I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them

 

 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  

 

"O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."  

 

- John 17:20–26

 

On Thursday, we began reading the High Priestly Prayer; that is, Christ's final prayer at the Last Supper.  Yesterday we read that Jesus continued, "I pray for them.  I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.  Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.  Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.  I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."

 

  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."  Jesus prays for those who will believe.  My study Bible comments that the Church in every generation participates in the life and glory of the Trinity.  Christians enjoy two kinds of unity, it says:  first with God and also with one another -- the latter being rooted in the former.   See Christ's naming of the two greatest commandments in the Law (Matthew 22:36-40).  

 

 "O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."   My study Bible says that the ultimate goal of Christ's prayer, and even of life itself, is for the love of the Father to dwell in each person.  

 

 Let us note how Christ frames our unity.  Our unity is in love.  He says to the Father about His followers, "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."  Through faith in Christ's words and teachings, which come from the Father, we enter into God's love in the kind of unity that is one way to understand what it means to have eternal life.  For if the love with which the Father loves the Son is also in us, and Christ is also in us, then this means we may dwell with them.  Effectively, we are united in love.  John's Gospel is known as the Gospel of love, for it is St. John who teaches us so much about Christ's love and how it is inextricably linked to our faith.  For if the relationship between Father and Son is love to begin with, then for the Father and the Son (and the Spirit) to dwell within us, and we are to know that love, then love becomes all in all, and this is a kind of declaration in Jesus' prayer that ultimately, love is everything.  It is St. John also who will write in his Epistle that God is love.  "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8).  So really, at its heart, our faith is all about love, and that is what one reads in His prayer.  It opens up a line of inquiry necessary for us to understand what we are about to wonder exactly, what is love?  For many people seem to define and live a variety of versions of love, or what people believe that love is.  There is the love that is covetous, that wants something, and wants it all to oneself. There is a kind of love that seeks to control, or wants others to be stamped in their image (say, a child, for example).  But throughout the Gospels, Jesus does not speak of love as taking or controlling.  Jesus speaks most often of actions that indicate expansiveness, giving.  He speaks of forgiveness (Matthew 18:35).  He speaks of giving up our lives to save our lives ("For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" - Matthew 16:25; "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" - John 12:25).  Jesus prepares His disciples for His Passion at the Last Supper by telling them, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  All of these actions of love as given to us by Christ as actions of grace, actions that in some way emulate or express the love of God.  This love is generous, and cares for each one as is necessary for each one.  As the Good Shepherd, He calls us all by name; in Him we are known and we know Him (John 10:2-4).  Through His truth our Shepherd does not compel or enslave, but makes each one free who hears and follows ("If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" - John 8:31-32).  Moreover, in this love through which the Father, Son, and Spirit may dwell in us is a home with many rooms, many dwelling places, room for each one ("In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you" - John 14:2).  Let us consider carefully this understanding of Christ's indwelling, for the whole purpose seems to be to enfold us in love, so that we also become like God, and able to live and practice this love in our hearts also.  For this is a love we don't fully know, not a love like the world loves; this is a reconciliation of true peace for it is truly gracious ("Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" - John 14:27).  Let us learn from Him, follow Him, remain true to His word and grow in His love as His disciples.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one

 

 "I pray for them.  I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them.  Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.  Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.  Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.  I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."

 

- John 17:9–19 

 

Yesterday we began reading what is known as Christ's High Priestly Prayer, which He prayed at the termination of the Last Supper, just prior to going to His arrest.  He lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:  "Father, the hour has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.  I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.  They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.  For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me."

 

 "I pray for them.  I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.  And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them."  My study Bible points out that Christ first prayed for Himself (verses 1-5), and second for them, the apostles (verses 6-19).   Only then He begins to pray for those whom You have given Me -- that is, all those who will come to believe in Him (verses 20-26).  Here the world is the way that He references the portion of humanity in rebellion against God; that is, in the words of my study Bible, those who prefer darkness to His light (John 3:19).  

 

 "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You.  Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. "  My study Bible notes that Holy Father is echoed in the eucharistic prayer of Didache 10:2, which reads, "We give you thanks, Holy Father, for Your holy name which You have made to dwell in our hearts."   The Didache is the earliest known Christian teaching document, said to be the teaching of the apostles.  

 

"While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.  Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.  But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves."  The son of perdition (perdition meaning "destruction") is Judas Iscariot (John 6:70-71).  Old Testament prophecy also alludes to Judas (Psalm 41:9, 109:2-13; Zechariah 11:12-13), and Judas become a type for all who will fall away in the last days.  See 2 Thessalonians 2:3, in which "son of perdition" refers to the Antichrist.

 

 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."  My study Bible notes that, inasmuch as Christ is from heaven, so those who are joined to Him become like Him.  So, therefore, all believers attract the world's hatred.  The Letter to Diognetus (6:3), written in the second century, states, "Christians dwell in the world but do not belong to the world."  My study Bible comments that, reborn in Christ, Christians have their citizenship in the Kingdom of God (John 3:1-5), but their vocation is in the world, where they are protected by God against the evil one.  

 

 "Sanctify them by Your truth.  Your word is truth.  As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.  And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."  To sanctify is to consecrate, to make holy.  It also means to make separate and set apart from the world, and bring into the sphere of the sacred for God's use.  My study Bible quotes St. John Chrysostom's interpretation of Christ's words here:  "Make them holy through the gift of the Spirit and by correct doctrine."

 

Jesus prays to the Father regarding His apostles, "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."   Perhaps a century later, in the Letter to Diognetus (cited by my study Bible; see above), a faithful Christian explains to a pagan of the time, "In a word, what the soul is in a body, this the Christians are in the world. The soul is spread through all the members of the body, and Christians through the diverse cities of the world. The soul hath its abode in the body, and yet it is not of the body. So Christians have their abode in the world, and yet they are not of the world.  The soul which is invisible is guarded in the body which is visible: so Christians are recognized as being in the world, and yet their religion remains invisible."  We Christians remain in this "body" as explained by the letter-writer, whom we now do not know.  But it is St. Paul who writes of the great communion of the saints, which helps us to further understand this "body" that truly makes up the Church.  In chapter 11 of the Letter to the Hebrews, St. Paul cites faithful believers from the Old Testament.  He enters this subject with these words that speak of things visible and invisible, "By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible" (Hebrews 11:3), and the rest of the chapter names many examples of the faithful.  In chapter 12 he concludes, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2).  St. Paul's "great cloud of witnesses" remains the body of the Church, as referenced by the writer of the letter to Diognetus.  So we still form this body in the world, but not of it.  This is the body of those who continue in faith to the word given to Christ, and passed on to us through the apostles and their successors.  But how many of us today understand this "invisible" nature of the body of Christ, even as we remain very much in the world through the design of our Lord, as He indicates in His prayer?  Do we still have our important sense of being in the world, but not of it?  That we are a part of an invisible Kingdom, which doesn't work in the same ways the world does?  This understanding, so essential to Christ as evident in His prayer, and to the early Church in accordance with the history and documents we know, remains something intrinsic to our faith.  For we must remember Christ's words in prayer to the Father, He does not ask that His faithful followers be taken out of the world, but that God the Father keep them from the evil one.  Do we still have a sense of our difference from "the world?"  Do we understand our need to be kept "from the evil one?"  Let us ponder Christ's words, for these remain an essential part of who we are and what we step into when we enter into His faith, and seek to grow in His kingdom.  This perspective doesn't limit us, but it is the light by which we see and find our way in the world, His way.

Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him

 

 Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:  "Father, the hour has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him.  And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.  I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. 

 

 "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.  They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.  For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me."

 

- John 17:1–8 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."   

 

  Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said:  "Father, the hour has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him."  Jesus' prayer (verses 1-26) is often called the High Priestly Prayer.  This is because it contains the basic elements of prayer a priest will offer to God when a sacrifice is about to be made:  glorification (verses 3-5, 25), remembrance of God's works (verses 2, 6-8, 22-23), intercession on behalf of others (verses 9, 11, 15, 20, 21, 24), and a declaration of the offering itself (John 17:1, 5).  My study Bible explains that His words, the hour has come, signifies that Christ is Lord over time.  A hymn declares that Christ "voluntarily willed to ascend the Cross in the flesh."  To glorify refers to the redemption of all creation which will be accomplished through the Cross and Resurrection.  This, my study Bible says, was the purpose for which Christ was sent into the world.  In this redemption, the Father and the Son are glorified.  This is why the Cross, which is a sign of death, is glorified in the Church as "life-giving" and the "weapon of peace."

 

 "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."  My study Bible comments that the knowledge of the only true God is far more than intellectual understanding.  It is participation in God's divine life and in communion with Him.  So, therefore, eternal life is an ongoing, loving knowledge of God in Christ and in the Holy Spirit.  

 

"I have glorified You on the earth.  I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.  And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."  My study Bible notes that Christ's work can never be separated from who He is.   This verse is a statement every believer can make at the end of life, no matter how long or short that life may be.  

 

  "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.  They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You.  For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me."  The men whom You have given Me are Christ's apostles.  According to my study Bible, they are the ones through whom God's word comes to us.  This handing down of God's word to successive generations is called apostolic tradition.  It was prophesied by Isaiah that in the days of the Messiah, the knowledge of the Name of God would be revealed (Isaiah 52:6).  Your name:  In Old Testament times, the phrase "the Name" was reverently used as a substitute for God's actual name, "Yahweh," which was too sacred to pronounce.  The fuller revelation of the Name, my study Bible explains, was given to those who believe in Christ, for Christ manifested the Name not only by declaring the Father, but by being the very presence of God and sharing the Name with Him.  

 

Jesus begins His prayer this way:  "Father, the hour has come.  Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him."  It seems quite remarkable that we should be given to understand -- through the words of this prayer, heard by the apostles, and passed on for our knowledge -- that God and God's Son are glorified by giving eternal life to all those whom the Father has given to the Son.  In other words, Christ's prayer reveals that God the Father and God the Son -- neither in need of further glory -- are glorified through giving to us the gift of eternal life.  Following in this sense, it would seem to indicate that glory for God is magnified through graciousness, through the granting of this unsurpassable gift of eternal life for God's creatures.  Those who are given to Christ are those who come in faith.  That is, those like St. Peter, who upon His confession that Jesus is the Christ, was told by Jesus, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven"  (see Matthew 16:16-18).  It seems to indicate that the grand plan of salvation is, in fact, the grand plan of creation in the first place.  For we fallible creatures are capable of becoming perfected through faith and by the grace of God.  If God's glory is indeed magnified and made manifest through the granting of such a gift of eternal life to we who were created as finite and imperfect, then we live in a world that is a creation of the one true God who above all is gracious and loving.  This is a God who makes all things possible, for whom the gift of eternal life is a goal for His finite creatures and seemingly has been all along.  To be gracious, and magnanimous, to give impossibly expansive and ineffable gifts such as the life we're offered is what it means for our glorious God to be further glorified.  Does it not follow that, if for God Himself it is glory to extend what is infinite to the finite, then for we finite creatures to emulate glory is simply to be gracious?  We become glorious not by collecting but by giving, if we are to be "like" our God.  The very concept of what it is to be gracious becomes, through Christ, a transfiguring understanding extended to kings and nobles of what it means to have glory.  Let us extend our own capacity for grace through the gifts of the infinite God for His finite creatures.  For God's purposes have a meaning and a fullness to attain, and that glory is apparently attained in us.

 

 

 

 

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted

 

 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  

 

- Luke 18:9–14 

 

Yesterday we read that the chief priests led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evil-doer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."

 

  Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector."  My study Bible explains that the Pharisee is highly respected and a careful observer of the details of the Law, whereas the tax collector is despised as a sinner who collaborates with the occupying Roman forces, and is seen as betraying and cheating his own people.  

 

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men -- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' "  The practices of this Pharisee are laudable.  My study Bible calls them worthy examples to follow.  These good deeds named here (fasting and giving tithes) are primary weapons against the passions of lust and greed (adultery and extortion).  But without the participation of the heart -- in humility and repentance -- outward practices are worthless, my study Bible says, and they lead to pride and judgment of others.  Of importance to note is that the text tells us he prays with himself.  My study Bible comments that God is absent where there is boasting.  

 

"And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' "   According to my study bible, the tax collector shows by his posture an awareness of the state of his soul.  He stands far away from the altar of sacrifice, and his eyes are cast downward.  This prayer, God, be merciful to me a sinner, is the foundation of the Jesus Prayer (a practice designed to fulfill St. Paul's teaching in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; see also this article), as is the refrain "Lord have mercy" that permeates worship and personal prayer. 

 

"I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."   To be justified means to be forgiven and set right with God.  My study Bible comments here that inward humility is blessed, while pride in outward deeds is condemned.

 

Fr. Stephen Freeman (of the Glory to God for All Things blog) relates a story from the Twelve Step program Alcoholics Anonymous.  He writes, "I recall the words of an old-timer in AA to a young man who was troubled about AA’s talk about 'God' and a 'Higher Power': 'Son, the only thing you need to know about God is that you’re not him.'"   This anecdote may not explain who God is, but it gets to the point of something fundamental to Christ's story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  The Pharisee, a scrupulous observer of all outward religious laws and practices, apparently does not truly pray before God.  He prays "with himself."  This is deliberate language in the Gospels, directly from the Greek, which reads πρὸς ἑαυτὸν προσηύχετο; literally, he "prayed to (or toward) himself."  As my study Bible points out, this is in great contrast to the posture of the Tax Collector, who "would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven."   This hesitancy in facing God, so to speak, is an indication that the tax collector is all too well aware that it is God he stands before, and not another fallible and sinning human being such as himself.  By contrast, the Pharisee seems quite unaware of his own shortcomings, whatever they may be, and has no intention of bringing them up before God, but prays in a way that not only boasts about himself but casts aspersions at the one near him, the Tax Collector.  He not only prays "with himself," but fails to come to God even to ask what else it is that God may want of him.  Where there is no inquiry nor openness to the other (and in this case, the Other is God), there can be no growth.  Thus the Pharisee's prayer is a recipe for being stuck.  The truth is, we're either going toward God, or we're going the other way.  He prays "toward" or "facing" himself (as the Greek πρὸς indicates).  He's looking in his own mirror, at his reflection of himself to himself.  What we all need -- and the point of all worship really -- is to turn toward God, and find how that particular mirror reflects who we are.  In the Proverbs we read, "My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD, and do not loathe His rebuke;  for the LORD disciplines the one He loves, as does a father the son in whom he delights" (Proverbs 3:11-12).  In today's lectionary selection, this is quoted by St. Paul in the reading from Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 12:1-14).  A loving God wishes us to be disciples, learners.  To return God's love, and to be embraced by God is to be taught, to be encouraged above all else to grow, to become more like God, for this is the great gift of true self held in our relationship to Creator.  If we pray only toward or with ourselves, well then, like the Pharisee, we stay stuck -- except stuck always leads backwards, for life moves on and there are always new things for us to learn and ways God asks us to grow through the tensions and contradictions of life.  For this Pharisee is deliberately blind to the ways God would lead him.  As Jesus asks frequently, echoing prophets of the Old Testament, "Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?"   So let us be justified like the tax collector, in facing God in our prayer, like the children we truly are, and finding what it is our loving Father wants for us, what Christ will teach us.  For He says, "Follow Me."  There's another anecdote but it's told to us by St. John, at the very end of his Gospel.  St. Peter is restored and given direction as he's told by the risen Christ, "Feed My lambs."  But Peter then turns and asks about John standing nearby, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus replies to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."   So this direction is for all of us, if we, like the Pharisee in today's reading, fail to pay attention to what's ours to pay attention to, and look around instead.  It's a good reminder, "You follow Me." Lent is for keeping our focus on God, sharpening and honing our practice at doing so, and learning to be humble before God.  Let us take it one day at a time, and remember what we're to be about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is truth?

 

 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evil-doer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  

 

Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  

 

Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."

 

- John 18:28–38 

 

Yesterday we read that, following Christ's arrest by night in the garden of Gethsemane, Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple.  Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside.  Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.  Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?"  He said, "I am not."  Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves.  And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.  Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.  Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?"  He denied it and said, "I am not!"  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.

 

  Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was early morning.  But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover.  Pilate then went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this Man?"  They answered and said to him, "If He were not an evil-doer, we would not have delivered Him up to you."  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, the irony here is notable, as Jesus' accusers don't fear being defiled by condemning an innocent Man to death -- but they would not set foot into a court of justice.  

 

 Then Pilate said to them, "You take Him and judge Him according to your law."  Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," . . .  that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  My study Bible explains that because the chief priests of the Jews didn't have an actual crime with which to make an accusation against Jesus, Pilate refused to pass judgment.  When the chief priests declare, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," they're not talking about the Law of Moses, but the laws of the Roman occupation.  The Romans, as occupying power, reserved the sole right to execute people.  So, therefore, the chief priests relied on Pilate to sentence Christ to death.  

 

 . . . that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled which He spoke, signifying by what death He would die.  According to the Jewish law, stoning was the usual means of execution.  But, Christ had prophesied that He would be killed by being lifted up on the Cross (John 3:14; 8:28; 12:32-33).  Therefore He had foreknowledge that He would die, not at the hands of the religious leaders of Jerusalem, but by the Roman method of crucifixion. 

 

 Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  Jesus answered him, "Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?"  Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew?  Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me.  What have You done?"  Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world.  If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."  Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?"  Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king.  For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.  Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."  Pilate asks Jesus, "What have you done?"  My study Bible comments that it is unheard of that the accused would have to name the charges against himself in any court; it's the captors who name the crime.  That Pilate has to ask Jesus what the charges are shows that the chief priests could not name any crime He might have committed.  More importantly, the unfolding of this time shows that Christ was Lord over the events of His death (see John 18:4, 8).  Notably, even the governor has to come to Christ for the trial to proceed!

 

Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"  And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."  Pilate's words indicate he can come up with no charge of his own against Jesus.

 

 Pilate asks the question anyone wants to know, philosophers still seek to answer, and which dominates all academic sciences:  "What is truth?"  Over the many centuries before and after Christ's human lifetime, people have sought and come up with a variety of answers and theories, and they continue to do so.  But Christ has a particular answer, and Christianity has a particular answer to this question.  The great irony (among many ironies, clearly) is that Pilate asks this question of the One who stands before him, who is the truth, the One who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" - John 14:6.  Of course, this sense in which Jesus is the Person who is the truth is in the sense of the Logos, the Son.  He is truly the One by whom all things are measured, in relation to whom all things have meaning, and who will in the end be the judge of all things.  Christ, as Logos, gives each of us meaning, and has for each a name and identity (Revelation 2:17; 3:12).  In this sense, we find ourselves in relation to Him, through faith, and through the ongoing effort to live a faithful life.  We come to know ourselves, even to be transformed, through such a relationship and process.  This is, above all, an experiential process, one we come to know through living and experiencing it.  But saints, Church Fathers and Mothers, theologians, and an ongoing stream of faithful have taught and given us this understanding to us for centuries.  This is seen in the Old Testament in the action of God calling Abram out from one life to another, and renaming him Abraham; and in the new name given to Jacob to become Israel.  It is seen in the New Testament, in Christ renaming Simon Cephas, or Peter from the Greek; and naming James and John Zebedee Boanerges, meaning Sons of Thunder.  And this is indeed the lived experience of the Church and the faithful we can't count and don't all know.  "What is truth?" is a question which we, as faithful, answer in the fullness of the real Name of Christ; that is, this Name which becomes ours by adoption, of the house which also becomes ours by adoption (John 8:35).  While a materialist perspective might teach us that everything is relative, and meaning is only determined by what we desire at the moment, this so often proves a recipe for chaos and futility, a dead end that doesn't leave us with much meaning in life, and for all kinds of reasons.  There will always be a foundation of values we need to be able to count on, that can transcend our ongoing varied, collective, contradictory, and unusual experiences, and this is particularly true if tragedy strikes, unforeseen trauma we can't explain to ourselves in normal terms.  We require a relation to something -- actually to Someone -- much greater than ourselves to put all those pieces of collective and personal experience in a place that can not only make sense, but give us meaning and even purpose.  Why need truth be a Person, rather than the materialist sense of facts or reasons?  Because for truth to be transcendent, to give us meaning and purpose, to find real value and worthwhile substance, we need love.  And we need the Person who is love, who loves us, and who can teach us that transcendent love for ourselves to learn to live and practice as well.  There is no substitute for such truth, for it is at the core of our value even if no one else values who we are, nor will teach us that truth about who we are.  And Christ is the truth that can lead us there, show us His way to walk through a world of chaos or tragedy, and give us more than just selfish impulse or rigid law or conformity to a crowd or the next best theory (or fashion) we can find.  His is the kingdom that is not of this world, but surpassing it.  In Him, the contradictions are reconciled, and there is depth of meaning even in the Cross.  For He has overcome the world for us, and is always waiting to show us the way for us, too.  For His way is not out or beyond the world, but through it -- and He is the light of the world that we need to follow.

 

 

 

   

 

Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not!"

 

 And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple.  Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside.  Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.  Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?"  He said, "I am not."  Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves.  And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.

 

* * *

 

 Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.  Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?"  He denied it and said, "I am not!"  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.

 

- John 18:15–18, 25–27 

 

Our recent readings in St. John's Gospel took place against the backdrop of the Feast of Tabernacles, an autumn festival.  The setting is the final year of Christ's earthly life.  He had been disputing with the religious leaders, who unsuccessfully tried to have Him arrested.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus replied to them, "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

 

  And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple.  Now that disciple was known to the high priest, and went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.  But Peter stood at the door outside.  Then the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to her who kept the door, and brought Peter in.  Today the lectionary skips forward in the Gospel of St. John, as this week we enter into Lent.  Jesus has been arrested in the garden of Gethsemane, and has been taken for night trial in the home of the high priest.  See John 18:1-14.   Here my study Bible notes for us that the other disciple mentioned is St. John himself, the author of this Gospel.  It remarks that it was a common practice for an author to conceal his name in the details of his story (see John 13:23; compare with Mark 14:51-52; Luke 24:13, 18).

 

 Then the servant girl who kept the door said to Peter, "You are not also one of this Man's disciples, are you?"  He said, "I am not."  Now the servants and officers who had made a fire of coals stood there, for it was cold, and they warmed themselves.  And Peter stood with them and warmed himself.  My study Bible comments on the fact that it is a girl who is the first to test Peter.  It says that this is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  The fallen state, my study Bible notes, is overcome in Christ, when a woman is the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection, also told to us by St. John (John 20:1; 11-18).  

 

  Now Simon Peter stood and warmed himself.  Therefore they said to him, "You are not also one of His disciples, are you?"  He denied it and said, "I am not!"  One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of him whose ear Peter cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the garden with Him?"  Peter then denied again; and immediately a rooster crowed.  Peter has now denied Christ three times, before the rooster crowed (as Jesus prophesied, see John 13:38).  But St. Peter will be restored through his three affirmations of love following the Resurrection (John 21:15-17).  

 

 As we approach Lent this week, the lectionary now shifts to our preparation for this period.  In the Armenian Apostolic Church, Lent begins today.  In Western Churches, Lent begins Wednesday (Ash Wednesday); in the Eastern Orthodox Church, it begins on Monday, February 23rd and we are now in the period called Triodion.  The theme in today's reading, of course, is St. Peter's denial of Christ.  The story as it unfolds doesn't shrink from presenting the whole story in its essential angles.  St. John first gives us (in chapter 13) the moment at the Last Supper when St. Peter swore to Christ he would never deny Him, and Jesus made His prophesy that Peter would deny Him three times before the crowing of the cock.  We observe St. Peter's temperament, always with a sort of exuberance one way or another.  When Jesus seeks to wash his feet (as well as that of the other disciples), the conversation we're given goes as follows:  Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, are You washing my feet?"  Jesus replies, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."  Peter responds, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus tells him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me."  Peter's new response:  "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" (see John 13:2-11).  So it is with Christ's prophesy of denial.  At the end of the Passover meal (the Last Supper), St. Peter asks Jesus, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answers, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter asks Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake."  Jesus said, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."  Today's reading gives us the denouement, if you will, to that story.  Peter fails, and he fails miserably in this sense in which he'd sworn he would die for Christ's sake.  (His promise remains true however, in terms of St. Peter's martyrdom and choice of death by crucifixion, in humility requesting he be upside down so as not to be equal with Christ; see this short biography.  It would simply happen much later.)  But the Gospel, written in the light of St. Peter's subsequent leadership, powerful preaching, and heroic martyrdom, gives us all the details of a man whose exuberance perhaps outweighs his eventual wisdom, strength, and authority.  In short, we see St. Peter as a human being with our own flaws and weaknesses.  Courage indeed that we are presented with such a human leader, and the Rock of the Church (John 1:42).    But St. Peter's example serves all of us as a model for our lives, and especially leading into Great Lent, when we consider what repentance, humility, and spiritual discipline really mean for us.  For Christ's love -- and St. Peter's great love for Christ -- in the end reconciles all things for those who love God.  And this is our model, that repentance is our return to communion with our loving God, complete with loving correction, and the continuing journey of discipleship.  As my study Bible notes, Jesus, after His death and Resurrection, will ask Peter three times, "Do you love Me?"  And St. Peter will reply, "Yes," to which Jesus will give the command for restoration of his place as disciple, "Feed My lambs."  See John 21:15-19.  When we seek to return to Christ, we seek the loving communion that is always on offer.  Like St. Peter, regardless of our own shame at our weaknesses and susceptibility to temptation, God's love is so great that we're not only restored but brought to glory in response.  As human beings, we are not created perfect and incapable of error.  We are meant to grow, and to grow under the love of a loving God, not the harsh tutelage of a world based on rejection of God's love and all that rejection brings.  Let us proceed into Lent with this understanding, and seek a greater depth of communion and faith through all things and in light of all the practices of Lent for our growth in discipleship.

 

 

 

Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?

 

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

 

- John 8:47–59 

 

Jesus is currently at the Feast of  Tabernacles in Jerusalem, as we read through chapter 8.  He has been in disputes with the religious leaders, who unsuccessfully tried to have Him arrested.  Yesterday we read that they answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."  Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

 

  "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" My study Bible comments that, unable to defeat Christ through logic or truth, these enemies resort to personal insult.  They will do so again in the following chapter (John 9:34). Personal insult (as well as Scriptural error) was also their response to Nicodemus when he questioned whether Jesus should be judged without a hearing (John 7:50-52).

 

 Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Once again, Christ's own witness comes up for questioning.  Who lies, and who tells the truth here?  He offers His Father again as witness, the One who honors Him.  Abraham also bears witness through the Scriptures.  For Jesus, the value of all things is measured through relation to the Father, including Christ's own honor.

 

 Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Once again we recall that in St. John's Gospel, the term the Jews most often refers to the religious leaders, not the people.  It is akin to naming the rulers of a city, the word in Greek translated by some as meaning "Judeans."  Jesus and His followers (which included the author of this Gospel) are all Jews.

 

 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  I AM (Greek εγω ειμι/ego eimi) is the divine Name of God in the Old Testament, which was first revealed to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15).  For these religious leaders, my study Bible explains, this is a direct, explicit, and unmistakable claim to perfect equality with God, as evidenced by their reaction here (see also Mark 14:62-64).  It notes that St. John in his Gospel places special emphasis on the use of this Name to clearly reveal Christ as God.  This divine claim illuminates Christ's authority even over death, which is a power that belongs only to God the Father.  

 

It seems quite ironic (or perhaps we should just say interesting) that the insults which come to Jesus (as they did earlier to Nicodemus) take on the same character that we find in our own headlines so often.  He's insulted as to His possible origins ("You are a Samaritan") and also He's called evil (You . . "have a demon").   They used the same kind of insults with Nicodemus, asking if he were a Galilean too.  In formal logic, these are called ad hominem fallacies, personal attacks on a person rather than a solid and truthful argument about something. It seems that this sort of attack will always be with us somehow, and we should pay attention, because in this case it's directed at the Person who is truth (John 14:6), the Logos (Word) Himself (John 1:1).  This attack is on the One who is the light of life, the co-Creator with the Father.  These false attacks are attacks on the One who gives life, and will ultimately judge.  It has to make us think about the essence of good and evil somehow, to consider how profoundly in error this behavior can be, and it invites judgment on a scale that doesn't exist normally between imperfect human beings who all are guilty of error in some way or another.  Jesus said Himself, perhaps illustrating the point, and speaking of blasphemy against the Spirit, "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:31-32).  It all adds a very profound weight to consider when we ourselves indulge in personal insults and false arguments instead of a sincere focus for truth.  This is an often overlooked foundation of our faith.  For, if we worship the Person who is the truth, as He said, then should we not always be faithful in serving truth, in seeking what is real and true, and good and beautiful, and not indulging in what we see are false arguments used even against the Son of the living God?  Why is it important that we ourselves refrain from using fallacies, lies, manipulations, and other such tactics when we interact with others?  There is a much deeper foundation to our own need for dispassion and rational faith in what we know to be good, and true, and beautiful than we might consider in our every day lives.  It is what we read here that should give us pause, in the heat of an argument, during heightened passions and arguments and confrontations, beyond all other considerations we might have.  And that is for the simple reason that such things are even paraded in accusation against the Judge Himself, the One who is the arbiter of all things.  When we indulge in such behaviors we're doing ourselves no favor, but serving the master that would make us a slave (John 8:34).  We forget who we are and the One whom we truly must desire to serve, the One who tells the truth and teaches us to abide in His word, for it comes from the One who sent Him, and who is true (John 7:28).  Once again, we are in the approach to Lent, and it's the perfect time to consider why cultivating our capacity for these virtues has always been in the teaching of the Church, and particularly emphasized as goals through the practices of Lent.  Let us find the discipline to be as true as Jesus, and abide in that truth.