Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' "

- Matthew 13:24-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued speaking to those who wished to test Him. He spoke about the importance of choice, specifically in terms of how we accept or reject the work of the Spirit. This is following the readings in which He condemned the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, and in which He compared the Gentiles who accepted the work of the Spirit in Jewish Scriptural history to the scribes and Pharisees who seek to test Him. Yesterday, He continued, teaching about the importance of choice. When an unclean spirit leaves a person, He said, "he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation." Later on, as He spoke to the multitudes, He was told that His mother and brothers were waiting outside to speak to Him. He said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." In today's reading, we skip forward in the Gospel. It is after Jesus has introduced His technique of teaching in parables in His ministry. The readings that come just before this one in the context of Matthew's Gospel are: The Parable of the Sower and Therefore hear the parable of the Sower.

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared." Over the course of the past few readings, Jesus has been speaking about our response to the Holy Spirit in the world. Specifically, He spoke to the scribes and Pharisees who failed to perceive the work of the Spirit in His ministry and healings (they had accused Him of casting out demons by the power of demons). If we take today's parable in the context of the readings we have just been through since Sunday (Pentecost), we see the tares as those who cannot accept the Spirit in their hearts. Jesus has just told the parable of the Sower; here the man plants good seed but at night, "while men sleep," the enemy sows bad seed - the tares or weeds that grow among the wheat. These are wild plants, that resemble wheat, but do not yield the fruit for bread. Perhaps we can read the "counterfeit" wheat that doesn't yield fruit as that which has not the substance that makes for our "daily bread."

"So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' " We are in a cosmic picture of the world, our world, the one in which good and evil are side by side. How does this happen? How do we see our way between the counterfeit and the real?

"The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn." ' " In a later reading, a couple of days from now, Christ Himself will explain His parable. But for now, let us ask ourselves questions. Christ is speaking to the public in parables; parables are so that "those who have ears may hear" -- and those incapable of receiving will not. How are the wheat and tares separated? What will happen at harvest? When is the harvest? How do the two live side by side?

My study bible has an interesting note on this parable: "The parable of the wheat and tares builds on the previous parable of the sower. Here Christ the Sower gives attention to the work of the enemy, the devil, who comes to sow his own seed after the fruits have multiplied. Falsehood comes in after truth, after the prophets come false prophets; after Christ will come the Antichrist. The devil fashions falsehood and heresy to resemble the true Faith: the weeds look somewhat like the wheat. The evil one also comes while everybody is asleep. While the devices of the evil one do not extend into heaven, in this age he intermingles the counterfeit with the Kingdom. This parable explains why the Church does not expel her nominal members. To weed out the tares is to disrupt the wheat." While the note in my study bible speaks of heresy and doctrine, we can apply this to the least minutiae, all the choices we have to make, in our lives. What are our choices? How do we accept or reject the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the world? Especially in a time of brokenness, when we are witness to the things that don't create good but evil in the world, and great pain and suffering, that is the time when we accept or reject: when what is in our hearts truly makes the difference between turning and being healed or not. This is the point at which we consider the great questions posed to us in this little parable. Why is there evil? Why does evil grow side by side with good in our world, in this "age" in which we live? Note that in the context of the Gospels, good and evil can be side by side indeed, amongst nominal community, amongst family, or even among the first apostles chosen by Jesus. While we await the Judgment at the end of the age, what is our witness now? Where is truth? What is our testimony? Remember, it all depends on whether or not we have ears to hear, our response to the grace that calls to us and is there for us, awaiting the choice in our hearts. In the context of the parable, we understand it to be confusing, something that calls us in to fathom, to take seriously - even in the depths of the heart. How do you go forward in the world of wheat and tares?

Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You." But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

- Matthew 12:43-50

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was speaking to those who have accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. He said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Then some scribes and Pharisees demanded of Him a sign -- when so many have already been seen. He then pointed out the men of Ninevah who listened to the prophet Jonah, and the queen of the South who listened to Solomon. At the Judgment, they will condemn the ones who now blaspheme the work of the Spirit in Christ's ministry: for indeed, "a greater than Jonah" and "a greater than Solomon is here."

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation." My study bible has a note here, which is interesting to think about: "When, by the mercy of God, the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and unclean spirits again took up residence in them. The same happens here. Unless their is full-hearted repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, the expelled demon will return with many others and reoccupy its abode." Christ's term "dry places" seems to indicate those places where there is no "home" for such an unclean spirit, no place it can take up an abode. But the overall message here, taken in context, relates to a stony heart, one that does not allow in spiritual transformation and energy, the enlightenment the Spirit seeks to bring. Hardness of heart, then, only assures us that as each step in the way allows us an opportunity to repent, there is an important choice to be made. The importance of the choice is what is highlighted here, it seems to me. Denial of grace, no matter what the issue concerned, will result in a more hardened heart, a worse spiritual state than before, ground that is good only for that which is "unclean," harmful, not conducive to true gifts of the Spirit but rather to that which works against it. An opportunity for grace in one's life, then, becomes a truly pivotal turning point, a crisis of great importance. Refusal to change, to reconsider, to let in a little love in the Way of God, becomes a pivotal choice -- one that may only lead to a worse state than before when the choice is made for refusal, a stony heart, one that refuses to reconsider at all. Christ is likening such a situation to those who now stand before Him demanding a sign so that they will believe. This is only a way to refuse to open one's heart, a demand for proof as another way to condemn and criticize.

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You." But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." My study bible says, "Jesus' relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission. He points to a spiritual family based on obedience to 'the will of My Father.' In Jewish usage, 'brother' may also signify a stepbrother or other relative." This isn't really a putdown of family relations, but a statement of the importance of our reliance on God's will, the perception of the work of the Spirit in the world. It is such a central pillar to our lives that family relationships come second; the more important relationships come through a perception of the work of God or the kingdom in the world; or more specifically, the will of "My Father in heaven." It's related to the paragraph above in the sense of its stressing of the importance of seeking this will. A stony, hardened heart can't do this: at each offering of grace or mercy, each prompting of the Spirit, turning away can result in a worse state than before, refusal of grace making room for a worse condition. Here, the emphasis turns positive: those who do welcome this will in their hearts, who seek it and seek to do the will of "My Father in heaven" are indeed His family, His mother and brother and sister.

Throughout the recent readings there has been a thread, centered on the work of the Spirit in the world. We began with Monday's reading, in which Jesus said: "I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." In today's reading, He gives us two opposite conditions: the one in which the will of the Father, in the grace of the Spirit, is refused -- leading to a worse spiritual condition than before. And in the other, the condition in which those who seek to know and do the will of His Father in heaven are His mother and brother and sister, true family in true, deep relationship. So we have a spiritual dichotomy, in which the choice to find this grace, to seek to know and do the will of the Father in heaven, becomes a place of testing and of judgment, even in the age to come. Everything seems to fall on how we come down to the spiritual choices we are asked to make within ourselves and in our lives, what we seek, what we love, what we cherish. So, taken into context with all the readings, we find the importance of the power of what is in the heart, what we trust and what we treasure. Our choices are more important than we think. They can't be underestimated. The refusal of grace results not merely in a continued poor state of spiritual health, but rather a much worse one, more vulnerable to the bad effects in a fallen world in which evil is present. What will it be? Christ says here our refusal to find and do that will results in a seven-times-worse state than before. That is quite a dire warning indeed. So, who are His mother and brother and sister? He invites us all to this family. What will your choices be today? Prayer comes to the Father in heaven in the secret place. What will your prayer of the heart be today?

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

- Matthew 12:33-42

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus casting out a demon from a man who was blind and mute. The people marveled, so that they were asking, "Could this be the Son of David?" Some Pharisees accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, "the ruler of the demons." Jesus replied, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?" For understanding today's reading, it's worth quoting Him fully: "And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things." Here is the essence of a repeated teaching. In Matthew's Gospel, we are given repeated teaching on the essence of the inner life, the power of the individual choice and what we love in the heart. A "brood of vipers" would be a figurative allusion to children of what is evil, of the demonic. It's important to understand that Jesus is speaking directly to those who are accusing Him of evil deeds by demonic power. It is they who are not bearing good fruit. They are speaking evil. In the words that follow, there can be no clearer indication of the importance of "guarding the heart," taking care what we set our hearts upon and what we love, what we hold dear and what we cast off within ourselves. In the teachings in the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us so; in this reading, the ones who are accusing Him of working through demonic power and evil are the ones who fail to heed such counsel.

"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." When we take this teaching in its context, in conjunction with the words Jesus has said about what is in the heart and what is the treasure of the heart, then we understand Him better. What is spoken even as idle word is an indication of what is within the heart. Whatever we treasure in our hearts, good or bad, is that which comes out of our mouths -- especially in an "idle" time. Therefore we take what we love seriously, we take it to heart to think about what we love and what we treasure, to make good choices. Nothing is truly "idle" - we are to be aware of who we are, what we are, what we love and nurture within ourselves. Remember, this is in the context of those who have condemned Jesus' healing of the demon-possessed blind and mute man; Jesus has been accused of doing so through evil power. It is those words coming out of their mouths which He is addressing here. He has just condemned the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit: that is, calling the works of the Spirit evil. Therefore our own inner awareness of what we treasure is linked to our ability to discern spiritual truth, what is good, what is truly the Spirit at work in the world, the kingdom among us.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." This becomes the next test, the next response of those who have accused Him of evil. "Let's see a sign." But they have already seen many signs. It's not a sincere request, but another obstacle to faith, out of a stony heart that does not want to see.

But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." None of the people to whom Christ is speaking could possibly have understood what He meant, this allusion to His death and Resurrection. But His followers will remember. It will, in fact, be the work of the Spirit to bring to their understanding all that He has said and taught in His ministry.

"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here." Once again, Jesus is emphasizing the power of discernment. Those who heard Jonah -- a foreign people at that -- repented and listened to Him, a prophet of Israel, sent by the God of Israel to preach repentance. The queen of the South is the queen of Sheba, another foreigner, who came "from the ends of the earth" to question Solomon and to listen to his wisdom, and she valued that wisdom, another gift of the Spirit in the world. Jesus alludes to Himself and His true identity when He openly tells them that, "indeed a a greater than Solomon is here." It tells us of the hints, in the people's question, "Could this be the Son of David?" and Jesus' referrals to Himself as Son of Man, and "greater than Solomon." We also hear of judgment, and this is even judgment by Gentiles who have found faith, know the work of the Spirit in the world -- those who listened to Jonah and repented, and she who listened to Solomon. By their capacities, as witnesses who through their own lives testified to the work of the Spirit, they will condemn those who cannot perceive in Judgment.

Witnessing becomes an important consideration in today's reading. When we cultivate the heart in a healthy manner, considering what we love, casting out the things that aren't really good for us, we nurture the things to which we choose to belong. When our inner lives become unimportant, even "idle words" may condemn, in the sense that they betray a heart that is stony and hardened, one that doesn't really care for the living word of the Spirit, the life of the true power of the Kingdom, given us in Pentecost in the image of fire -- something alive and powerful, a kind of living energy present to us behind and filling all things. The power of witnessing becomes testimony to a different kind of judgment than we usually can consider. This is the capacity within all human beings for the perception of spiritual life, the presence of the kingdom -- as witnessed by the Gentiles Jesus names who are well-known figures in the Old Testament, in the Jewish Scripture the scribes and Pharisees know as the official body of experts. Yet, they fail to know Him -- they fail to perceive the work of the Spirit in His works and signs. This tells us a very great deal about our own hearts and the condition of importance with which we also must view our inner lives, the things we seek to treasure, our awareness of the things we may need to discard from within ourselves. It's a question of what we treasure, what we truly love, and what we put first. I believe that those of us who call ourselves Christians are called to a responsibility of equal urgency as the scribes and Pharisees Jesus was speaking to all those centuries ago. We can't rest in a name, an identity, our religious practice or heritage; He's making it clear that it is the perception of the work and presence of the Spirit in the here and now that will really matter as we live our lives moment to moment. The living fire of Pentecost is with us and within us; the gifts of the Spirit are those great treasures we value as disciples, as set out in the Beatitudes. The choice is in what we treasure, what we come to love each day as we grow in spiritual experience, through His Way. How do you find your Way? What is the gift for you to treasure today, as did the people of Ninevah, and the queen of Sheba?

If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

- Matthew 12:22-32

In today's reading, we skip forward a few chapters from the last. On Saturday, we read about the healing of two females: one a very young one, and the other with a blood flow, or haemmorhage, of twelve years. Jesus was approached by the ruler of the synagogue, who told Him that his daughter had just died, but that if Jesus came, and laid His hands on her, surely she would live. Jesus and His disciples began to go immediately to the ruler's house. But a woman with a twelve-years-long blood flow came secretly behind Him. She felt that if she could only touch His hem, she would be healed. But Jesus turned around, and told her, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." When He reached the home, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, all signs of mourning. He said, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they all ridiculed Him. Putting the crowd outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?" We have to understand the impact of such a healing in the context of the religious culture, of a people awaiting a foretold Messiah. The blind and mute man is freed from a terrible affliction, something that has bound him in his life. In the verses just previous to these, Matthew gives us a quotation from Isaiah, a prophecy that he says is fulfilled in Christ. Here, this healing also reflects Isaiah's prophecy, found in Isaiah chapter 35:

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.

Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons." My study bible notes here: "Filled with pride and envy, the Pharisees found in this miracle a pretext to attack Jesus, accusing Him of having Beelzebub as the source of His power. Beelzebub/Baal was the prince perhaps of 'the dung heap' or 'the flies' -- a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16); here he is called ruler of the demons." The Pharisees are claiming that Jesus' power doesn't come from the God of Israel, but from a demonic source. They're not contesting that an exorcism has happened, but rather questioning the source of Jesus' abilities.

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?" First of all, we have to look at the things the Gospel tells us about Jesus. He "knows their thoughts." So, once again, this is a case of perception by the "knower-of-hearts." And it is also, once again, a case of perception about those who are in the religious hierarchy. He speaks out to the things they have said and thought among themselves. His answer is quite logical here. No kingdom can battle against itself and hope to stay strong. Why then would Satan work against himself? As liberator and deliverer, Christ unbinds the afflictions of those who are suffering from some form of evil. In this case, He has cast out a demonic oppression. Why then would "the evil one" work such works against his own kingdom? Hence, Jesus' question: "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?" Surely even the "ruler of the demons" understands what material strength is.

"And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges." In the religious structure of the time, exorcism was a known practice. So, then, how does this happen among the Pharisees through rabbinical practice? By whom do they cast out demons? Jesus calls these exorcists as witnesses; they who cast out demons by the God of Israel will be the judges of those who accuse Him.

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." This is a very important concept in the Gospels; in fact, it is the heart of the gospel message! We have seen in particular in the recent readings in Matthew, in all of Jesus' healings (see the readings of the previous week), that the inferred message is clear: the kingdom of heaven has come near, and is among them.

"Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house." The only way to rob a strong man's house is to bind him. If Christ is then robbing Satan of another victim by casting out the demon that possesses the afflicted man, He is surely binding up Satan's power to do so -- binding up the "strong man" who is the ruler of this world. In this way, those who were once held captive in the house of Satan, are treasures plundered, taken away, by Christ.

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." It is Christ who is the stronger man, who works by the power of the true God. This is a statement of the One allied with God, who works by God's power, who is allied ultimately as Son, and may rule over all things on this earth. Anything that threatens this alliance is doomed to fail, to be scattered. The root for "gather" here in the Greek is "synago" - from which derives the word "synagogue." Its broader meaning is to assemble. This is a declaration of spiritual power and strength, and unquestionable authority over this world.

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." In effect, we find the Trinity here in this reading. Christ's power as Son is of the Father. But He does not declare Himself, in the end, to be the sole witness. He empties to the Holy Spirit, the One whose action in this world will mark the action of God. Even that which is spoken against the Son of Man may be forgiven, but the action of God's holy power in the world is that of the Spirit, and blasphemy against this -- calling the Spirit's work evil -- will not. The Spirit will therefore prove out all things, bring witnessing, and eventually Judgment. As Son of Man, He is also Judge; but it is the Spirit that will prove out all things, including "in the age to come." My study bible notes that God's power works through the Holy Spirit, "whose action signals the present reality of the Kingdom. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit. . . . Every sin against the Son of Man can be forgiven, because the Jews do not yet know much about Him. But blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity they know from the Old Testament, will not be forgiven. This blasphemy is willful hardness of heart. It attributes the saving action of the Spirit to Satan and refuses to accept God's forgiveness and mercy."

How does this reading apply to us, 2,000 years after these events take place? Do we know what is the action of the Holy Spirit in our world? Can we make a discernment and understand what this is? The word in Greek for witness is the word we know in English as "martyr." That's what a martyr is: a martyr is a witness for the work of the Holy Spirit in the world, one who testifies, and in that testimony may in fact also be called evil by those who cannot perceive, cannot discern. Saints are all witnesses to the work of the Spirit, the presence of the kingdom in the world. But the Holy Spirit works also in many ways, unseen by others, not spectacular, down to the seeming least minutiae in our lives. But these inner thoughts, this reality of change and effects in our lives, can come to make all the difference. We may have people in our lives who will claim that the changes that come to us are evil, not for the good. If spiritual conversion means a newfound self-esteem, those who are used to walking over us, or manipulating, or otherwise acting in bad faith through deception and lies, may be the ones calling the Spirit's actions "evil" in our lives. If we are involved in self-destructive activities, such as drug abuse or other forms of harmful and personally destructive addiction, those who are used to having us as part of such a circle may also tell us the Spirit's action is "bad" when we feel the positive effects of the Spirit's transforming work and seek to separate from our old habits and environment. There are so many ways in which the Spirit is at work in our lives and in the world. But the Spirit's action will always be seen in the effects left behind. In John's Gospel, Jesus will teach: "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.” Christ still calls us to discernment of His kingdom, present among us. Can you know the effects of this wind? (In the Greek, the word for Spirit is the same as the one for breath or wind.) Can you discern the effects of this wind in your life? Can you see them in the lives of those around you? Have you ever been called upon to stand in your faith when these effects are called evil through a false accusation, perhaps even out of envy or pride? God's action is at work in us and among us. How does your faith help you to be a part of the life of the Spirit? In the West and among some Orthodox Churches, we celebrated Pentecost yesterday. Among the Eastern Orthodox, Pentecost is this Sunday. Let us think about the Spirit, and today's reading. We are still called to the discernment Christ asked 2,000 years ago. His words and His kingdom still stand, within us, among us, in our world, through our witness and faith.

Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well

While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live." So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour. When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.

- Matthew 9:18-26

In yesterday's reading, Jesus passed a tax collector named Matthew, and told him, " Follow Me." Later as Jesus was at table in the house at Capernaum, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Him and His disciples. Some Pharisees asked His disciples, "Why does your Teacher sit with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." Some disciples of John the Baptist came and asked Jesus, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live." So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. This is another story also found, with a little more detail, in other Gospels. In Luke's Gospel, this ruler is Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue. So, let's remember that Jesus is speaking about new wine and new wineskins, and just then the ruler comes to Him. Jesus immediately acts, along with the disciples who follow.

And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well." But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." And the woman was made well from that hour. Again, in Luke's Gospel, we're given a little more detail. The crowd is jostling Jesus and the disciples. Jesus feels His power go out of Himself, and asks, "Who touched Me?" No one can tell with such a crowd; but the woman came forward herself. We have to consider the context of the story. Jesus is on His way to help the ruler's child, a precious daughter. The ruler's faith in Jesus is so great, that he believes Jesus has the power of life and death. This woman with the blood flow of twelve years would have been considered ritually unclean. My study bible says, "In the Old Testament, hemorrhage caused ceremonial defilement, imposing religious and social restrictions, for contact with blood was strictly prohibited (Lev. 18:25)." Let's imagine this woman's perspective after twelve years! But the key here is her faith, as expressed by Jesus. She thinks she can secretly touch His hem, given her condition. But it's her faith that makes all the difference, the connection of faith in the relationship it creates with Christ. All He tells her here is, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well." He calls her daughter, even as He is on His way to the daughter of the ruler. Touching Him, her blood flow, none of this makes any difference to Him. She is healed because of the faith that creates a bond that goes beyond our own understanding, a kind of recognition and connection that goes beyond words and into the kingdom where God rules, and God's rules apply. The power of that mercy is second to nothing.

When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. The flute players and the noisy crowd are all signs of mourning. These people are all convinced of the young girl's death (in Luke's Gospel, we're told she is twelve years old -- the same age as the woman's length of affliction). As a picture of great contradiction to the woman with the blood flow, who touched His hem seemingly in secret, these people ridicule whatever Jesus has to say.

But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land. One thing that I find very intriguing is the detail that He put the crowd outside. In Luke's reporting, Jesus also kept everyone else outside but His closest disciples and her parents. Jesus keeps out a noisy and possibly volatile public, and lets in only those whose real focus is going to be on the girl and on His work -- and in some sense, the mystery of what is happening here. It reminds me of His injunction to pray to our Father who sees in secret, in the secret place. Holy work is for reverence and focus; we shut out all that distracts. We can imagine the woman who touched His hem, and her singular focus on the faith that drew her near to Him, even in the midst of the crowd. When we look at things this way, we can also understand her singular faith.

Let's consider Christ's expressions of mercy in these healings. In this particular section of Matthew's Gospel we have already encountered many healings. There is the healing of the paralytic, of Peter's mother-in-law, of the demon-possessed men in Gentile territory, of the boy servant of the centurion, and of the leper. In yesterday's reading, we read about the "healing" of Matthew himself, a tax collector who became a disciple. In that passage, Jesus told the Pharisees, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." So, what do all these diverse healings and signs teach us, today's reading included? Overall, there is the impact of God's mercy. It really doesn't matter where people come from or where they have been, this faith acts to connect to a healing power. It is an initiation into something that sets things aright, "lets go" our sins, our "debts" and begins to work in us. We have to presume that behind this faith is the power of Jesus' command to Matthew: "Follow Me." These are not just random happenings out of time and by coincidence; rather they are signs of the presence of the kingdom which Christ is bringing - even in His incarnation - into the world. They are signs that through faith, we can become members of that kingdom, and His disciples. Each person who comes to Him, comes with a kind of earnestness and singularity of purpose that we can't really ignore. They all want deeply what Christ has to offer. One man's friends bring him, the centurion comes with great reverence for a boy servant or slave, the ruler in our story comes for a beloved daughter - and the woman, though she has been afflicted for twelve years, comes behind Him, in secret, only hoping to touch His hem. But God's mercy, as Physician, heals them all. We note that both females in today's reading are called "Daughter" - one with so much before her, and the other with so much behind. It really doesn't matter where they have been or what has gone on before -- what matters is the moment of connection (even through parents and guardians), that depth at which Creator and creature connect, a depth in the heart, a recognition, even one we can infer from Matthew's answer to the call to "Follow Me." Yesterday, we spoke of the journey that begins in that faith. It's not necessarily a straight one, and certainly not an easy one! The whole of the Old and New Testaments speak to that. But it is one that can lead us for the rest of our lives, in which we may participate in this kingdom, bear it within us and in our lives, in which the Physician works to take us forward and leads us into His version of health, His image of what it means for us to be healed. This may be at great odds with our own expectations! In 2 Corinthians, chapter 12, St. Paul tells us that he prayed several times to be released from a particular affliction. The answer he received is surprising: And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. We all know the powerful apostle that was St. Paul, the effects of his life upon the whole of the world, that continue through Scripture. And yet, it is to St. Paul that the words of the Divine Physician come: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Let us remember that the Physician heals in the image He has of us, and that even our own strength might just be made perfect in weakness in this image and vision. He will always take us on the journey that is ours in His kingdom, for His kingdom, and we are to bear that kingdom into the world. His rules, not ours.

Follow Me

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher sit with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."

Then the disciples of John came to Him, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

- Matthew 9:9-17

In yesterday's readings, the friends of a paralytic brought Him to Jesus for healing. Jesus is in Capernaum. He told the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." Some scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" Jesus told them, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. Our Evangelist, Matthew (also called Levi elsewhere), testifies about himself. After casting away the sins of the paralytic, Jesus encounters a sinful man, a tax collector who works for the Romans. Tax collectors, in their job of collecting for the Romans, were also free to collect extra income for their own profit. My study bible says, "Their collaboration with Gentiles, and their fraud and corruption, caused other Jews to hate the tax collectors and consider them unclean. Jesus, with power to forgive and undo all offenses, calls to this tax collector, follow Me, and then dines with him and other sinners."

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher sit with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." The Pharisees are offended at this practice. But Jesus is here to call all people to healing, and there are many ways in which we heal. Sinfulness, as we discuss in yesterday's reading, is a condition for which the healer can help to forgive or let go, cast away what is "missing the mark" (the literal meaning of sin in the Greek). But the important thing is that we understand sinfulness as a condition that needs healing, and its connection to healing through the reading from yesterday about the paralytic. Called into Jesus' company, at His table, is a calling to leave everything else behind, and to be transformed. His forgiveness makes this possible. Christ's act is one of mercy, and is His priority. He is here to heal. Therefore, He can say, "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." His presence gives the power and mercy of healing, and letting go (the meaning of the Greek word here in Matthew - see yesterday's reading - for "forgive"). We remember that it starts with a call, "Follow Me." Christ calls us somewhere, on a road, His Way, following Him and His teachings. It is this journey that Matthew begins when he follows the command, and will become a disciple and apostle.

Then the disciples of John came to Him, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast." My study bible points out that Jews typically fasted twice a week, on Monday and Thursday. "In addition," it notes, "public fasts were regularly observed or occasionally proclaimed, especially on the Day of Atonement and in times of mourning. But the Jews saw the day of the Messiah as a wedding feast -- a time of joy and gladness, not a time of mourning and sorrow. Jesus here proclaims that He is that Messiah/Bridegroom." The image of the wedding feast ties in with the table at which also sit (former) tax collectors and sinners in this story -- those who have come for healing. It is at this table, in His company, that we are healed through His mercy -- a kind of grand reunion implied by the invitation to "Follow Me," a feast of communion. Here Jesus also points out that the day will come when His disciples will fast. That will be after He is taken away from them in the flesh. Fasting then will become a practice in the Church in remembrance of Him, and for holding fast to His teachings, putting our relationship to Him first.

"No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." Wine is the inseparable element for the wedding feast - that which celebrates covenant. Here is implied an Old Covenant and a New. The new wine comes through this mercy that acts to heal, the covenant initiated by Christ's incarnation to us. My study bible says, "Wine represents the spirit and energy devoted to a covenant; the new wine of the New Covenant is the Holy Spirit dwelling within renewed men, the inauguration of the long-awaited Kingdom."

So what is new here? The Old Testament is populated with sinners who repent, with Gentiles and others who even constitute part of Jesus' lineage. But let's consider this new wine and what it means. Jesus comes to make a new covenant, a new kind of shape of faith. We begin with the gift of Himself, incarnate, the one who can forgive sins, let them go. If we look very closely, we see over and over again the emphasis on relationship in the understanding of covenant. Those who sit at table are in a relationship with one another, they come together in something, in a spirit of something. Those who drink the wine together, at a wedding feast do the same. And those who come to Christ in faith also come into relationship with Him. Faith becomes the key here for something that goes much deeper than merely "I believe." Faith, as we've said before, is also trust. But trust in this powerful mystical reality of the Person of Christ is a far deeper relationship than the words "I believe" can carry on their surface. It is an initiation into a Way, and more than that, into something that will be at work within ourselves, a mystical covenant of great power, that transforms and heals. To enter into this covenant, this relationship, to drink the wine at His table, at His feast, is to be initiated into something far deeper and more profound than we can understand. It is to allow a kind of leaven to be at work in us, producing results we can't predict, that are not of our own work or hands. We enter into a journey, one that may take us to all kinds of places, facing all kinds of fears of our own, the places we miss the mark, and taking us around corners we can't see. The healing power of this covenant is love, but it's a love far beyond anything we know. When we show up to this table, there had better be plenty of room in our wineskins for expanding, because it is always a new wine at work in us and in our lives. He is the one who is constantly making all things new, and that includes those who come to Him in faith and answer His call to "Follow Me." Faith is a door to a deep journey, a long path, a mystical power. The wine of this covenant is the one we drink with our souls.

Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you

So He got into a boat, crossed, over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

- Matthew 9:1-8

In yesterday's reading, Jesus and His disciples traveled across the Sea of Galilee into Gentile territory. There they met two fierce demon-possessed men, so violent that no one could pass. They lived away from community, among the tombs. They suddenly cried out, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" There was a herd of swine a ways away from them, and the demons asked to be sent into the swine. Jesus gave permission. They entered the swine, and then the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep cliff and into the sea. The people who kept the swine ran into the city and told everyone what they had seen, including the healing of the two men. The people of the city then returned and begged Jesus to leave their region.

So He got into a boat, crossed, over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you." Jesus' own city is Capernaum, the place that serves as His headquarters for His ministry. This is where Peter has a house, and Peter's mother-in-law was healed in a recent reading. My study bible points out that faith works in many ways. Through this story, it says, we understand that "faith is collective as well as personal, for the faith of the paralytic's friends is required for his healing." It also notes that "faith is an indispensable condition for salvation." I think this story also illustrates how we can exhort or help others to come to faith. We really don't know if it was his friends, one friend, or the paralytic himself who may have initially decided to come to Jesus. It could be any scenario. But faith can work through us all, to one another, and for one another. There are no limits in the ways it can work through us and among us. It is a spiritual reality interacting with our own condition. Therefore we can't set limits on how it works, what it does, how it plays out among us. Here, it creates and reflects community in the best sense of the word. Of course, this story reflects Jesus' authority. In the Greek, "Be of good cheer" reads more like "have courage" or "take courage." It reflects a strengthening of inner confidence, an emboldening in some sense, taking heart, also a part of faith and trust -- clearly reflecting on the relationship to Christ.

And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!" But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?" Matthew takes us further into relationship with Christ. He's the heart-knower. He senses what is in each one of us -- even those who doubt. The statement here is ironic: they think Jesus is blaspheming, but what He does is tell them that they are in effect, thinking evil of something that is good, that is a part of God's grace.

"For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- then He said to the paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." And he arose and departed to his house. The authority in Christ is clear. As Son of Man He is defining Messiah. He heals with a word. He gives the paralytic a command, and nature responds to this command. The text tells us in an emphasized way that the paralytic was then able to go walk to his house. There's a great and powerful image of "going home." He's in his right place, and he can get there, now, on his own through the empowering work of Christ. To go to his house is a kind of analogy to the idea that "in My Father's house, there are many mansions." This is true restoration.

Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men. Here's a reversal of the thoughts of the scribes. The multitudes marvel and glorify God because of the expression of Jesus' power through the paralytic. It is a kind of right-relatedness in community, through the restoration of the paralytic.

Paralysis has often been seen, in the context of the Gospels, as a kind of paralysis of the soul, an analogy to what sinfulness does to us. We get stuck someplace. I think that this can happen because of sin in a number of ways, whether in fact we are the ones who sinned or who have been sinned against. Christ's healing touch works through our faith not only for those places where we have gone wrong through our own initiation, but also those places that sin or evil have touched and left a lasting mark within us, another kind of "missing the mark." People who have been harmed as children often suffer with debilitating self-images, and self-destructive behavior. But the life of a believer takes on a kind of responsibility for even the effects of sin. Our faith can help us to be restored through the One who loves us. In the Greek, the word for "forgive" (both here and in the Lord's prayer) means to "let go" or to "send away." In yesterday's reading, the demon-possessed men are violent and self-destructive; the demons that possess them enter the swine and the swine immediately run suicidally down a cliff into the sea where they are drowned. This condition in which we suffer from the effects of sin need not be seen merely as one in which we are guilty, but one in which we suffer our own imperfection from the evil in the world. In some way or another, we may all need healing and restoration. A self-debilitating practice or habit that may result from trauma is still one with which we need to come to grips; in spiritual terms it is not a "natural" state in the sense of the "natural" for which we were created as children of God. If we look at life in the Garden as the true natural state for which we were created, then we can see that our world can be very "unnatural" indeed, even when the original fault is not our own. Paralysis comes when we are stuck in ways that cripple us, are self-destructive, harmful to us, even when we can't see it or know our way through it. Christ asks for restoration of us all; therefore in our own imperfect states, we each come to Him for transformation. Through faith, we take on His yoke that will teach us where we need to go, what we need to do, how He asks us to change, to become unstuck, to go forward and to the proper house where we belong. There are no exceptions to this kind of healing. Where does the knower-of-hearts begin in you? How does He teach you to go, through faith, to become unstuck and move forward to the place where you belong in His community?

What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?

When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine" And He said to them, "Go." So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

- Matthew 8:28-34

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gives a command that He and His disciples will depart for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They are in Capernaum and headed to Gentile territory across the Sea. A scribe tells Him that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. But Jesus tells Him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Another disciple says, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." As they set off over the sea, great waves and a tempest come up, so that the disciples fear they are drowning. But Jesus is asleep in the boat. Jesus said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. This story is presented in a more detailed way in other Gospels (see My Name is Legion). But there are a few details that are different in Matthew's Gospel. Here, there are two demon-possessed men. They are mentally deranged to the point of violence and cannot live among the community. Instead, they live in the tombs, among the dead. This is Gentile territory, a new mission for the disciples, across the Sea. These frightening, wild demoniacs live even further out of community, possessed by that which is ultimately outside of community. It is a kind of picture of the absolutely forlorn, the wild and chaotic, without any sense of rule -- simply a meaningless, purposeless violence, a frightening forsakenness.

And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?" These are the words of the demons. "Before the time" refers to the time of Judgment. They recognize who Jesus is. My study bible says, referring to the demons, "They know they have nothing in common with Him, for Jesus seeks man's salvation. . . . They are surprised their power is being terminated before the time of the last judgment." Jesus' authority is immediate and full. This is something surprising to the demons who torment the two men and pull them from all community, into a violent self-destructive life.

Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine" And He said to them, "Go." The demons have possessed these men, driving them out from community into the wilderness and among the tombs, caves carved out of rock, far away from the village. Now it is Jesus who will drive them from these men. The herd of swine is a kind of important symbol in the context of the Jewish audience of the Gospel. They are unclean animals in Jewish law, and another sign that we are in Gentile territory. My study bible says that the demons' entrance into the herd of swine is a sign of the reality of the demoniacs' healing. We observe Jesus' authority and power over the demons; without His permission even they can do nothing. His presence expels them.

So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region. My study bible notes here: "Jesus' sovereign power is not only over physical infirmity, but over mental illness as well. It shows us the incomparable value of human beings, whose salvation is worth every sacrifice." The people of the town beg Jesus to leave because they have lost their swine. But the swine throwing themselves into the water is a sign of the destructive power of these demons, who formerly occupied the men, making them crazy with violence, and self-destructive. This Gentile community fails to realize the value of the healing, and can only look to the material value of the swine who are destroyed. The healing of the human beings is not "worth every sacrifice to them" and they want Jesus to leave. It's another sign of "lawlessness" - a lack of regard for God's law. In Mark's Gospel, the healed demoniac wishes to follow Jesus and get in the boat with the disciples. But Jesus tells him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has had compassion on you." Then, Mark's Gospel tells us, he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. Here in Matthew, we are not told what becomes of the healed men, only the power of Christ even here in Gentile territory. The two demoniacs, as opposed to one, symbolize to me both Jew and Gentile, and in Matthew's Gospel we will find this sort of "doubling" happening. Christ's power is for the whole world; the light of the nations will come from Israel, and will be for both Jew and Gentile.

Christ's authority is complete. It is there in Jewish territory and among Jews; it is also so in this forsaken territory of demons, among people who prize their "unclean" animals above the healing of the demon-possessed human beings. I think this must have been a terribly frightening and powerful experience for Christ's disciples, especially coming after they nearly drown. There is no exception to the places that this power is at work. Even before Resurrection, my study bible points out, "Jesus rescues people from the devil's control." So, the Gospel is telling us, the power of Christ is over all things and all people, and in all places. There are no exceptions. In Revelation, we read, "Behold, I am making all things new." And this is the real power of Christ. He makes all things new. He renews these men, He brings a new order out of chaos, and His priorities are clear: the salvation of human beings is worth every price. He is here to restore us all, to bring order out of chaos, health out of self-destruction. What does that mean to you? Are there places in your life that feel out of control, without rule, forsaken in some sense? Are there things for which you need a resolution, a kind of restoring hand to distinguish what is good and healthy from what is not? Do you at times feel that you are in a true wilderness, far from life and community? We seem, at times, to live in a time of chaos and violence, fear and anxiety. My study bible says that "even the demoniacs had enjoyed God's providential care." We don't know how God's power will work in our lives, we only know that it does. We call Him into places where we fear, where there is chaos, and we ask for His law in our hearts, the Logos that restores us and all things into right-relatedness. Call on the Paraclete, the one who comes by your side, when you need a restoring hand, the one who helps you to see your way through chaos and destructive power.

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Now when he got into a boat, His disciples Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

- Matthew 8:18-27

In yesterday's reading, we read about Jesus being approached by a centurion. He was concerned over his young servant, who was violently and terribly ill, "dreadfully tormented." Jesus said that He would come to heal him. The centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed." He was also a man of authority, like Jesus, and had soldiers under his command. What he commanded, they did. Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." He told the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."

Later, in verses that we have skipped in our readings, Jesus also healed Peter's mother-in-law, in Capernaum. In the evening, many brought to Him those who were demon-possessed. The Gospel tells us, He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.” My study bible points out that Jesus' healing miracles are very diverse. But, as the quote from Isaiah indicates, all of Jesus' miracles manifest His redemptive ministry on behalf of ailing humanity.

And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." To depart to the other side means to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Then we get a couple of examples of those who would be His disciples, and in His response Jesus tells us something more about what is required in discipleship. To the scribe, He points out that He has no place, no position, no worldly authority, not even a home. His ministry requires great personal and social sacrifice in the dedication it calls from us. Regarding the term Son of Man, my study bible says, "Since Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Dan. 7:13), it expresses both His humanity and divinity." Here it refers to Jesus' human condition, while later reference in Matthew will describe His divine authority as Judge. Next, Jesus is asked by another if he may go bury his father before departure. But Jesus replies, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their dead." Again, the Gospel speaks to sacrifice on the part of disciples, and it is once more a sacrifice of the social order. We trust there are others to bury this man's father. My study bible points out this is not a command against honoring parents, but that nothing ought to be more urgent than the things of the Kingdom. "Those who ignore heavenly priority are spiritually dead." Discipleship asks of us to place first the kingdom of heaven in our personal priorities; this is teaching of personal sacrifice. The social and worldly life of position and status comes after discipleship, the life of the kingdom. Just as the centurion in yesterday's reading was a man of courage, so discipleship must bring out courage in us all, sometimes asking us to make very difficult personal choices and sacrifices we may never have expected.

Now when he got into a boat, His disciples Him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" Again, the Scripture today speaks to courage, the courage involved in discipleship. This is a courage for each one of us, sometimes very personal, in ways no one else can really know how powerfully its meaning impacts in our lives. A tempest is a great metaphor for all the challenges of life, especially those that stir up our fears and emotions and pull us in all directions, ones of great meaning to us personally. Jesus' answer, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" tells us what we need to know. We don't let our fears stop us. It doesn't matter what they are, how they impact us. There is a choice to be made. Here, Jesus commands that they go to the other side, the other side of the Sea of Galilee, into unknown and Gentile territory. In tomorrow's reading, we will see what they find there.

Jesus' command and rebuke tells us about our journeys on the sea of faith. Where He tells us to go, we go. Sometimes this will demand a great personal sacrifice. If you ask me, the Cross will often compel us to make choices in our lives. What comes first? So often, even the things we cling to most deeply and prize most highly will have to be second place to the kingdom, to the places Christ asks us to go in faith, when we "Follow Him." At least, this has surely been my personal experience. And it does take courage to do so. This courage comes via faith -- as Jesus' answer clearly shows us. Faith is a trust in Him, a trust that where He takes us is where we need to go in our lives. We may not always have great physical or material experiences we can point to and show others our courage. Often it is something of great meaning to us, a sacrifice only we and Christ -- who knows our hearts -- can measure. But we can be sure that the Cross speaks to us of trust, in faith, that we follow Him just as He followed the Father. We don't know what's on the other side of the sea. We may even be covered with the waves, our little boats afloat seemingly threatened with turning asunder and sinking. Sometimes the sacrifice we make may be giving up all our certainties of life, our social understanding. But we have the power of His faith and even His rebuke. "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" We trust in where He takes us. This is what discipleship asks. It is the courage we need for the good fight of faith.

Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word and my servant will be healed.

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour.

- Matthew 8:5-13

On Saturday, we read about Jesus' cleansing of a leper. It is just after Jesus has given the Sermon on the Mount. Great multitudes are following Him. A leper came to Him and said, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus told him, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."

Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented." I'm always touched, personally, by the care of this centurion for his servant. It gives us a picture of his character: not only compassionate, but also concerned from a sense of relationship and value, even of his servants. In this case, the word in Greek would also indicate a very young person, perhaps a slave. But the centurion seems to think of him as his child.

And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him." Something else that is striking in this story: Jesus doesn't ask any questions of this centurion, a Gentile. He just immediately replies that He will come and heal the boy.

The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." Here we have a display of great humility. The centurion is a Roman officer, one with many men under him, someone who wields power and authority. (A centurion commanded 100 men in the Roman Legion.) The very fact that he is in such a position gives him a great capacity for exploiting his authority, should he choose to do so. And yet, he calls Jesus Lord, and apparently recognizes Him as a holy man. There is also a sense of deference here to the holy things of Israel. Another thing that is apparent here is the centurion's honesty. His "yes" is "yes" and his "no" is "no." He presents himself just as he is, just the way he sees things, as a man of authority and command.

When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" My study bible interestingly points out that there are only two events in the whole of the Gospels in which we are told that Jesus marveled. The first is when the people of His hometown, Nazareth, reject Him. And the second is this one, in which Jesus marvels at the faith of the centurion -- greater than in Israel! The centurion's recognition of Jesus' authority here is on parallel with what we were told after the Sermon on the Mount -- that the people marveled because He taught as one having authority, not as the scribes.

"And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Here is the great and powerful expression of the meaning of Jesus' ministry: that it is for all people, Jew and Gentile. Through Jesus, Israel is the light of the nations, and all people may become a part of the people of God: "many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." "The sons of the kingdom," here, refers to those who feel that strictly because of their racial heritage they are the saved, the chosen. "Weeping and gnashing of teeth," my study bible says, "are descriptions of the state of the unrighteous dead in Sheol recorded in Jewish tradition (Enoch). They are common expressions in Matthew." The emphasis here is on the great faith of the centurion. In some sense, his own authority seems to give him the capacity for recognizing the authority in Jesus, a true faith.

Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you." And his servant was healed that same hour. "As you have believed" tells us something, not about some idea of positive thinking we may invent for ourselves, but rather a sense of true faith. The centurion was able to perceive the truth about Jesus. Just as he had a relationship with the child servant -- one of great love and compassion -- so he was also able to have a kind of relationship to Jesus: one of faith, recognition, trust. In this his prayer or plea was answered, "as you have believed, so let it be done for you."

In the centurion, we see many examples of the character Jesus looks for in those of faith -- the qualities that seem to go along with great faith. He first displays humility, in his expression to Jesus, calling Him "Lord." This is despite the fact that the centurion himself is a soldier in a great position of authority in the Roman legion, the colonial power. He's also clearly a man of compassion, of deep love even for this child servant. We note also how he's empathic -- his compassion extends to a description of a painful and awful ailment. Finally, he's also immediately capable of understanding Jesus as a man of authority. He's discerning clearly, he knows what's what -- He recognizes the reality of Christ, and this despite the difference in their culture and official religion. There is a great respect for truth in this centurion, the truth behind all social appearances. So we have the combined qualities of humility, compassion and reverence for truth in this man of faith. These are all qualities we should aspire to. They give us a firm footing in life, they help us to discern what is what. Most importantly, they are qualities that accompany faith. They also mold to a person of great courage -- someone who is not afraid to express who they are. Perhaps it is in that very courage that we find most of all the expression of what it is to be someone who can sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- or who can make a request of Christ in all humility. In the centurion, we see a picture of the words St. Paul will write in his letter to the Philippians (Philippi being the site of a Roman garrison): that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. Let us embody the ideal of this centurion: courage, humility, love, compassion, a reverence for truth, and the quality and immediacy of faith. These are the virtues we need for fighting the good fight of faith.