Rabbi, is it I?

 

 Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"  And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'"  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.  

 

When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.  Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"  He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."  Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?"  He said to him, "You have said it." 

 

- Matthew 26:17-25 

 

Yesterday we read that, when Jesus had finished His full discourse on the end times and the judgment at His return (Matthew 24 - 25), He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."  And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.  Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."  Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

 

  Now on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"  And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'"  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.  My study Bible tells us that the Passover commemorates God's deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt to the Land of Promise.  It prefigures the Passion of Christ, it notes, the new Passover (Greek Πασχα/Pascha), which is God's redemption of all humanity from sin and death, and entrance into the promised Kingdom.  It states that whether the first day of the Feast was Passover or the day before Passover is debated among patristic opinion.  But what is truly certain is that Jesus regarded this meal with the disciples to be the Passover meal.  

 

 When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.  Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"  He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."  Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?"  He said to him, "You have said it."  My study Bible notes here that the words "it is written of Him" do not cancel the responsibility of Judas.  It comments that God foresees but does not cause the evil actions of human beings, who always have free will.  Here Jesus allows Judas to accuse himself, but even though he hears that Christ knows of his deception, Judas does not repent. 

 

It's quite stunning to read the responses of the disciples to Jesus announcement that one of them will betray Him.  He says as they eat, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."  Note that the text tells us that each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"  Think of the humility this offers to Christ, and perhaps as example to us as well.  It's a horrible thought, and yet each asks if it would be himself.  It's an acknowledgement that each is capable of sin one might not even wish to consider, and that these disciples have the humility to understand they are fallible and to follow their Lord.  Then Jesus says, ""He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."  It's possible that each of them has "dipped his hand" with Christ in the dish, as this is common to the Middle Eastern table to this day.  It's another indication of betrayal of a particular depth, as they have truly shared this meal together.  Jesus casts this dire warning, that regardless of what is written of Him, only woe lies ahead for the one by whom He is betrayed.  So much so, that it would be good for that man if he had not been born.  Then Judas picks this moment to ask the same question himself that the others have asked in humility, "Rabbi, is it I?"  What was He thinking?  We can ponder all we want, but clearly Jesus is as yet still trying to save Judas by giving His terrible warning of the consequences of such a betrayal.  Perhaps Judas is only testing Christ, seeing if He has the knowledge of what Judas has done.  Perhaps he's trying to blend in with the other disciples in mimicking their behavior and acting as one of them in order to hide what he's done from them.  There are other speculations that people have made throughout history, even suggesting possibly that Judas is part of a conspiracy to create a revolution against the Romans.  But there's no doubt about Christ's words of woe and warning of judgment.  We might notice, also, that the other disciples address Him as Lord.  But Judas calls Him "Rabbi" or "Teacher."  When Judas asks his question, all Jesus replies is, "You have said it."  Jesus will use this phraseology elsewhere also within this span of the few days contemporaneous with our present readings.  When the high priest demands of Him, "Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus will reply with the identical words response, they are the same in the Greek.  When Pilate asks Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  His answer is almost identical but for the tense; Jesus replies, "You say so."  There is a strange inversion of words and their meaning taking place in all of this, in this time of great evil.  The truth is there in plain sight, even in the language people use, despite their intended meaning.  And so it is with Judas, for as Jesus tells him, he has said it.  Judas still has time to repent, to turn back, to change his mind.  We will see that even at the very moment of betrayal (with a kiss), Jesus will try to save Judas, asking, "Friend, why have you come?"  In all of this time of evil, of an upside-down kind of reality that begins to bear down upon Jesus and press for His death, Jesus, the Logos, will still be telling the truth.  His words will continue to have meaning that is direct and true, when so many others will fail through manipulation and deceit, even denial.  Let us pay close attention to what is at hand, even through our own times of trial and temptation.

 

 

 

 

 

Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."

 

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.  Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

 

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

 

- Matthew 26:1–16 

 

Yesterday we read Jesus' culmination of all of His discourse to the disciples on end times.  (For the entirety of this discourse, begin with the reading from Thursday last week.)  In yesterday's reading, He spoke the parable of the Final Judgment: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."  Jesus has just given His final parable of judgment, in which He spoke of Himself as Lord, the Son of Man, who at His return will come with glory and in the company of all His holy angels, and judge the nations.  But here, He returns to the present day, and the contrast no doubt was startling to His disciples.  He has repeatedly told them of His death (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19).  Here He affirms to them that this will be happening very soon, and St. Matthew follows up with the plotting of the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders at the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas.  My study Bible comments that Jesus is delivered up to His Passion by His accusers, and yet He goes willingly.  Unless He had willed to go, it adds, His accusers could never have taken Him.  After His Resurrection, many saints imitated Christ by willingly going to martyrdom.

 

 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.  Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."  My study Bible comments that Jesus accepts this honor from the woman in her newly found faith.  In particular, He accepts it as a sign of His coming burial.  My study Bible cites also St. John Chrysostom, who notes that in principle, the disciples weren't wrong; that is, mercy shown to the poor is more fitting than outward signs shown even to God (Matthew 25:40; James 1:27).  But they did not understand that once the gift was given, it was a greater mercy to accept it with love.  St. Chrysotom is quoted as follows:  "If anyone had asked Christ before the woman did this, He would not have approved it.  But after she had done it, He looks only to the gift itself.  For after the fragrant oil had been poured, what good was a rebuke?  Likewise, if you should see anyone providing a sacred vessel or ornament for the walls of the church, do not spoil his zeal.  But if beforehand he asks about it, command him to give instead to the poor."   Because of her fervent faith, Jesus promises perpetual memory of this woman.  My study Bible reports that there is no consensus among patristic opinion as to her identity in relation to accounts of similar events found in Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-38; and John 12:1-8.  Some say there were three different women in these four accounts, and others that there were only two.  My study Bible additionally comments that Simon the leper must have been healed by Jesus earlier, for lepers were forbidden to live in towns.  There are those who believe that this man was the father of Judas Iscariot.  

 

 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.  Here Judas, on his own initiative, seeks to betray Jesus.  My study Bible indicates that his motives have been greatly debated, but according to patristic commentary, and liturgical hymns in the Church, greed was the primary motivation.  My study Bible says that this is revealed in John 12:4-6, where Judas was particularly upset about the "waste" of myrrh in the preceding story because he was a thief (see also 1 Timothy 6:10).  My study Bible adds that the phrase one of the twelve is not used so much to identify Judas, who was already known to St. Matthew's hearers, but to emphasize the depth of betrayal -- that it was one of Christ's closest followers.

 

 One thing we might note regarding the story of Judas' betrayal of Christ occurs in St. John's reporting of this event described in today's reading.  In his telling of it, St. John reveals a detail that's not in St. Matthew's account.  In John's Gospel, we read that it was Judas who spoke against the woman.  So, it's possible to read this story in which Jesus offers a rebuke for that criticism as something which Judas was unable to bear without resentment or humiliation.  It takes on perhaps a greater potential revelation of character if we presume that it is correct, as some report, that Simon the Leper was Judas Iscariot's father, and so, in that sense, this rebuke happened in his family home in the presence of family and neighbors, adding to that sense of indignity.  If these things are true, it teaches us a lesson about the temptations to anger when we're in the wrong.  For Jesus has just gotten through teaching the disciples (and we the faithful) that He is the judge of all.  He will return, in fact, to judge all, to reconcile all things.  Therefore, when a rebuke comes from Christ, it's not only the truth from the wisdom of His absolute perspective, but it's also an act of love.  In Revelation 3:19, we read that the "One like the Son of Man" declares, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent."  If we are to be someone's disciple, or even a child, a loving rebuke is doing us a service.  It's teaching us how to become the persons we need to be, and how to live in proper and right relation to God, even to love itself.  Perhaps only love itself can truly see what Jesus sees.  For He sees this woman's great act of love in her gift of this fragrant oil and her anointing for His burial.  While it is Christ the Anointed who anoints us with the gift of grace and the Holy Spirit, and all the things made possible through grace, this woman -- perhaps singularly in all the stories of the Gospels, as Jesus notes of her -- returns that love in this anointing with the expensive oil, in an outpouring of extensive, and extravagant, love.  If it's true that Judas simply cared for the treasury, for he kept the money box and would take money from it, as St. John writes, then a person with this kind of material focus may be unable to understand the language and the gift of love as Christ does.  So often it takes an experienced heart to understand another that speaks its own language, so to speak, and Christ as God is love, and the author of love.  St. Paul writes to the Ephesians that he prays "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:17-19).  Perhaps it is through such a width and length and depth and height that Christ sees the great love and gift of this woman, and understands that it as deserving of a timeless monument to her memory:  "wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."   May we all learn to live such love as only Christ can see, and become like Him in the way that she mirrors and reciprocates.  For therein is our true goal of loving union with Christ our Bridegroom.

 

 

Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world

 

 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

 

- Matthew 25:31–46 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been teaching the disciples about the end times and the destruction of the temple, beginning with this reading from Thursday last week.    Yesterday we read that Jesus gave the disciples the parable of the Talents, giving us all the understanding of how we are to conduct ourselves as faithful until He returns:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.  And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.  But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.  After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.  So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'   His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground.  Look, there you have what is yours.'  But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and  gather where I have not scattered seed.  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.  Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.  For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

 

 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats."  Today's reading gives us what my study Bible calls the majestic climax of Christ's discourse on end times.  What He teaches in today's reading isn't simply a parable, it notes, but a prophecy of the universal judgment that will indeed come.  As the Cross is now near Christ, Jesus raises His hearers to the sight of the glory of the Son of Man on His judgment seat and the whole world gathered around Him.  And not only the world as we think of it in our daily physical sense, but the whole of the cosmos, the created order, for the holy angels are with Him as well.  We should bear in mind that the angels are also witnesses as well, for they have been with us from the foundation of the world (verse 34; see also Matthew 13:35).

 

"And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left."  My study Bible explains that Christ uses sheep to illustrate the righteous, because they follow His voice and they are gentle and productive.  It says that goats indicate the unrighteous, as they don't follow the shepherd and they walk along cliffs, which represent sin.  

 

"Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: . . . "  Inherit, my study Bible teaches us, is a term used with regard to sons and daughters rather than strangers or servants, for the righteous become children of God by adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  

 

". . . for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' "  My study Bible comments that the standard of judgment set down here is uncalculated mercy toward others.  The works that are produced by faith are emphasized, for saving faith always produces righteous works.  What we do reflects our true inner state.  The least, it says, refers to all the poor and needy.  But we are to understand that the needs described here include both physical and spiritual needs.  Therefore, the hungry or thirsty are not only those who need food and drink, but also those who hunger and thirst for the hope of the gospel.  

 

"Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' "   My study Bible notes that the fact that Jesus says the fire was prepared for the devil shows that God did not create hell for human beings.  Rather, people choose this torment by their coldness of heart.  

 

When the Lord, the Son of Man, addresses the sheep in this parable of judgment upon His return, that is,  the righteous, telling them of their acts of mercy, they ask, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?"   Jesus says that the King will answer them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."  The wording of this response invites us to ask, who are the Lord's "brethren?"  This is an important question, for although Christ who is the Judge knows the righteous from the unrighteous, we cannot distinguish this clearly.  We cannot make the judgment that He does, for only He knows the thoughts of all people, their hearts (Matthew 9:4; Acts 1:24).  This is an important distinction, because we only see partially, but in this parable it is made clear that what is at hand is all that is and was and even, indeed, what will be.  Only One with this perspective is able to judge.  So when Jesus speaks of His brethren, we must consider the righteous, and Jesus' perspective.  According to patristic commentary, "the righteous will be clothed with the leaves of eternal life and adorned with the fruit of glory. In this way they will be separated by the heavenly shepherd and Lord. The earthly shepherd separates animals by their type of body, whereas Christ separates people by their type of soul."  And so, the state of the soul is seen by the Lord, and this He illustrates as the gentle sheep rather than the capricious goats. St. Chrysostom notes that it is the very mercy shown by those whom Jesus calls sheep that sets the standard by which judgment happens, indicating how we also play a role in this grand plan of salvation "from the foundation of the world."  Lest we take the parable too literally, we should understand the depths of its meanings in that, first and foremost, in the mission of Christ's disciples the stranger is clothed and welcomed with Christ and in Christ, and thus becomes "brethren."  St. Paul also speaks of this unification of strangers in Christ as those who put on "tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering" and "love," indicating what it means to do all "in the name of Christ" (see Colossians 3:12-17). Elsewhere, He writes, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).  Indeed, we may go directly to Christ's parable of the Good Samaritan, which is the answer to the question, "Who is my neighbor?"  For He teaches there that the neighbor is one who acts as a neighbor (Luke 10:25-37).  Among patristic commentary, there is a great deal of emphasis placed upon the spiritual aspect of Christ's words, in that we also feed, clothe, liberate, and assist those in spiritual prisons with the wisdom and love of God, the truth of Christ that frees, and the comfort of His love which we first receive and then share with others.  See 1 John 4:7-19.  Let us put on the clothing of Christ, even the full armor of God, as St. Paul teaches, for this is how we will know and be known.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord

 

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.  And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.  But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.  After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.  So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'   His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground.  Look, there you have what is yours.'  But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and  gather where I have not scattered seed.  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.  Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.  For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"

 

- Matthew 25:14-30 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been speaking of the end times to His disciples (beginning with this reading).  In yesterday's reading, He told another parable regarding our own conduct and disposition during this "time of the end" in which we await His return:  "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight a cry was heard:  'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'  But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.'  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'  But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."

 

  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.  And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.  Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.  And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.  But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.  After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.  So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'  His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  enter into the joy of your lord.'  He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'   His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'  Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.  And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground.  Look, there you have what is yours.'  But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and  gather where I have not scattered seed.  So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.  Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.  For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.  And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'"  My study Bible explains that this parable illustrates the use of gifts given by God.  Let us bear in mind that, contrary to the meaning of the word "talent" in modern English (which grew out of the hearing of this parable), a talent originally indicated a great deal of money.  In Christ's time, it was a particular weight for measuring precious metals, silver or gold.  It was the largest unit of weight.  In modern terms, one silver talent was equivalent to the wages earned by a common laborer over the course of twenty years.  So, even one talent was a great sum of money.  But here Jesus uses the term to represent the goodness which God has bestowed on each person.  My study Bible comments that the amount each receives is based on that person's abilities (Romans 12:4-7).  It says that God does not show partiality in the ultimate reward, for all are invited to share the same joy.  (That they share the same joy is in tandem with Christ's parable of the Workers in the Vineyard; Matthew 20:1-16.)  The wicked and lazy servant, however, could not evade responsibility for ignoring his talent, for idleness is as much  rejection of God as outright wickedness, according to my study Bible.  To bury his talent in the ground is an image of using one's God-given gifts for earthly pursuits.  The bankers, according to my study Bible, represent other faithful people to whom the man could have turned to help him use his talents wisely.  As help was available to him in the Church, the man is left with no excuse.

 

 The term talents, and talent, has come down to us with a particular meaning in modern English thanks to this very parable as told by Christ.  The great sum of money that a talent represented (in Greek τάλαντον/talanton; plural τάλαντα/talanta) should not be underestimated.  This was far more than the average person could hope to have, and was a sum only kings or other very wealthy people could deal in for great projects.  So, when Jesus uses this word, we cannot overestimate the kind of wealth such gift or endowment represented.  It frames for us the significant weight or substance (literally and figuratively) Jesus gives to the gifts that God endows us with, and so, we should never underestimate the weight or value of our own God-given gifts we're born with.  For this is Christ's perspective.  If you will, it is clearly God's perspective on us as human beings.  Sometimes, it seems to me, we simply don't realize what talents we actually have.  A talent doesn't have to be something that is easily visible to others like a talent for performance such as dance or voice.  Neither does it have to be something that makes a marker of achievement like an intellectual capacity for particular subjects, or a skill set such as carpentry.  If we look at the history of the saints in the Church, there are those notable saints who had talents or gifts for all kinds of things valuable and essential to the Church.  A very famous saint, one completely instrumental and essential to the very early Church and its foundation is St. Barnabas.  Barnabas had a particular gift for consolation.  His name is translated as Son of Encouragement a quality so important to others in the Church at the time that it is recorded for us in the Book of Acts (see Acts 4:36).  Such a gift was so valued that the name that we know him by was given to him with that meaning.  We might think about talents as those things that can be translated into high visible achievement and the garnering of wealth as a result, but this is not the way that talent -- nor profit, for that matter -- is to be understood in the parable.  For how do we measure the profits gained by the Church from St. Barnabas' talent for encouragement of others, for consolation?  A talent, therefore, is not necessarily something tangible or material, but rather denotes something we can use and contribute in the Church as a whole.  Do we have a talent for listening to others?  This is often effective consolation in and of itself.  Do we have a skill for working in a kitchen?  How often can Churches use that kind of help?  Are we capable of a smile when others need it, or words of encouragement?  Sometimes a helpful word in the right ear directs help to a person who might not even be aware of just who made a person their beneficiary.  Clearly, even anonymous help is still the use of our talents to benefit the Church as a whole, by helping even one person in an indirect way.  Most of the time we don't need a perfect voice to sing in a Church choir, nor to enthusiastically join in participation during a service.  And so often, simply being willing to ask the question, "How can I help?" is in itself a gift to someone feeling alone with their suffering.  Although a talent was an undreamed of sum of wealth for the average person in Christ's time, Jesus is telling us that our gifts -- the things God has given us, which we might take for granted, or even of which we may be entire unaware -- are worth great sums in value and substance in His Church.  And since we can recognize this from His parable, it behooves us to consider what we might have that, even if often unvalued in a worldly sense or overlooked by others, actually function as great talents which create profit in the Church, by which we become benefactors to the kingdom of heaven.  When Jesus is telling the apostles about the end times, He describes a time when "because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12).  There are many who lament, in our modern Western societies, the loss of what is called common courtesy, in the ways in which not so long ago society more or less functioned with basic rules of politeness even between strangers.  Those of us old enough to remember a particular saying will recall being told, "Good manners cost nothing."  But a particular small word of politeness can almost move mountains in today's world when wrath or rudeness has become common; perhaps it will save a person's bad day to be treated with just that much respect.  When it comes to financial donation, even a small sum can help an institution that's struggling, or a person who needs help.  Having worked in a food pantry for those who needed some groceries, I can testify to the value of even one good word of encouragement for people who are struggling with poverty and need hope to keep trying.  We can't always be certain of outcomes, but God wants our participation.  We're to be engaged in this Kingdom, to do what we can with the things we might not even know we have.  In a very materially oriented world, there are so many ways in which we can overlook the great gifts God has given us, and count ourselves impoverished in some sense of that word.  But God knows what we have; let us not let it rest "in the ground," but meet the challenges of life with our active work and engagement, not undervaluing the Lord who gives us good gifts, nor ourselves to whom God has given them.  For this, too, is part of the struggle of faith and grace. In a time of personal suffering, even our woundedness can be given over to God in the mysterious ways that this combats the evil in our world, even as our Lord suffered on the Cross.  St. Paul writes that in a time of struggle in prayer with an unrelenting illness, he was told by the Lord, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  St. Paul writes, "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Sometimes we just don't know what the Lord can magnify, even when we start with but a little (Matthew 14:17; 15:33).  Let us not forget the valuable gifts we might overlook.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!

 

 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight a cry was heard:  'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'  But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.'  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'  But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."

 

- Matthew 25:1–13 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been teaching about the end times.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught, "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.   But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,  and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  Therefore shall be weeping gnashing of teeth."

 

 "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight a cry was heard:  'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'  But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.'  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!'  But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.'  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."  My study Bible tells us that this parable illustrates the need for being spiritually prepared while the bridegroom; that is, Christ, is delayed in His return.  The Kingdom is frequently portrayed as a marriage (Matthew 22:1-14) between Christ and Christ's Church.  This marriage will be consummated at the end of the age when the Bridegroom returns to escort His Bride; that is, the Church, into the eternal wedding banquet.  My study Bible adds that this parable is primarily about the virtue of charity in almsgiving as the words for olive oil and "mercy" are sound alike in Greek.  (Keep in mind that until recently in history, Scripture was always heard, not read, by common parishioners.)  The wise virgins are those who practice charity and mercy in this life, my study Bible says, while the foolish are those who squander God's gifts.  Moreover, the fact that all the virgins slumbered and slept indicates death:  in this world both the virtuous and the sicked will die.  The cry at midnight gives us the Second Coming, when the wicked will arise with the righteous for judgment.  The incapacity of the righteous to share their oil is not to be understood as a lack of generosity.  Instead it teaches us about the impossibility of entering heaven without one's own faith and virtue.  See also the parable at the end of yesterday's reading, above, in terms of the themes of persistent virtue and living faith while awaiting Christ's return.

 

 Many people seem to understand Christianity and Christ's teaching merely something that insists on belief at its core, as its substance.  But today's parable tells us something quite different.  The emphasis on the lamps and flasks or vessels full of oil (ἔλαιον/eleion) is an echo of the notion of acts of charity, compassion, or mercy (ἔλεος/eleos) teaches us something about what it means to truly believe at its heart.  In the Old Testament the understanding of righteousness is tied directly to this Greek word.  It can be understood as the summing up of the two greatest commandments as named by Jesus ("'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself'"; see Matthew 22:36-39).  For these two commandments taken together are understood to indicate a faith and loyalty to God, a covenant of love, that is borne out in the ways we live.  In other words, an active love.  This is the practice of love in action such as we see in Christ's actions in the world, a compassion informed by and inseparable from the love of God.  Just as a flame to a lit lamp is reflective of the glory and light of God, so we need fuel to be able to do that ourselves; the treasure of the love of God with which we fill ourselves enables us to "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  Without this precious treasure of oil or mercy within ourselves, how do we 'let our light so shine?'  With what are we able to glorify our Father in heaven?  Indeed, the very act of doing so is what affirms us as children of God by adoption, members of Christ's Church.  Thus, being so filled and so doing, we are prepared to meet our Bridegroom at His Return, for the wedding feast that is the union of Christ and those who truly belong to Him, His people.  And it is in the telling and preparation Christ has done over the course of the past several readings in teaching about end times and His return, He has prepared the disciples (and us) for this grand event of return, the promised wedding of Bride and Bridegroom.  In the marriage image, we return to Christ's words regarding marriage in which He quoted from Genesis, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (see Matthew 19:5; Genesis 2:24).  It is this image of Bride (the Church, or people of God) and Bridegroom that is emphasized as the great good news, the true comfort of the return of the Bridegroom, Christ's Second Coming.  It is this for which the parable tells us we're to be prepared, just as all that He has taught regarding our conduct through these end times in which we await Him emphasizes endurance in the practice of our faith, following His commands, being alert to the things He has told us and warned us about (Matthew 24; see especially His final parable from Saturday's reading, above).  Here is how we are prepared for His return, like the wise virgins who live their lives as His true children (see also this parable).  Indeed, these teachings are also part and parcel of Christ's great critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites, who praise God with their lips, but fail to live the faith they proclaim (Matthew 23).  So, as Christ draws near to His human death on the Cross, we are to take all of these teachings together and to understand what it is He tells us and asks of us as His disciples and spiritual children.  We live our faith, and it is through a covenant of love, which He will make possible through His voluntary death in defeating death for us so that we may enter that union with Him and be with Him (John 17:24-26).  Let us live our faith, the the world will know we are His (John 13:34-35), and that we may be one at His return.

 

 

 

 

 

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away

 

 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

 

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.   But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 

 

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,  and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  Therefore shall be weeping gnashing of teeth."

 

- Matthew 24:32–51 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His prophesy on end times.  He said, "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.  Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.  Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 

 

  "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."  My study Bible explains that this generation is a reference to all believers at all times, the generation of the Church, and not simply to those live at the time of Christ.  

 

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom here, who says that Christ tells of the angels being unaware of the exact day of His return "so that men should not seek to learn what angels do not know," and to forbid them not only from learning the day, but from even inquiring about it.  Moreover, my study Bible notes, according to Mark 13:32, and in Chrysostom's own St. Matthew text, Jesus declares that the Son also does not know the day of His own return.  According to St. Chrysostom, this is not to be understood literally, but it is a figure of speech which means that Christ -- although He revealed all the signs that will accompany His return -- will not reveal the exact day to anyone, and that believers should not be so brazen as to inquire of Him.  

 

 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.   But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left."  The second coming of Christ will entail a sudden revelation of judgment.  One will be taken to heaven, my study Bible says, and the other left for eternal condemnation.  This separation of the saints from the wicked will occur at the coming of the Son of Man, and not, as some teach, at a certain time before Christ's second coming.  

 

"Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  My study Bible comments here that Christ's purpose in this discourse is not to make people experts on end-time prophesy.  Rather it is so that they may watch and be ready, continuing in virtue and obeying Christ's commandments. 

 

"Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods.  But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,'  and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,  and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.  Therefore shall be weeping gnashing of teeth."  This parable illustrates and emphasizes Christ's warning to watch and be ready, continuing in living our faith -- practicing virtue and obeying His commandments.  As He has said earlier in this discourse:  "He who endures to the end shall be saved."

 

In yesterday's reading and commentary, we shared a note in my study Bible that cites 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.   It noted that this passage was one of the clearest in the New Testament on the return of Christ, in the words given to us by St. Paul.  Of importance to the early Christians who were undergoing persecution was that the news of the return of Christ was meant as a comfort.  To fear His return, and the judgment that entails, is to get it all wrong, so to speak.  We need not fear a loving God, and we need not fear our call to repentance for precisely the same reason; our God is love itself (1 John 4:8).  These end times described by Christ actually teach us about the unfortunate effects of a rebellion against God, and the failure of faithfulness.  So, Jesus' constant words both of warning and encouragement in today's reading are meant to teach His followers, then and now and into the future, what we are always to be about.  We're to be alert and watchful, knowing that there are those who will wish to deceive us, either through false theologies and heresies or other means.  He wants followers who truly live their faith and are heedful of His commandments.  More importantly, those who will endure in the midst of all the possible tribulation or calamity or difficulty we might face.  For this very endurance in faith is to wage the true spiritual warfare against "principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  Simply caring enough about spiritual truth, and living our lives in accordance with the faith He's given us, pursuing the grace we're given and the capacity for repentance as needed:  all of this is what is meant by spiritual warfare.  And therefore all of this is what counteracts the entropy Jesus describes in the world and is our proper response.  Moreover, as my study Bible emphasized about the passage from 1st Thessalonians, these words are meant as comfort.  To fear judgment is to be unaware of the loving nature of God and God's call to us.  Additionally, we must understand that St. Paul's words regarding "those who have fallen asleep" (verse 13) tell us something important about the present condition of spiritual reality.  That is, that those who have passed are all beneficiaries of our prayers.  For it is in the final judgment of Christ that all things are gathered together and reconciled, but without this event our loved ones and those whom we know who have passed are "asleep."  Let us take to heart that what this implies is that our prayers are effective beyond this world, even as we know there is a living communion of saints (which includes the angels) with whom we also worship and pray.  So let us, indeed, take heart.  For we are surrounded not only by the activity of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, through this time, but also the "great cloud of witnesses" with whom we may also pray, and whose prayers we may also invoke.  And should we be concerned about friends and loved ones who have passed, we take comfort in knowing that even through they sleep, they also can benefit from our prayers as we live through this time of the end and await Christ's return.  So let us take heart, for we have a great mission Christ has left us with, and His commands to follow, and the life to live that He has given us and taught us to live in faith and with grace.  For He gives us His words of warning so that we are "ready" for that time of His return, and we are faithful and wise servants.  Let us take heart, for we put our faith and trust into the One whose words will by no means pass away.

 

 

 

And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other

 

 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  

 

"But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.  

 

"Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

 

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 

 

- Matthew 24:15-31 

 

Yesterday we read that, following His final public sermon (a grand critique of the scribes and Pharisees, see chapter 23), Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes."  My study Bible tells us that Daniel's prophecy of the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11) was fulfilled in AD 70, when the Roman general Titus entered the Most Holy Place and had a statue of himself erected in the temple before having the temple destroyed.  The Lord's phrase when you see is understood as an indication that many of the disciples would still be alive at that time.  The words whoever reads, let him understand are commonly assumed to be inserted by St. Matthew into Christ's address as an encouragement to his early Christian flock, who may have witnessed this event.  

 

 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened."  My study Bible directs us to Luke 23:29, in which Jesus blesses the barren women, as an acknowledgement of the overwhelming pain a mother endures seeing her children suffer as Jesus prophesies here.  Moreover, it notes that the severity of winter weather or respect for the Sabbath would prevent many faithful from fleeing quickly in a time of desperation.  A spiritual interpretation given in patristic commentary sees the Sabbath as symbolizing idleness with regard to virtue, and winter as indicating fruitlessness with regard to charity.  Therefore, the person who departs this life in such a spiritual state will suffer judgment.  

 

 "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together."  Once again, Jesus places emphasis on watchfulness, and the possibilities of deception.  (See yesterday's reading, above, and Christ's beginning by warning of deception:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.")  Moreover, here Jesus describes the manner in which He will return; He makes it clear that this event will be unmistakable to the whole world.  If there is any question or doubt, my study Bible points out, that alone is evidence that He has not returned.  As Christ's return will shine from the east, so Orthodox Christians whenever possible worship facing eastward in symbolic hope and anticipation of His second and glorious coming.  According to my study Bible, the carcass (or body; see Luke 17:37) refers to Christ, wile the eagles refer to the angels and the saints.  

 

 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."  According to patristic commentary, the sun will not be destroyed, but rather darkened in relation to the glory of Christ.  In other words, my study Bible explains, the sun will appear to be dark by comparison when Christ returns in the fullness of His splendor. 

 

"Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."  My study Bible tells us that the sign of the Son of Man is the Cross, which will be revealed as the standard for Christ's impending judgment.  While at His first coming, He came in humility and mortality, at His second coming, He is to be revealed in power and great glory.  

 

"And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."  My study Bible cites 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which it calls one of the clearest New Testament passages on the Second Coming of Christ.  It cites the first century document, The Didache, which lists three signs that will mark the return of Christ.  First there's the "sign spread out in the heavens" which is Christ and His hosts; second, "the sign of the trumpet"; and finally "the resurrection of the dead."  It states that, for the righteous, the return of Christ is a comfort, not a threat (verse 18).

 

 In today's reading, Jesus speaks several times of the elect.  It's important that we notice that the times of which He speaks are mixed:  there are references here to the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as the end of the world as we know it, and His return.  Somehow synonymous with the terrifying destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem at that time (a catastrophic symbol, in some sense, of the end of the Old Covenant) is also the finish of time as we know it, the present era.  In yesterday's reading and commentary, we noted the sense of entropy, a breakdown of good natural order according to God's creation, that continues until His return, the resulting chaos described on various levels, including even in physical nature, and interactions between nations and individuals, with great persecution of the Church.  But in today's reading, there is even more pressing news of dire hardship:   "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened."  And we have to wonder, in all of this chaos and destruction, as if the earth is returning to its original state of chaos ("without form and void" - Genesis 1:1-2) before God's creation came upon it, who are the elect, this kind of remnant that belongs to Christ, and how do they survive through it all?  For running through all of Christ's prophecies of the end times is this distinction about those who survive all this destructive force of evil in this lawless and loveless time.  In the ancient tradition of the Church, "elect" was understood on two levels.  This is connected with faith, a faith that responds to grace, an acceptance of Christ's salvation made possible through the Cross.   At the same time, there is the grace that makes such salvation possible, but there is also the faith that asks of us participation.  And this is made very clear in Jesus' prophesy of the end times, and His picture for us of the entire arc of the Christian era in this discourse.  For His emphasis is on an active faith, active participation in the reality of that faith:  doing what we are supposed to do, being alert and on guard against deception, and most especially, He uses the word "endure."  In yesterday's reading, He taught us, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  This election is not a kind of simple predestination but rather refers to the knowledge of God, who is not bound by space or time; it is this acceptance of grace as an ongoing, living practice active in our hearts that is what Christ means for us to endure, living our faith, retaining the love of God and the righteousness in which God asks us to remain and endure.  The grace that has been brought into the world through our Lord, and through the coming of the Holy Spirit, then, is what we need to rely upon in the times He describes.  For it is that grace upon which we depend for joy and peace in which we may endure despite the times, regardless of how dire or difficult they may become, even through tribulation.  These, and the ability to endure, are a part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).  So let us heed His words, and endure to the end, through grace He gives us and the faith in which we receive it.