine will is one with the Father's.  Moreover, it teaches us that this is the goal of each person in our own crossroads and choices (Luke 11:2).  Christ willingly takes in Himself the voice of weak humanity, and thereby conquers weakness.  My study Bible quotes from Pope St. Gregory the Great:  "The words of weakness are sometimes adopted by the strong in order that the hearts of the weak may be strengthened."

And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?"  When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?"  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.  But Jesus answered and said, "Permit even this."  And He touched his ear and healed him.  My study Bible tells us that this healing is recorded only by St. Luke the physician.  It's an indication of the way in which we're to treat our enemies.  In patristic commentary, it's understood to have a spiritual meaning, in that it is Christ who gives all of us the capacity to hear the truth, and thereby come to salvation (see Luke 8:8, 14:35). 

Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?  When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me.  But this is your hour, and the power of darkness."  Regarding darkness, see John 3:19-21, 13:30.

Hidden in today's text, there are hints of meaning in the loss of human capacity for perceiving the things of God.  First, there is the healing of the ear of the servant of the high priest.  As my study Bible notes, in patristic sources this is given a spiritual significance, in that it is Christ who enables our true spiritual hearing, our capacity to hear the truth as given by God.  It is not coincidence that, opening today's reading, we receive the passage that teaches us about Christ's agony in the garden of Gethsemane, in which He prayed His very human desire that this cup be passed from Him.  That is, the cup of the Crucifixion to come, as He knows He will be betrayed and arrested this night by those who will hand Him to the Gentiles to be killed.  Let's observe this great conflict between Christ's naturally human will to avoid death, and His desire to follow the divine will of God the Father.  He has prophesied several times what will happen to Him, and so He knows that "the Son of Man goes as it has been determined" (Luke 22:22), but we can see clearly His human response to what is before Him.  With this, Jesus puts everything before God the Father, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done."  Perhaps this is a good model for all of us, for the times when we are tried with a sorely difficult choice, and we, too, have struggles that are difficult in seeing our way through them.  Christ's impulse is to "hear" God the Father, but He also knows that He is heard, and puts everything before God in so doing.  This is a powerful scene about truth as it is heard and known, for He speaks the truth of His human desire, and hears the truth of the Father's will and lives it.  Then something significant for all of us happens:  an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him.  Again, it is an assurance of a process that happens also for us, for the angels are present to us to help to strengthen our own capacities for hearing, knowing, doing, for faith.  Jesus' response is to do what is most helpful at such a time:  And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.  His physical human response described here teaches us about the depth of His agony and the fervor of His prayer.  Next we're given the response of the disciples to their great sorrow:  they sleep.  Sleep is a time when we neither hear nor see what is happening around us, symbolic of cutting ourselves off from spiritual sight and hearing of the truth.  Jesus tells them, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation," giving us to understand prayer as the way to rekindle our capacity for hearing and seeing, being awake and alert to the things God has in mind for us, wants us to apprehend.  Finally, Jesus puts His finger on the inability to see and hear spiritually, perhaps our unwillingness to do so, either in the face of challenges such as facing terrible difficulties, or deep sorrow, or other temptations.  He also describes the betrayal of Judas and the hypocrisy of these religious leaders who now arrest Him and plot to have Him killed.  All of this He sums up in His description of their hour:  the power of darkness.  Darkness, of course, obscures the light, and in particular, our sight.  So spiritual seeing and hearing -- and the lack of them both -- becomes a powerful component hidden in the scenes of today's reading, and something we have to consider at all times.  For Christ's time of agony is not an isolated event, but one that might come to each one of us, especially as we struggle with our faith.  The world can present us with alternatives we'd rather not face, hostility from those whom we love, even betrayal.  It can impose a kind of response of sorrow from friends who seem to abandon us and sleep when we need them.  Fortunately, Jesus gives us the true sword with which to meet such times of evil and the power of darkness, and that is the power of prayer and its fullness.  We see His fervent and deep prayers, letting God know all, and accepting God's word to Him in His great struggle.  He tells the disciples, "Why do you sleep?  Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation."  Sleeping is something we try to do in darkness, and it is the power of darkness at work in the arrest of Jesus by those who have shut out spiritual light and sound so as to follow their own desires only, under cover of night, even violating their own laws in the night trial of Jesus that will follow.  When life seems dark, take up the sword of Christ's truth, and the power of the prayers He so deeply prays.  Don't sleep, but follow His teaching to rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.