I do not know the Man!

 

 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"  And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"  Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly. 

 

- Matthew 26:69–75 

 

Yesterday we read that those who had laid hold of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.  But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard.  And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.  Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.  But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"  And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God:  Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you said.  Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!  What do you think?"  They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."  Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?"

 

 Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard.  And a servant girl came to him, saying, "You also were with Jesus of Galilee."  But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are saying."  My study Bible comments here that a girl being the first to test Peter is an icon of the temptation of Adam by Eve (Genesis 3:6).  It notes that our fallen state is overcome in Christ when we shall see that it is women who are the first to hear, believe, and proclaim the Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10).  

 

And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, "This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth."  But again he denied with an oath, "I do not know the Man!"   And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, "Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you."  That his speech betrays him is said by this second girl because St. Peter speaks in the dialect or accent of the Galilean region, where both he and Jesus are from.  Jerusalem is in Judea.

 

Then he began to curse and swear, saying, "I do not know the Man!"  Immediately a rooster crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  So he went out and wept bitterly.  In St. Luke's Gospel, we're given the detail that, following the rooster's crow, Jesus -- who is inside on trial at the home of the high priest, while St. Peter is in the courtyard -- gazes at St. Peter outside (Luke 22:60-62).  According to that account, Peter is so overcome with fear that neither Jesus' earlier prediction (Matthew 26:31-35), nor even the rooster crowing, call him to repentance, but only the Lord's gaze causes him to weep bitterly.  St. Ambrose of Milan is cited by my study Bible, who writes that nonetheless, "through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud."

 

 St. Peter betrays himself, even as he denies Christ three times, as Jesus Himself predicted (see Matthew 26:31-35).  This is most humiliating for St. Peter, as it happens despite the fact that at that time, he claimed to Jesus -- and before all the rest of the disciples -- "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  It was after this statement that Jesus told him that, indeed, before the rooster crowed that morning, St. Peter would deny Jesus three times.  But St. Peter only replied, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  Therefore St. Peter's bitter tears cry out his humiliation and failure, the bitter understanding that he has failed himself, his Lord, and his own claim of bold allegiance before all.  There's more to this story that merits our understanding.  In proclaiming his allegiance to Jesus, he contradicted Jesus Himself when he was told that he would deny Christ three times.  It is a bold thing indeed, to deny a prophecy of Christ -- particularly about oneself!  Bold and foolish, for no one knows us like Christ knows us.  Oftentimes we are the ones who know ourselves very little; like St. Peter, our own image of ourselves hides a blindness to our weaknesses and temptations.  It is certain that St. Peter fully believed what he was saying to Christ and in front of the other disciples; most truly he believed that his courage would not fail him, nor would he be unable to muster that boldness to confess Christ even if all others failed.  And yet, we see his weakness before a servant girl and the others.  St. Peter's denial perhaps tells us something important about his character that is repeated in a few other places:  he's susceptible to the pressure of the group, his people.  When loyalties are tested, that is his temptation.  He shows this as a part of his character that will be criticized by St. Paul, when he temporarily stopped eating with Gentile Christians out of fear of the criticism of Jewish believers who did not wish to sit with those who were uncircumcised (see Galatians 2:11-13).  According to St. Paul, others were led astray into hypocrisy through this, even St. Barnabas as well.  As all of these details are included in Scripture, they all serve as mirror and warning to us all not to take temptation lightly, and to have the humility to know ourselves.  Of course, perhaps the best place to find the places we're vulnerable is through the practice of our faith in all ways possible, and through prayer.  Jesus teaches, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 18:3), and this lesson St. Peter fails when he does not heed Jesus warning about his three-time denial.  It is as little children -- plastic and malleable, receptive to learn -- that we are to come to Christ and learn from Him as disciples, and to grow in His image.  Part of that growth toward deeper faith and fuller union with Christ is to become aware of our weaknesses and vulnerabilities so that we guard against them -- and most certainly becoming like a little child in this sense is to learn the attitude of humility before the Lord.  In that sense, we trust that God knows us better than we know ourselves, and though we are led on paths that might not be comfortable, we are led to growth and to spiritual maturity through this process.  St. Peter is learning the hard way here, and with bitterness, but this is a story that easily applies to us all at one time or another -- and thus we find it in the Gospels.  It teaches us about our faith that St. Peter himself, one of the pillars of the Church and "first among equals" of the apostles, failed and grappled with his own imperfection.  But we should be grateful that his bitter tears are memorized in the Gospels for us, so that when we fail, we learn from him, for his love and repentance will send him back to the Lord, as St. John tells us in a most poignant passage of his Gospel (see John 21:15-22). For St. Peter, who endured even a terrible rebuke from Jesus, also has a capacity for humility which serves him well indeed!  In the fullness of Christ's love, we have nothing to fear.  May we all find such grace.

 

 

 

 

What further need do we have of witnesses?

 

 And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.  But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard.  And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.  Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.  But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"  And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God:  Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you said.  Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!  What do you think?"  They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."  Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?"

 

- Matthew 26:57-68 

 

Yesterday we read that while Jesus was still speaking to His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"  In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

 

  And those who had laid hold of Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.  But Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest's courtyard.  And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end.  Now the chief priests, the elders, and all the council sought false testimony against Jesus to put Him to death, but found none.  Even though many false witnesses came forward, they found none.  But at last two false witnesses came forward and said, "This fellow said, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days.'"  My study Bible explains that the people who testify against Jesus misunderstand His words which are reported in St. John's Gospel.  Speaking of the temple of His body, He said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (see John 2:19-21).  My study Bible comments that some Jews believed the temple would be destroyed and a new one built by the Messiah.  

 

 And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing?  What is it these men testify against You?"  But Jesus kept silent.  And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God:  Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  Jesus said to him, "It is as you said.  Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."  Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, "He has spoken blasphemy!  What further need do we have of witnesses?  Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!  What do you think?"  They answered and said, "He is deserving of death."  Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ!  Who is the one who struck You?"  Jesus quotes from Psalm 110 and Daniel 7:13, my study Bible explains, confessing that He is the Messiah -- both fully Man and fully God, for only One who was divine could sit at the right hand of the Power, sharing authority with the Father.  It's clear that Jesus' statement was understood by the high priest to be a claim of equality with God the Father.  For a mere human being to claim this was punishable by death, my study Bible says (see Leviticus 24:16), but Jesus is not mere human being, and so His declaration of equality is not blasphemy.  

 

 It is interesting that Jesus tells the truth -- the plain and absolute truth -- and for that He is most penalized, and sentenced to death.  This is a court filled with false witnesses, those who lie.  But this one most innocent Witness Himself is condemned as He tells the open truth about Himself.  In that case, we must accept that it is the court which is therefore condemned here.  In this night trial (already a violation of the law), Jesus is condemned for blasphemy for stating the truth about Himself.  The others answer the high priest and claim about Jesus, "He is deserving of death."  But it should be understood that under the Roman occupation, the Sanhedrin could not carry out a capital punishment execution.  Therefore, among the other humiliations He will endure, Jesus is now subject to spitting, beating, and mocking the claim He's made by demanding "prophecies," asking, "Who struck You?"  The ultimate humiliation, of course, will come on the Cross, but that is something that will have to be done by the Romans, and we will witness Christ's trial before Pilate.  There also, Truth will be on trial, as we may read in St. John's Gospel (see John 18:37-38).  But here, we learn something very important about the Incarnation, and that is the power of the divine entering into our world, and its effects.  Jesus is the Person who is the truth (John 14:6).  Ultimately, in our understanding, what is real and true is measured against Him and His teachings . What is more powerful to consider is the fullness of the effects of the union of the human and the divine in the Incarnation, in Jesus Christ.  As these men put Him on trial, they feel they are the ultimate authority, and so they may be within the context of the society and its religious laws.  But because of who He is, they fail to understand that the ultimate authority in Him puts them on trial.  They will be accountable for what they do, and the blasphemy with which they charge Him is a charge that now may be levied upon them.  For in denying the reality of Christ, they deny the reality of God's presence, even the work of the Holy Spirit in their midst.  Ultimately this is where the Cross will lead, for all the forces -- both spiritual and human -- seeking to crucify Jesus will effectively be judged through the Cross, thus leading to our salvation and the defeat of the devil and death.  We Christians use the Cross as our symbol for precisely this reason, for it is the ultimate symbol of victory in the defeat of evil and death in our world.  Even at His Crucifixion, Jesus will hold out forgiveness for all, but we must remember that forgiveness is received and realized through repentance, and that's a journey we each must make.  Let us consider how truth is on trial, and the one Person telling the truth is condemned here, for it shows us a picture of evil, in which the world and logic and reality are upside down, for we all may go through times such as these where the innocent are condemned.  Let us stand with His truth in all that we do as well, despite the suffering -- with Him always -- that may come.

 

 

 

 

 

Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him

 

 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"  In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

 

- Matthew 26:47-56 

 

Yesterday we read that, following the Last Supper with His disciples, Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

 And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.  Now His betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him."  Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  But Jesus said to him, "Friend, why have you come?"  Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and took Him.  It seems quite important to note that Jesus is still making an effort to save Judas, as He greets him as "friend."  St. Matthew's text refers to Judas as His betrayer, giving us again a sense of how deep this betrayal truly is from one who was His disciple for three years, living with Him and sharing all things in common with the others.

 

 And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  But Jesus said to him, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?  How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?"  In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me.  But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.  Jesus rebukes St. Peter here (we know it is St. Peter as he is identified in John 18:10) for using the sword, for St. Peter still does not understand that Christ is going to His death willingly, so that salvation for humankind might be fulfilled.  A legion is 6,000 soldiers, my study Bible reports, so twelve legions is equal to 72,000 angels.  That Christ's death was foretold in the Scriptures served to strengthen the disciples at this hour of their greatest test.  

With one word of clear direction, Jesus sets out with clarity our whole understanding of this terrible betrayal and seizure of the one innocent and sinless Man.  He asks those who show up in the middle of the night to seize Him, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me."  Then He adds the words of clear direction for all of us, so that we understand why this is happening and what it is all about, and so that we have the lens through which to view it.  He says, "But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."  The disciples will take these words and remember.  They will remember His several warnings of this time before it happened.  They will remember that He goes voluntarily.  They will remember that all that happens in Christ's ministry occurs in fulfillment of the Scriptures.  They will understand that no matter how difficult things become, how devastating these actions are, and no matter what they will witness and experience, there is a plan unfolding, a sense in which God's salvation works even through the evils they will see.  And so Jesus gives clear direction, even as He is being seized and betrayed, in the midst of injustice, even as He protests that He was with those who seize Him daily in the temple openly teaching, and they did not seize Him then.  He lays out all of it. And with His words that these events happen in fulfillment of the Scriptures we are meant to understand several things.  First, that the Scriptures of the prophets do not "make" things happen, but are written because these events are foreseen in the Spirit, where time does not exist as we understand it.  Moreover, Jesus as Christ, the Messiah, comes in fulfillment of the Scriptures in terms of His whole mission as Incarnate Lord, again as foreseen (not made to happen) by God's prophets.  We can see this indicated not simply in Jesus' words here today, but throughout the Gospels and the Epistles, as various Scripture is quoted in support of that understanding.  Jesus is, in fact, the Incarnate Lord of the Old Testament, which He clearly indicates when He says to the religious leaders, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad," and, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:56, 58).  Jesus' repeated predictions to the disciples of what was to come in His Passion (with considerable detail), the prophecies fulfilled through Scripture, and His teachings and sayings throughout His ministry, all confirm that regardless of what they think or see, there is one Lord in charge, there is a salvation plan being fulfilled, there is a mission of Christ in this world working out as it must -- even using the evil that comes -- and moreover, all of this foreshadows and defines their own mission to come in the world, and is the foundation of the establishment of the Church.  At the Last Supper, Jesus taught the disciples, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered' " (see Saturday's reading; Jesus quotes from Zechariah 13:7).  All of this structures a way in which we are to see that not only is there an ultimate Authority, and a salvation plan that is in place, but moreover, even the evil that occurs will somehow be used by God in a way that benefits a universal salvation.  Thus St. Paul can write, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  None of these understandings take away from people's responsibility for their choices, as Jesus most starkly explains when He prophesies His betrayal by one of the disciples, "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born" (see Friday's reading).  In a certain sense, moreover, this is affirmed when Jesus tells St. Peter, "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword," for He's indicating that through manipulation and force we cannot necessarily control the outcome we desire; moreover we determine our own way of demise.  All of this should give us pause when we go through our own tragic betrayals, difficulties, even undergo evil things in this world that we know are wrong.  For Christ has indicated in His Passion that even the worst of things can be used by God for ultimate salvation, and so we should consider that God can create good even in our lives from the worst of wrongs and hardships.  Let us take heart in the true depth of our faith, and seek Christ's light even in the darkest of times we might face and know.

 

 

 

 

O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will

 

 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  

 

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

- Matthew 26:36–46 

 

Saturday's reading described events at the Last Supper, the Passover supper of Jesus and the disciples. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And so said all the disciples.

 

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  My study Bible says that when Jesus speaks of this cup He's referring to His impending death.  As a human being, He wishes He could avoid it, for it is the mark of humanity to abhor death.  Jesus prays if it is possible that this cup be taken from Him, and thereby gives us full proof of His human nature.  Nonetheless, my study Bible says, He is without sin and He completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's divine will.  

 

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."  My study asks us to note Christ's words and their importance: "watch and pray."   It says that this is the key to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptation.  By this, Christ's human soul is strengthened, and He faces death with divine courage.  In contrast to the Lord's vigilance, the disciples sleep.  My study Bible explains that, since body and soul are united, the spirit is paralyzed by a lethargic body.  But a willing spirit, which recognizes the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power.  

 

 Jesus knows where He is going, He knows why He is going, in His divinity He will complete the mission of the Incarnation.  But nevertheless in the fullness of His humanity He asks that the cup pass from Him if it be possible.  For those of us who have struggled with our own temptations against the courage required in personal spiritual choices, Jesus gives us all hope.  For our Lord knows where we go, and how hard we struggle, even -- or maybe especially -- against things we know must happen, or we must find the courage to take on.  My study Bible says that "a willing spirit, which recognizes the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power."  Personally, having struggled in difficult times, I have found this to be true on many levels and in various circumstances.  The times I didn't think I had the wherewithal to face a difficult choice, or to undertake a difficult task, I found that in prayer there was renewed energy to do so, even creativity to find better solutions than I had understood were available to me.  Many times when in Church during the Divine Liturgy, it is there that I have found the ease in my mind and heart that allowed me to pray for God's forgiveness of others who had hurt me very deeply.  Otherwise, this was indeed very difficult.  But Jesus gives us courage in showing us that even He struggled with what He had to do.  Our example is not one that is without struggle, of some sort of "perfection" in stoic virtue, but rather One who grapples with the deepest, strongest, most difficult temptations and pains of life. This is the Christ who is with us always, in all the things that we have to do.  We should try to understand that in prayer, and in seeking guidance that leads us through our lives, if we like Christ seek to follow the things He wants for us and the ways in which He wishes us to conduct our lives, then the power of such a prayer is already accompanied by Christ, by His grace.  These are the times to consider and to seek discernment about what path we're on, whether or not we're pleasing God or seeking to find God's will, even before our own.  For the One who has already struggled is there with us, has gone there before us, and would not assign us to something or somewhere He has not already gone before for us.  Such a thought should prepare us for life and emphasize that as adopted children, we are part of a heritage that guides our steps and gives us purpose, even as we seek His way through our world.  In life there will always be things that are difficult, but the One who leads us finds us meaning and value and substance, leading us to share in His virtues, even as He voluntarily shares in our struggles and difficulties and pain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins

 

 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

'I will strike the Shepherd,

And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

"But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."   

 

Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And so said all the disciples.

 

- Matthew 26:26-35 

 

Yesterday we read that on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?"  And He said, "Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, 'The Teacher says, "My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples."'"  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.  When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.  Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful, and each of them began to say to Him, "Lord, is it I?"  He answered and said, "He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."  Then Judas, who was betraying Him, answered and said, "Rabbi, is it I?"  He said to him, "You have said it." 

 

  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."  Here Jesus institutes the Eucharist, the long-awaited messianic banquet, to which (my study Bible notes) He admits even Judas (compare to Esther 7).  He is seeking by all means to save him.  Because of his wicked heart, my study Bible adds, Judas' participation leads to his condemnation (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).  In the Divine Liturgy, Christ's words are repeated, inviting the faithful to receive His body and blood.  In Holy Communion, my study Bible says, we are truly united to Christ.  It notes that Jesus gave thanks (in Greek, the root meaning to give thanks is ευχαριστω/eucharisto, from which we derive "eucharist") to teach us the following things.  First, how we are to celebrate this sacrament; second, that He comes willingly to His Passion; and finally to accept sufferings with thankfulness, knowing that God can use sufferings for ultimate good. Additionally, it's noted that the Old Covenant was sealed with the blood of bulls and goats.  The New is sealed by the gift of Jesus Christ, who shed His own blood to conquer sin and death and reconcile us with God.  Christ calls it the blood of the new covenant, which is God's promise and the fulfillment of the Law.  "New" indicates that this covenant brings immortality and incorruptible life; so therefore this covenant will always have the quality of newness (see also Revelation 21:5 in which making all things new indicates a continuous action).  

 

"But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."  According to patristic teaching, my study Bible says, Jesus also drinks the cup of His own blood.  He does this to lead all believers into participation in His heavenly mysteries.  It says that in My Father's kingdom relates to the time after Christ's Resurrection, when He will eat and drink to show the reality of His victory over death (Luke 24:41-43).  Moreover, it points to the eternal banquet of the Kingdom in the age to come. 

 

Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Jesus quotes from the prophesy of Zachariah (see Zachariah 13:7), indicating not only one other aspect in which His Passion fulfills Scripture, but also what will happen to them upon His death.    

 

 Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And so said all the disciples.  St. Peter vehemently denies that he will be made to stumble, even on pain of death, contrary to Jesus' assertion above.  During the time of Christ's trial in the house of the high priest, we shall read of the events concerning St. Peter and Jesus' prophesy of denial three times.  Let us make a note that all the others say the same, despite Jesus' prophesy they will all be made to stumble.

 

In today's reading, we get the juxtaposition of the greatest glory and the deepest signs of evil, side-by-side, so to speak.  We are given the exaltation of the institution of the Eucharist, in which Jesus shares His body and blood, and all that might mean, with all of us.  Origen comments on these verses in St. Matthew's Gospel, "You should not marvel that He who is himself the bread also eats the bread with us or that He who is himself the cup of the fruit of the vine also drinks it with us. This is possible because the Word of God is omnipotent and is at once the bearer of many different names, for the multitude of His virtues are innumerable, since he is Himself every virtue" (Commentary on Matthew 86).  When we "dumb down" the Eucharist, and fail to understand the depth of its gift to us, we overlook these things that Origen teaches us, that the very body and blood of Christ convey to us His divinity as well as humanity, and make it possible for us also to access those innumerable virtues of which Origen speaks.  At the same time that this inestimable gift is given to us and instituted in the Church through this sacrament, so we bear witness with the Gospel to the time of the greatest imaginable evil, the betrayal of Christ and the scattering and stumbling of all of His disciples, as He has said.  It teaches us something essential and important about our world, that we are neither living in a paradise which is untainted with sin, nor are we living in a world which is wholly evil.  We in the midst of a battleground, as Jesus has witnessed for us in His own time in the wilderness that immediate preceded His ministry (Matthew 4:1-11).  We humans remain in the midst of that battleground where it is hard to tell one side from the other at times, where our world might be confused and chaotic, and there will be times when nothing is as it seems to be on the surface.  But Jesus calls us to that battleground and to that struggle, for it is in Him that we find the way, the truth, and the life, and the light that lights the way.  God expects us to struggle, not to be perfect in some material sense, but to come to the Lord with repentance and forgiveness, and also in the capacity for the tremendous arrays of virtues possible with God's grace.  Let us choose Him, even when we fail, or the world doesn't seem to offer us options for the goodness He allows.  For even through our Shepherd was stricken, He remains with us and in us.  The disciples, with one exception, will find their way back to Him even after stumbling, and so always should we, for He loved us first and desires our love in return.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rabbi, is it I?

 

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

 

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

 

- Matthew 26:17-25 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

- Matthew 26:1–16 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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