Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe

 

Christ the True Vine, 16th century; Byzantine and Christian Museum, Athens, Greece

 Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  

 

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

- John 4:43–54 

 

Yesterday we read the second part of the story of the Samaritan woman.  See Wednesday's reading for the first part, in which Jesus spoke to her alone at Jacob's Well.   At this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." 

 

Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. The statement that a prophet has no honor in his own country is found in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24).  Christ's own country is Galilee (John 1:46; 2:1; 7:42, 52; 19:19).   There were Galileans present at Jerusalem during the Passover (John 2:13-25), when Jesus performed many signs.  My study Bible adds that while the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, St. John Chrysostom gives greater credit to the Samaritans (see yesterday's reading, above) for accepting Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see also John 20:29).  

 

  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  My study Bible says that here Christ is admonishing the people in general (you in this last verse is plural both times) and not simply the nobleman.  Faith which is based solely on miraculous works is insufficient for salvation; for this kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn if the miracles cease (John 19:15).

 

The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  My study Bible comments that the nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, though his faith in Christ is weak.  He does not understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance, and neither does he grasp that Jesus would have the power to heal even if the child were to die.  In the end, he inquires about the timing of the healing, still not completely trusting the Lord's authority.  Only after all is confirmed do he and his whole household believe.  So, therefore, according to my study Bible, as He heals the child from a distance, Jesus is healing not just the body of the child, but the soul of the nobleman.  As the text says, this is the second sign of seven reported in St. John's Gospel.  Jesus has already revealed that He can see into the hearts of people from a distance in chapter 1 (John 1:45-48), the Lord now demonstrates He can heal from a distance, showing His divine power knows no earthly limits, my study Bible says.  While there are certain similarities between this sign and the miracle recorded in Matthew 8:5-13, there are many crucial differences, it notes; these are clearly two different encounters.  

 

 

In today's reading, Jesus says, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  This is an indication of what kind of faith Jesus is looking for -- and clearly, what He's not looking for.   But the father is persistent.  He says, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus always seems to reward persistence, for it is a hallmark of many of His encounters.  We have only to look at the story of the Samaritan woman (St. Photini) which we have read over the course of the past two readings (Wednesday and Thursday, above).  In the earlier part of her encounter (Wednesday's reading), she is persistent in that she keeps asking Jesus questions every time He speaks, and intrigues her with something else He says.  She doesn't go away, she asks for this "living water" which He said He could give her.  Moreover, when He tells her that He knows she's had five husbands and that the man she now lives with isn't her husband, she doesn't respond with embarrassment or with a lie or with denial.  She accepts the truth; she even goes and tells the rest of the townspeople, "He told me all that I ever did!"  Her persistence, in addition to her straightforward character, wins the day.  He reveals to her, of all people, that He is the Christ.  The same can be said for the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman.  Perhaps it is not simply a coincidence that these are two foreign women, but her story is similar in that sense of both persistence and humility.  This story is found at Mark 7:24-30.  She comes to Jesus begging for a healing for her demon-possessed daughter.  And perhaps "begging" is the right word to use, for Jesus then compares her to a little puppy begging under the table, telling her it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs.  This He said indicating that the children are the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24), to whom He was sent.  But this doesn't deter her; in fact Jesus is drawing out her faith. She tells Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs."  Her persistence, her wit, and her humility in accepting the Jews as "the children" succeeds in persuading Jesus, who tells her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  We can compare these examples of persistence to the father in today's story.  Jesus speaks about people seeking signs and wonders, sounding exasperated and chastising.  But that doesn't deter this father; he wants a healing for his son.  He hurriedly pleads with Jesus, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Let's note that he's a nobleman, but he calls Jesus, who has no title, "Sir."  It's another indication of both persistence and humility, like the women in the two examples we've just named.  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  The man himself later asks what time his son was healed, and found it was at the same time Jesus spoke these words, and so, he and his whole household come to faith.  As in the two stories to which we compare this one, the nobleman's faith grows and includes his community.  In fact, Christ's healing from a distance, and not coming to his home, has the effect of more fully drawing out the nobleman's faith.  But we learn, also, the patristic understanding that both humility and persistence are keys to our own expansion and growth of faith.  The nobleman's incomplete faith becomes more full.  Moreover, there is symbolism in the seventh hour, as seven is the number meaning completeness.  Perhaps we can look at this story, including the checking of the time of healing, and find that what we learn is that Jesus is true to His word.  And this is, indeed, important above all, that we have a faithful and true Lord, as confirmed in the Revelation given to St. John, the author of our Gospel (see Revelation 3:14; 19:11; 21:5; 22:6).  If we are truly His followers, we also will be faithful and true to Him, as well.

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did"

 

Manuel Panselinos, St. Photini speaking with Christ at Jacob's Well, c. 1290-1310; Protaton Church, Karyes, Mt. Athos, Greece

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  

 

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  

 

In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  

 

"Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  

 

"And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."

 

And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." 

 

- John 4:27-42 

 

Yesterday we read that when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealing with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

 

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  My study Bible comments that they marveled not only because Jesus spoke with a Samaritan, but that He was speaking with a woman who was unaccompanied, and this could be potentially scandalous.  For more instances of Christ's dealings with women, see John 7:53-8:11; 11:20-33; 20:11-18; also Luke 8:1-3.

 

 The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  This Samaritan woman (known in the Church as St. Photini) becomes an early evangelist, my study Bible says; she testifies to the advent of Christ and brings others to Him (see also the final verse in today's reading).  According to an early tradition, my study Bible tells us, after the Resurrection she was baptized with the name Photini, meaning "the enlightened one."  (The root of this name, φῶς/phos, means "light."  She is "illumined" or "enlightened" through Christ. See also Matthew 5:14-16.)  Together with her two sons and five daughters, her story goes, she went to Carthage to spread the gospel.  She was later martyred with her family under the emperor Nero by being thrown into a well. 

 

In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."  Here is another example of the "misunderstandings" found in St. John's Gospel, in which Jesus uses such to elevate an understanding from an earthly to heavenly one.  Jesus fulfills His role as Messiah, my study Bible says, by doing the will of the Father; therefore this is His food.   My study Bible adds that this also teaches us we are to perform the will of God in our lives without being distracted by earthly cares (John 6:27; see also Matthew 4:4; 5:25-33).

 

 "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"  St. John Chrysostom has several homilies on this story of the Samaritan woman.  According to him, as cited by my study Bible, this command by Christ to look was given because the townspeople were approaching, ready and eager to believe in Jesus.  Christ compares these foreigners (relative to the Jews, that is) to fields which are ready for harvest.  (To this day there are surviving Samaritan communities who dress in all white traditional clothing to symbolize purity especially on holy days.)  My study Bible adds that this command is also to all believers to look to those around us and to share the gospel with anyone wanting to hear it, regardless of race or ethnicity.  

 

 "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  St. John Chrysostom teaches that those who sow and those who reap are the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles, respectively.  My study Bible explains that the prophets sowed in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, but did not see His coming and therefore did not reap.  The apostles did not do the preparation, but would draw thousands to Christ in their own lifetimes.

 

 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."  That these foreigners are among the first to recognize Jesus as the Savior of the world shows that the gospel is for all people in every nation, my study Bible tells us.

 

 This story means many things to us, and we can derive much wisdom and insights from it.  Among such insights is the point made by my study Bible, that these foreigners who accept Christ as the Savior of the world show that the gospel is for all people in every nation.  But the woman herself, St. Photini, is also a microcosm of that understanding.  She has so many seeming strikes against her.  She has had five husbands, and the man with whom she was currently living was not her husband (see yesterday's reading, above).  Now we do not necessarily know the full explanation for her circumstances.  It's possible that this history unfolded because of tragedies and loss in her life, including a prohibition from remarrying.  However, what is very clear from the text is how the heart of this woman is fully open to Christ.  She is a little bit like Nathanael in this reading from St. John's Gospel.  She is straightforward enough that she does not deny her whole history when Christ reveals that He knows it.  On the contrary, she goes and tells the rest of her townspeople it is so.  This is something remarked upon by St. John Chrysostom in his commentary on this passage, for it reveals her character; she is also humble before Christ, and continually seeks His truth.  She eagerly hears all that He has to say, and desires for herself the things He offers, without guile or pretense (again, see yesterday's reading, above, and the discussion of "living water").  As Jesus Christ is the Person who is the truth (John 14:6), so those who have a love for truth will respond to Him, just as St. John repeatedly tells us in His Gospel and Epistles.  Perhaps most clearly we read this in the words of Jesus to Nicodemus from our previous chapter.  Jesus taught, "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John 3:18-21; see this reading).  As Jesus is also the light of the world (John 8:12), we see that truth and light are intertwined in the concepts of Jesus Christ and in our understanding of this spiritual language.  Indeed, the name given to this saint, St. Photini, is a reflection of her deep desire for truth and her willingness to spread that light to others, just as we are taught by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.  But St. Photini bears out the truth we find in the Gospel, that one "who does the truth comes to the light."  We should note the word "does" in that phrase, signifying action.  This is not simply a description of assent to a belief, but one that describes how we live our lives, and live our faith.  Again, we don't know the reasons behind her history, but we do know full well that Christ has come to her alone, and -- even risking scandal -- has revealed Himself to her in as straightforward a manner as He has to His disciples.  He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord, the I AM, who speaks to her alone at this well outside of the town under the noonday sun.  He is the Knower-of-Hearts, and knows her and her life through and through.  He chose her to become one of His own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth

Ladder of Divine Ascent (St. John Climacus), 12th century.  St. Catherine's Monastery, Sinai Peninsula, Egypt

 

 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  

 

So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  

 

Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealing with Samaritans.  

 

Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." 

 

Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  

 

"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  

 

The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."

 

- John 4:1–26 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

  Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  Samaria was a region to the north of Jerusalem, between Judea and Galilee.  

 

 So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  According to my study Bible, the Old Testament does not mention Jacob's well, although Jacob dwelt in this area (Genesis 33:19).  It notes that wells were significant because of their rarity and value in desert life.  Because of this, wells came to symbolize life itself (Psalms 36:9-10, 46:4; Isaiah 55:1).  This particular well, we're told, is maintained as a shrine even today, and pilgrims can drink from it.  The text tells us that Jesus is wearied from His journey, which shows us His complete humanity.  Not surprisingly the sun is hot and high overhead, for it is the sixth hour, which is noon.   In Church tradition, this woman is known as St. Photini.  

 

 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealing with Samaritans. The Samaritans were a mixed race, and traditional enemies of the Jews, my study Bible tells us.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel, and they were also awaiting the Messiah, they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 BC. 

 

 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."   In the ordinary sense, the term living water applies to fresh, flowing water, from a stream or spring rather than a pond or cistern.  Jesus uses this term to indicate the grace of the Holy Spirit that leads to eternal life (John 7:37-39).  This gift not only remains in a person, my study Bible says, but it is so abundant that it overflows to others.  The Samaritan woman misunderstands Christ, and she asks, "Are You greater than our father Jacob?"  In the Scriptures, my study Bible explains, Jacob is a type of Christ, for it is Jacob who received the vision of the divine ladder (Genesis 28:12), which Christ fulfills.  Moreover, as Jacob gave this well for earthly, so Christ now gives the well of the Holy Spirit for eternal life.  

 

 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet."   Because Jesus knew that she was living with a man without being married, and as He also knew of her string of husbands, this woman perceives that He is a prophet.  As the Samaritans did not accept any prophets after Moses, my study Bible explains, the only prophet they expected was the Messiah foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).   Christ's insight into people's hearts is recorded many times in the Gospels, and this underscores His divine nature.  

 

"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  My study Bible comments that, if Jesus was truly the expected Prophet, then He is the One who could settle the historical argument about where worship was to take place.   However, He refuses to answer this earthly question, and instead elevates the discussion to the manner in which people ought to worship.  Moreover, He turns the attention to the One we worship:  God Himself.  The Father is worshiped in spirit -- that is, in the Holy Spirit, my study Bible says, and in truth -- that is in Christ Himself (John 14:6) and according to Christ's revelation.   That God is Spirit means that God cannot be confined to a particular location.  Jesus teaches that salvation is of the Jews:  My study Bible calls this an affirmation by Christ that true revelation comes from Judaism.  St. Athanasius the Great has written, "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."  Even more importantly, here Jesus testifies that the Messiah, who was prophesied among the Jews, has now risen from among the Jews.  My study Bible comments that while the gift of salvation in Christ is to all nations, it has come to us from within Judaism.  The hour is a reference to the death and Resurrection of Christ and to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, which inaugurates the worship of the new covenant.  

 

 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."  I who speak to you am He is literally translated "I AM (εγω ειμι/ego eimi), who speak to you."  I AM is the divine Name of God.  Its use here indicates a theophany, or revelation of God Himself, my study Bible says.  The use of this Name by a mere human being was considered blasphemy and punishable by death (see John 8:58; Mark 14:62). But, as Jesus Himself is divine, His use of this Name is a revelation of His unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit; truly, He is God Incarnate.

 

 Jesus reveals Himself to this woman at this place of mixed populations that the Jews don't acknowledge as their own, and apparently, neither does anyone else.  In fact for the Samaritans, their constant struggle is with the Jews over the location of the temple, and the correct understanding of their faith.  Jesus sets down a kind of precedent though, that works in a type of way that fulfills a type from the Old Testament.  Solomon's wisdom in deciding the oft-repeated case of the two women fighting over an infant, each claiming it as their own, is a kind of foreshadowing of Christ the Judge.  In the end, it was the woman who showed her compassion for the baby was the true mother, and Solomon's decision is lauded in the Scriptures as the "wisdom of God" (see 1 Kings 3:16-28).  In some sense, the Jews and Samaritans struggle over the place of the temple, but Jesus is the One who is Himself the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:30), whose character is marked by compassion.  And so, He offers the wisdom of God to this woman, in this crossroads of Jacob's well, for He is also the Ladder of which Jacob dreamed at this spot.  He tells her, "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  It's utterly remarkable to contemplate that Jesus' revelations to this woman take place in this seemingly isolated spot outside the town where only the two of them speak alone.  Why this woman?  Perhaps to truly deliver the message that God is not about a place, but about where one is capable of worship in spirit and truth, wherever and in whomever that teaching can be received and lived. Finally, Jesus even reveals Himself.  She has faith enough to say with confidence of the Messiah, that "when He comes, He will tell us all things."   Jesus reveals, ""I who speak to you am He."  Why here?  Why this woman?  He reveals He is the Ladder of Jacob (Israel) that links heaven and earth.   Perhaps because she seems to be the least likely person who would be given this revelation, it is given to her to teach us about the transcendent reality of faith and the heart that can be illumined, which, incidentally is the meaning of her name, St. Photini.  In tomorrow's reading, we'll see her response, and find out more about her and the mission that lies ahead in her life.  

 

 

 

 

He must increase, but I must decrease

 

St. John the Baptist in supplication to Christ, 1542, Euphrosinos the Cretan, from the Great Deisis, Holy Dionysiou Monastery, Mt. Athos, Greece

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  

 

Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

- John 3:22–36 

 

Yesterday we read about a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  It's important to understand that there is no competition here; Jesus is not Himself baptizing, but rather His disciples are doing so (see John 4:2).   

 

Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."  St. John the Baptist calls himself the friend of the bridegroom (the "best man," so to speak), while Christ Himself is the bridegroom.   The bride, my study Bible says, is the Church, the people of God.  Here the Baptist confesses his own role in the coming of the Messiah; he is witness to the wedding of Christ and His people, and therefore he rejoices in that celebration.  He reiterates that "I have been sent before Him."  In the Church, St. John the Baptist is also known as the Forerunner for this role he plays in salvation history.  

 

"He must increase, but I must decrease.  He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand."  Here St. John expresses a humility that serves as an example for all believers, my study Bible says.  He renounces all earthly glory and reputation for the sake of Christ.  As he allows Christ to increase in him, St. John himself finds true glory.  This statement, moreover, indicates the end of the old covenant.  As the law vanishes, my study Bible notes, the grace of Jesus Christ abounds.  In the liturgical calendar, this declaration by the Baptist is revealed.  His birth is celebrated at a time when the sun begins to decrease in the sky (June 24), while Christ's birth is celebrated when the sun begins to increase (December 25).

 

"The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."  Here the Baptist echoes the teaching of Jesus Himself (see verse 18, found in yesterday's reading, above).  My study Bible asks us to note the absence of the word "alone" in this statement of faith.  St. John Chrysostom is cited as commenting:  "We do not from this assert that faith alone is sufficient for salvation; the directions for living that are given in many places in the Gospels show this."  See also James 2:14-24. 

 

 St. John the Baptist's attitude toward Christ is another tremendous example that teaches us about identity.  Indeed, it is his entire disposition toward Christ that tells us who he is, gives him his identity and sense of purpose -- even of joy.  He says it himself in today's reading:  "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled."   His joy is fulfilled in knowing who he is, serving his purpose, serving God in the most full sense that he can.  For this is the way that identity works; in knowing who we are in relation to Christ, we find ourselves.  For the Orthodox, this is indeed what salvation truly is.  It is Christ's Incarnation as fully human and fully divine that makes it possible for us to "find ourselves" in this sense.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke to Nicodemus (and to us all) about Holy Baptism.  This new birth is the beginning of the understanding of real identity and salvation. My study Bible comments, "Salvation, then, is founded on a substantial union of the believer with Christ in His full humanity, a flesh-to-flesh relationship.  St. Paul likens it to the joining of husband and with (Ephesians 5:23-32).  It is in this sense, through this marriage, that St. John the Baptist finds his full joy, in knowing himself to be the "friend of the bridegroom."  He is our Forerunner whose role it was to announce the coming of the Christ, to direct his own disciples to Christ, and to say with the greatest humility, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  St. Paul confirms this process in himself when he writes, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).  St. John the Baptist teaches us today that "a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven," and also that "the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand."  Therefore out of that fullness, Christ the Son gives to us what belongs to us, even teaching us who we are so that we find ourselves in Him.  This is the purpose of the Incarnation, and it is salvation -- even our joy, as the Baptist says. 

 

 

 

 

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

 

Christ Pantocrator ("Almighty"), 6th century, St. Catherine's Monastery, Mt. Sinai, Egypt

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  

 

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  

 

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  

 

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  

 

"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  

 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

- John 3:1–21 

 

On Saturday we read that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. 

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  My study Bible notes here that Nicodemus believed Jesus was from God, but his faith was still weak, as he was afraid of his peers.  So, he came to Jesus by night.  However, after this conversation his faith will grow to the point of defending Jesus before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51), and in the end he will make the bold public expression of faith (together with another member of the ruling Council, St. Joseph of Arimathea) of preparing and entombing the Lord's body (John 19:39-42).  My study Bible also tells us that according to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by St. Peter and consequently removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to flee Jerusalem. 

 

 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  In the Greek of the Gospel, the word "again" in the expression born again can also mean "from above."  Both meanings are essential (as often happens in the Gospels), as it is a reference to the heavenly birth from God through faith in Christ (John 1:12-13).  My study Bible comments that this heavenly birth is baptism and our adoption by God as our Father (Galatians 4:4-7).  This new birth is only the beginning of our spiritual life, and its goal is the entrance into the kingdom of God.   In Nicodemus' response, we see that he misunderstands, and asks how a second physical birth is possible.  This is a frequent occurrence in St. John's Gospel, my study Bible points out, and Christ uses such opportunities in order to elevate an idea from a superficial or earthly meaning to a heavenly and eternal meaning (see John 2:19-21; 4:10-14, 30-34; 6:27; 7:37-39; 11:11-15).  

 

 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."   Jesus refers here to Christian baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit given at chrismation (born of water and the Spirit).  That which is born of the Spirit describes a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit; this is adoption as a child of God.  The wind blows where it wishes is a play on words in the Greek.  The word πνευμα/pneuma means both wind and Spirit.  My study Bible comments that the working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is as mysterious as the source and destination of the blowing wind.  In the same manner, the Spirit moves where He wills and He cannot be contained by human ideas or agendas. 

 

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"   My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who comments that earthly things refer to grace and baptism given to human beings.  These are earthly in the sense that they occur on earth and are given to creatures, not that they are "unspiritual."  But the heavenly things referred to here involve those ungraspable mysteries of the eternal generation of the Son from the Father; they relate to Christ's eternal existence before all time, and to God's divine plan of salvation for the world.  A person first must understand the ways in which God works among humankind before one can even begin to understand those things that pertain to God Himself. 

 

 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  My study Bible explains that Moses lifted up an image of a serpent in order to cure the Israelites from deadly bites of poisonous snakes (Numbers 21:4-9).  It says that this miracle-working image prefigured Christ being lifted up on the Cross.  As believers behold the crucified Christ in faith, the power of sin and death is overthrown in them.  It says that just as the image of a serpent was the weapon that destroyed the power of the serpents, so the instrument of Christ's death becomes the weapon that overthrows death itself. 

 

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  In this frequently quoted verse, we're shown the reason why the Son must be "lifted up"; that is, crucified.  Here Jesus declares God's great love which is not only for Israel but for the world.  This single verse, my study Bible says, expresses the whole of the message of St. John's Gospel, and even of salvation history. 

 

 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  My study Bible notes here that while Christ came to save and not to condemn, human beings have free will.  So, therefore, we can reject this gift, and to become condemned by our own rejection.  

 

If we take a look at a specific words in today's reading, we may explore ideas that give us hidden glimmers of meaning.   We perhaps attain another kind of insight from Jesus' words.  Jesus explains, "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  The root of the word translated as "condemned" is κρίνω/krino.  This word can mean condemned, but its more common meaning is to "judge."   It's the same word used in the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus teaches, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you" (Matthew 7:1-2).  So, perhaps one important meaning we can also take from Christ's words in today's reading is that the one who rejects Christ is in fact rejecting Christ's judgment (and guidance) in favor of his or her own instead.  This can work in so many ways; how often do we judge ourselves more harshly than the merciful Christ would?  Or perhaps the reverse is true, we excuse our own actions when in fact we should be finding and making the changes that Christ would ask of us.  In either case, it's the judgment of Christ that is rejected, and so a person is in fact judged by his or her own judgment, rejecting God.  It's an important aspect of meaning in this word to consider, for when we reject Christ's judgment, then whose in fact are we preferring?  And how does that judgment we make in so doing reflect upon us?  In fact, it is a rejection of the reality of existence, and of creation, for we create our own fantasy otherwise.  Whether too harsh or too comfortable, we miss the mark and we fail to come to Christ.  This is another sense in which we might "love darkness rather than light," for without Christ our understanding is darkened, partial, ignorant of the truth He would offer.  In all things, we are directed to Him.   Such a teaching is contained as well in the image of Christ being raised on the Cross, and its similarity to the bronze serpent on a stick raised by Moses in order to heal the Israelites from the poison of the serpents that bit their ankles.  So long as they kept their eyes on that raised sign, they were saved from the poison.  It is, in some sense, similar to the story of St. Peter walking on the water, requesting of Jesus that he be able to walk to Him.  So long as St. Peter stayed focused on Jesus, he was able to do so, but when he looked away at the wind, he became afraid and started to sink.  Jesus said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" See Matthew 14:22-33.  So our faith in Christ is a matter of focus and attention, but that includes following ("Follow Me"), acting in accordance with that faith.  This means for us that we seek Christ's judgment (for this is discernment) in all that we do; we seek His guidance.   In that oft-quoted verse from today's reading, Jesus teaches, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  But we don't often examine what it really means to believe, to have faith.  Both "belief" and "faith" in the Gospels are translated from the same word.  It more closely means to trust.  To believe, then, in this famous quotation of John 3:16, is not simply to agree with an idea, and nor is it an intellectual calculation.  It means to live in accordance with what Christ teaches, to follow Him, to live by His code and become part of His body, His family by adoption.  In the common understanding of the ancient world, to be a part of a nation, a group, an "ethnos" in the language of the Bible, was to follow a common code; it was not about heredity in the modern sense in which we understand DNA and lineage in this sense.  If we put all of these concepts together into one body of teaching, we come to understand a bigger picture of what belief actually is.  It is following Him. our full attention on Him at all times, His light and teachings and commands guiding us -- and moreover it means to put our trust in Him to the extent that we trust in His judgment before our own.  Perhaps Jesus Himself sets the greatest example to us all when He teaches, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me" (John 6:38).  For so we are to trust in Him.  So much so, that we live a new birth in the Spirit so we may be adopted as children and grow to be more like Him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up

Christ the Good Shepherd, 19th century, Russia

 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  

 

So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  

 

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. 

 

- John 2:13–25 

 

Yesterday, in the sixth day given in St. John's Gospel, we read that there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. 

 

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  My study Bible comments that in the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), this event, called the cleansing of the temple, occurs at the end of Christ's ministry, in the beginning of the final week of Christ's earthly life.  But here St. John places it at the beginning of Jesus' ministry.  There are some patristic teachers who maintain that Christ performed this act twice.  Those who sold oxen and sheep and doves were doing so in order to provide pilgrims with live animals for sacrifices.  The money changers would exchange Roman coins for Jewish coins, since Roman coins bore the image of Caesar, and were therefore considered to be defiling in the temple.  All of these were profiting from the people's need.  My study Bible says that Jesus' cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As every person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), it's also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.  "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up" is a quotation from Psalm 69:9.

 

 So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  My study Bible explains that because Jesus is not a Levitical priest, His authority to cleanse the temple is challenged.  It is very important to remember that in St. John's Gospel, the term Jews often refers specifically to the religious leaders.  (In fact, it can be translated "Judeans" as in the people from Jerusalem, in Judea.)  Here it is a reference to the chief priests and the elders (see Matthew 21:23).  As Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, my study Bible says, He answers in a hidden way:  the ultimate sign will be Christ's death and Resurrection.  

 

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.  In St. John's Gospel there are three Passover feasts reported between the Lord's Baptism by John the Baptist, and His Passion (see also John 6:4; 11:55), which shows us that Christ's earthly ministry lasted three years.   

 

 In our early readings from this Gospel, St. John the Baptist introduces Jesus Christ to St. John's own disciples.  First, as he sees Jesus walking toward him, he exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"  Then the following day, the Baptist makes the same exclamation while he stands with two of his disciples:  "Behold the Lamb of God!" (see John 1:29; 1:36).  In today's reading, we're given the first of three Passover festivals that this Gospel will cover.  Each time, Jesus attends during the course of His public ministry in the world, giving us (as my study Bible noted) three years of Jesus' earthly ministry.  So Passover plays a central and important role in this Gospel in a number of ways.  We first begin with the cleansing of the temple, and the exclamation of Jesus as He does so:   "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  His actions must have been so striking that the disciples aligned them with the words of the Psalm, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  His authority in the temple is questioned.  But behind the scenes we "watch," so to speak, in today's reading, is the reality once again of exactly who Christ is.  That reality is determined not so much by what people see (or think they see) but by the understanding of His disciples which in time will be conveyed by the Church.  The centrality of the Passover is important in this ministry of Christ, for those animals bought and sold in the temple, and the money exchanged, will sometime soon come to an end, even as Jesus physically halts and puts a stop to that trade Himself in the cleansing of the temple.  For the mind of the Church, and the mind of these disciples, will come to understand that Christ Himself is our Passover.  St. Paul will recognize this transition from the "old" temple to the new -- even as Jesus prophesies the destruction and Resurrection of the temple of His Body in today's reading.  St. Paul writes, "Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).   Thus Jesus' prophecy of Resurrection we find in today's reading is reflected in the tie between Passover and Christ's own sacrifice for us all as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  This is reflected in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom as the Communion is prepared.  The Priest declares, "The Lamb of God is broken and distributed; broken but not divided. He is forever eaten yet is never consumed, but He sanctifies those who partake of Him."  This is all tied to Passover, as the original Passover -- the liberation of Israel from Egyptian bondage to the gods who opposed the Lord of Israel (Exodus 12) -- is fulfilled in Christ, Liberator and Deliverer of all, making possible our redemption from the bondage of sin and death and the powers and principalities of which St. Paul speaks in Ephesians 6:12.  Christ Himself becomes the offering, the Paschal Lamb.  Another priestly prayer of the Divine Liturgy declares, "For You, Christ our God, are the Offerer and the Offered, the One who receives and is distributed."  St. John's Gospel sets this understanding out for us right from the beginning.  The Gospel sets the tone and the theme, so that we are all aware of where this is going, where Christ is headed, and why.  St. John makes it very clear that in the mind of the very early Church, all of this was present and understood, known to them all who were His first disciples.  In fact, in the Greek Church, there isn't a separate word for Easter; it is Pascha, the literal word for Passover.  Affirming this understanding, our Eucharist was instituted at the Passover meal by Christ.  Throughout St. John's Gospel, we will find this theme repeatedly expressed, just as it is in today's reading.  Let us pay attention, and understand.

 

 

Whatever He says to you, do it

 

Deesis mosaic ("Prayer") with Mary the Theotokos and St. John the Baptist in prayer before Christ on His right and left; Hagia Sophia cathedral, 13th century, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire

 

 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  

 

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  

 

This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. 

 

- John 2:1–12 

 

Yesterday our readings brought us the fourth day given in this beginning of Christ's public ministry.  After gathering His first disciples from St. John the Baptist, Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found Philip and said to him, "Follow Me."  Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote -- Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."  And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  Philip said to him, "Come and see."  Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!"  Nathanael said to Him, "How do You know me?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."  Nathanael answered and said to Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe?  You will see greater things than these."  And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

 

  On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  The third day indicates that this is the sixth day of Christ's public ministry given in St. John's Gospel.  In yesterday's reading, we were given the fourth day.  "The third day" counts the skipped middle day (the fifth) in the calculation, and so this is the sixth.  My study Bible notes that Jesus begins His ministry at Galilee, which had a large Gentile population; this is a sign of the spread of the gospel to all the world.  The setting here is significant, as in the Old Testament, marriage feasts symbolized the union of God and God's Bride, Israel. "The third day" also gives a resurrectional tone to this event, showing that the marriage of God and God's Church will be fulfilled in Christ's Resurrection.    My study Bible adds that by His presence at this wedding, Jesus further declares marriage to be holy and honorable (Hebrews 13:4).  Today's passage is read at Orthodox weddings, and the images given to us by St. John are incorporated into many prayers in the wedding service. 

 

Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.  And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, "They have no wine."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  My study Bible says that this is an example given to us of Mary's gift of intercession.  Even now, Mary the Theotokos ("God-bearer") continually speaks to her Son on our behalf, and she is our preeminent intercessor before His Throne.  This is declared in an Orthodox prayer:  "The intercessions of a mother have great effect to win the favor of the Master."  This we see in today's reading, as Jesus grants her request.  Additionally, my study Bible teaches, in this passage wine is symbolic of life, and so there are two levels of meaning to Mary's statement, "They have no wine."  First, a marriage is incomplete without the presence of Christ; and second, the old covenant was not able to bestow life even on the most faithful people.  In terms of Jesus' seeming protest to His mother, my study Bible notes that, contrary to certain modern usages, Woman is a sacred title in Scripture; it's an address which conveys deep respect and distinction (John 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:13; compare to Genesis 2:23).  Jesus statement, "What does your concern have to do with Me?" is more closely rendered, "What is that to me and to you?"  However, in the Greek of the Gospel this phrase Christ utters is identical to the widow Zarephath's question to Elijah after she has lost her son following her help to the prophet in the Septuagint version of 1 Kings 17:18 (in Greek, τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί) .  Jesus' answer, therefore, is not a refusal of Mary's intercession, but a warning to her and a reminder they must both be ready for what will follow once His signs begin.

 

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, "Fill the waterpots with water."  And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast."  And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior.  You have kept the good wine until now!"  My study Bible tells us that waterpots were made of stone because, in accordance with rabbinical teaching, stone would not contract ritual impurity.  That there are six (one less than the perfect seven), it says, is an indication that the Law, illustrated by water being reserved for Jewish purification, was incomplete, imperfect, and unable to bestow life.  This water changed into wine therefore symbolizes the old covenant being fulfilled in the new, which is capable of bestowing life.  The overabundant gallons of wine are an image of the overflowing grace Christ grants to all.  In patristic commentary, this transformation of water to wine is seen as prefiguring the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. 

 

 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him.  After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.  Christ's glory is the expression of His divine power and His compassion for human beings.  Thus the signs He performs point to His identity and manifest His glory.  On this seventh day given in St. John's Gospel, Jesus rests, together with His mother, His brothers, and His disciples, in a parallel to the seventh day given in Genesis 2:1-3.

 

 In today's reading, we get a glimpse of what we know as intercession, and in particular the intercessory capacity of the mother of Jesus, Mary the Theotokos.  For the Orthodox and others, such as Roman Catholics, Mary is the supreme saint who may intercede and pray for us.  We ask her to pray for us, just as we might ask one another to pray for ourselves or others for whom we have concern.  St. Paul speaks about the communion of saints when he references the "great cloud of witnesses" with which we're surrounded (Hebrews 12:1).  That is, all those who are alive in Christ, the living body of the faithful, which extends beyond time and beyond this world as we know it, including the angels, with whom we pray and worship at each liturgy.  This is the faith and understanding of ancient tradition and the earliest Church.  But Mary, the mother of Jesus, plays a stronger role for us than simply "intercessor" in today's reading.  For perhaps it is rare that we get a glimpse of her in terms of this role that so mirrors the experience of millions, if not billions, of faithful who pray with her and seek her prayers for them in return.  (See the image above, the mosaic titled Deesis, in which she prays for all.  Magnify to see her tender expression.)  In today's reading, we are given her compassion, her concern for others, because at this wedding they have run out of wine.  Let us consider the stakes of what is to come:  she has been warned from Christ's infancy that pain will come to her in her life in her very special role as the mother of Jesus.  This was given to her in a form of prophecy when Jesus was forty days old, and they came to the temple for her purification and Christ's presentation in accordance with the Law (see Luke 2:25-35, especially the prophecy given to Mary by Simeon in verse 35).  And it is in this context only that Christ's words to her make sense, as they come directly from the Old Testament:  τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί, spoken by the widow Zarephath at the death of her son (1 Kings 17:17-24; verse 18 in particular).  These glimpses of Mary given in St. John's Gospel are interesting in particular because we know that from the Cross, Jesus gave the care of His mother over to St. John, the beloved disciple (John 13:23; 19:25-27).  So the expression of Mary's character, her intercession and her compassion, tell us a lot about her own identity and role in the salvation plan of the Church, including for you and I, for whom she still serves as a great intercessor and remains "most blessed among women" (Luke 1:28, 42).  Let us not forget she is the one chosen to give her humanity to the Christ, and that her character and that of St. Joseph no doubt played a role in the shaping of His human understanding.  She made every sacrifice for her Son, and here He is asking her if she is really ready to initiate what is to come through her prayer to Him for the needed wine at this wedding, even the words of a widow lamenting her son.  Her answer is clear when she tells the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."  So we should take these words of his mother, Mary, and apply them to ourselves also, for we need to follow if we are to be good servants in turn.  Like so many have discovered, she always leads the way to her Son, as can be seen in every icon of the Theotokos.