Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"

 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with the disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."

Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

- John 6:1-15

On Tuesday, we read that Jesus healed a paralytic on the Sabbath, by the Sheep Gate at the Temple during the Feast of Weeks, or the Jewish Feast of Pentecost.  On Wednesday, He spoke of His identity as Son and His relationship to the Father when He answered the questions of the leadership, who accused Him of breaking the Sabbath, and also of making Himself equal to God.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued, "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's ; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

 After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.  The Sea of Galilee is actually a lake about 7 miles wide and 13 miles long. 

Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with the disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.   This fourth miracle, or sign, in John's Gospel takes place juxtaposed against yet another Jewish Festival, and is another symbol of the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the Person of Christ.  In the crossing of the Sea of Galilee, we have the symbolism of the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.  My study bible says, "The Passover coincided with the Feast of Unleavened Bread which commemorated not only the Exodus from Egypt, but the first food from grain eaten in the Promised Land after the crossing of the Jordan."  Here, across the Sea of Galilee, we are in Galilee, a place of both Jews and Gentiles, symbolic of the New Dispensation going to all the world.

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  My study bible points out that Philip was tested in order that he may understand who Christ is, and that while Andrew sees the loaves and fish, he sees no potential in them.  Their noted remarks will serve to illustrate qualities of the Son and the ways that God via the Spirit may work in the world.  Barley was a less expensive grain than wheat and so generally used by poorer people, and the harvest was ready in springtime (at Passover). 

Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  My study bible notes that given thanks is from the Greek verb eucharisto/ευχαριστώ, from which we derive the word Eucharist.  In the readings that follow, Jesus will give us the discourse on the Bread of Life.  In this fourth sign we see paralleled (or fulfilled as type) the feeding of the Israelites with manna in the wilderness.  My study bible suggests that we note the process:  (1) giving of thanks; (2) distribution of the gifts, first to the disciples and then by the disciples to the people; and (3) partaking -- indeed a preview of the Eucharist.

So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.  My study bible notes:  "As with the manna in the wilderness (Ex. 16:16-21), nothing of the gift of God should be lost.  In contrast to the manna, here we have an abundance of twelve baskets of leftovers, one for each disciple."

Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."  Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.  My study bible says of this passage, "The Galilean Jews, with their misguided messianic enthusiasm, equate Jesus with the Prophet of Deut. 18:15-19, whom they expect to be an earthly, political leader who will lead them against the occupying Romans, as Moses led his people out of bondage.  Because He is not to fulfill these expectations, Jesus withdraws from the crowd."

That Jesus does not wish to be made king is an intriguing addition to the story of the feeding in the wilderness.  It should be noted that this particular miracle is recorded in all four Gospels.  (In Matthew's Gospel, there are actually two feeding miracles reported.)  While Jesus prevails over this miracle or sign, in a way that suggests a total reliance on Christ, it is contrasted by His refusal to be made king.  Ordinarily, we associate any form of authority and power with a worldly sort of authority and power, but this will not be so for Jesus.  His authority has to do with God's love and care, and He is here for a particular purpose.  It's not for "the praise of men," but it is to serve a higher goal, to teach us about God's love, and for us to share in that love as well.  In some sense (as we've noted in an earlier reading), this astounding miracle which gives us the Eucharist is a proclamation of the day of small things, in which is illustrated the power of God, and the power of faith in our relationship to God, and the working of God's power in the world, the Spirit.  Note how the disciples Philip and Andrew are pushed to record the difficulty of the situation, and the small beginnings of five barley loaves and a few fishes, brought by a "lad."  Christ allows us to begin with not only "small things" but also what looks like a ridiculously hopeless situation.  But it is illustrative of a particular attitude He wishes us to cultivate.  Faith in Christ means that everything is not defined by our outward circumstances.  There is more to life than this.  In some sense, we could look at one of the problems that plague our modern lives through this lens to see where our current reliance on image misses the boat regarding who we really are and what Christ teaches us.  Many people suffer from a lack of self-esteem, or let's say a regard for themselves as something not worthwhile, unless their own image is affirmed in the eyes of others.  Seemingly paradoxically, a real help for this is the cultivation of an appropriate sense of humility, in which the God of small things, or small beginnings, can truly teach us how we must see our lives and how we must see the world.  Our outward circumstances do not determine the worth that God sees in us.  For that, we need reliance and relationship to Christ.  He is the one who refuses to be made king.  His goal is not the praise of men, but the praise of God. As we read in yesterday's reading, this is the source of honor He cares for.  The reliance, here on this mountaintop in today's reading, on Christ and His vision and power, is a reliance on something more than what the world will tell us about what potentials are in our circumstances, and certainly more than what the world will tell us about what or who is "great," what we should do with our lives, and what is the appropriate way to live for God's purposes.  For that, we need the humility to cultivate a relationship with God, to put our faith in prayer, that teaches us where we need to go and who we need to become for an honor that is not necessarily what the world seems to honor.  This tremendous feeding miracle seems to suggest that the greatness that God would find and complete even in small things is something we need to find in relationship to God, in order to complete our own sense of who we are, and what we may do that is truly honorable and worthwhile.  We live so much by image, and the material abundance for which we may be truly grateful cannot determine a complete sense of true worth.  We still rely on Him to teach us about glory and true honor, and that teaching has to come to us in love.  The Bread of Life is so much more than what we seem to have at hand, and yet it feeds and sustains us in so many ways.

How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?

 "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.  If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's ; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"

- John 5:30-47

On Tuesday, we read that after healing a paralytic on the Sabbath, Jesus spoke to the temple authorities who accused Him of violating the Law.  He said to them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore they sought to persecute Him not only for healing on the Sabbath, but for saying that God was His Father, therefore making Himself equal to God.  Yesterday, we read  that Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

 "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  My study bible tells us that the divine will is common to the Persons of the Trinity, "for all share the same divine energy.  In their manifestation in the world, however, all energy originates in the Father, being communicated through the Son in the Holy Spirit.  Here there is a sense that the Son obeys the Father.  This is because, in His human nature, the Son has human energy -- including human will -- which He offers to God the Father as the source of all.  This is His own will which must do the will of the Father."

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light."  In Jewish tradition, my study bible says, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deut. 17:6).  Here in this and the following verses, Jesus offers four witnesses to His divinity.  First He speaks of John the Baptist, who gives the "testimony of man."  John was widely recognized as a holy man, and thus Jesus says to them, "He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light."  Let's note Jesus' tone and aim, when He says, "I say these things that you may be saved."  He doesn't believe in following the crowds, what people say, but this witness is for them.

"But I have a greater witness than John's ; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me."  Here is the second witness:  the works themselves which God the Father has given Him to do bear witness to Christ, that He is Messiah.

"And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe."  The third witness named by Jesus is God the Father, who testified of Him.  In Matthew's Gospel, at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist, the voice of the Father declared Him to be His beloved Son.  The three synoptic Gospels also report this testimony to other disciples at the Transfiguration.  Jesus notes they have not at any time heard the Father's voice, nor seen His form.  But if they had His word abiding in them, they would trust, would recognize it coming from Christ. 

"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me."  The fourth witness to His messiahship and Sonship is the Old Testament Scriptures.

"But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"   My study bible says, "Jesus is aware they do not possess the love of God; it does not remain in them because they do not receive Him who comes in the name of His Father."  Here He also speaks of Moses, who wrote about Him (in the Scriptures).  They are experts in the Law, but they fail to truly grasp and take to heart the spirit of Moses, the understanding of Moses, because they do not truly love God as did Moses.

Jesus tells us that He does not receive testimony from man.  But He gives the leadership two human witnesses, so that they may be saved.  One is John the Baptist and the other is Moses.  But the key here is a real internal, abiding love of God.  Without this, there can be no real faith, no belief, no trust, and no recognition of the Father in Christ's words and works.  When Jesus says: "I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?"  He is contrasting these two ways of thinking, one in which all honor comes only from other human beings, a kind of worldly glory through praise, and the other, in which the love of God really determines what we love, what has honor, what we put our faith into.  Jesus puts into these words the understanding that before everything else, there is a basic relationship that is at the depth of who we are, a "first love," if you will.  That is our relationship to Creator.  A sense in which love of God determines our proper relatedness to one another, the ways in which we think of what we put our trust into, becomes clear here.  It is the foundation upon which everything else may be built.  He's saying about the leadership (and makes explicitly clear elsewhere) that their real "love" isn't truly the love of God, but rather the praise of men.  If we look deep within ourselves, we may find a depth of love we didn't know was there.  Because the love of God really means that we put our trust in that which gives us love, teaches us love, and how to manifest that love, there is a kind of basic sense that our love of God and love of truth are inseparable from one another.  The mysteries of the relationship of God the Father to God the Son and God the Spirit will be something we can never fully grasp.  But there's another reality here that Jesus speaks of so vividly, and that is the mysterious relationship inside of us to God as well, even to God the Father.  The emphasis is on the heart, on what we truly love, on what is at a depth within us we might not really know at all, but is manifest in our loyalty and love and in the things we find we thirst for.  Jesus contrasts the love of God with the praise of men, the "honor from one another."  He criticizes seeking the latter alone, without the former.  Let us remember this place of the heart, the one that tells us true.  This is the honor that comes first.

The Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel

 Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.  He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

- John 5:19-29

Yesterday, we read that Jesus went up to Jerusalem at a Feast (my study bible suggests that later verses in this chapter indicate it is the Feast of Weeks, known also as the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, which centers on the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai).  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.   And that day was the Sabbath.    The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He had not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

"Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.  For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.  For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.  For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father."   Jesus explains the theology, the workings of the spiritual life of the Father and the Son.  They are united in will; in fact, the Son "can do nothing of Himself."  They are united in love, in and nature and will, and in action.  So much so, that the Father extends to the Son the giving of life -- and more, all judgment has been committed to the Son.  Therefore the Son should be honored just as is the Father, for it is plainly the will of the Father.

"He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."  So united in nature, will and action are Father and son, that the word given by the Son is that of the Father -- that faith in this word is a commitment of faith to the Father.  This word is life itself, and secures a relationship of life beyond our understanding.

 "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.  For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.  Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."  My study bible teaches that "these verses refer to the general resurrection of the dead at the end of days.  However, that 'hour' is already present and 'now is' in that an encounter with Christ results in life or judgment as a present reality, depending upon one's response.  Those who believe in Christ have already passed from death into life."

Today's reading teaches us about the theology of the Father and the Son.  All things are passed from the Father to the Son, and in this we can't leave anything out.  Nature, will, and action are united in love.  So much so, that, as my study bible puts it, "the Son fully shares the divine attributes of giving life and executing judgment."  In Matthew's Gospel, when Jesus teaches, "Do not judge, lest ye be judged," it is this same Greek root here in today's passage that is translated as condemnation.   All of this is to stress that there is one judge, ultimately, of all of us.  While this judgment and this life is entrusted to the Son, it doesn't belong to us human beings.  There is this great sense that such astonishing capacity as giving life and taking it away, in the fullest understanding of life, is a tremendous marvel and authority, only given to the Son by the Father.  In fact, it is stressed here, it is the Son who is given this authority, and the Son who will carry it out.  I find this intriguing, because again it teaches us about God's love, in the origin of the Father and the relationship of the Father and Son.  It is the Son who will judge, but it is also the Son who has fully become one of us, who has lived His live as a human being and borne the things that we bear in our lives.  Only then, it seems, does judgment come into His hand, in the fullness of the authority granted to the One who will also be the sacrifice, who will suffer for us, and as one of us.  If we don't understand that the nature of the God we have faith in is love, then we have missed the calling of God to each of us.  Ultimately, the One who is called upon to be the sole judge is the One who is not only the divine knower-of hearts, but who has also fully lived a human life, fully suffered, fully sacrificed for others.  The fullness of God, therefore, is this intersection of the eternal and the temporal, both natures united in one Person.  This is possibly the greatest mystery of all, but ultimately it is a great mystery of love, of authority that is fully vested in love and service, and the nurturing of life in abundance.  My study bible has one more important note in which it also teaches about the message here to us about judgment itself:  that "this judgment is based on both faith and works.  The two can be distinguished, but they cannot be separated.  Those who respond to the Son of God in faith and who do good will receive the gift of eternal life."  Our faith and the works we do are inseparable, for they both are rooted in love -- and they bind us to the God who both loves and acts in love, who extends Himself to become one of us, and whose authority is rooted in both.

Do you want to be made well?

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.   And that day was the Sabbath. 

The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."

Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He had not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

- John 5:1-18

Yesterday, we read that after Jesus' time with the Samaritans (see readings from last Thursday, Friday and Saturday), after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was not going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.    My study bible suggests that St. John Chrysostom and other Church Fathers state that this feast is the Jewish Feast of Pentecost (or the Feast of Weeks), due to the references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter  This Feast of Pentecost centers around the theme of the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  A note here reads:  "This double-basin pool, believed to have curative powers, has been discovered by archaeologists about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  The water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs, and it was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  The pool has led some Christians to see in this imagery a prefiguration of baptism."

In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.    My study bible says that this passage is often omitted from modern English translations because it appears in none of the oldest extant Greek manuscripts.  It says that Tertullian (c. A.D. 200) is the first Latin, and St. John Chrysostom (c. A.D. 400) is the first Greek writer to refer to it.  It adds, "The disturbance of the water may actually have been caused by bubbling up of the intermittent underground springs, which was understood as an angelic action.  On the other hand, it is possible that angelic activity was indeed the cause for the stirring of the water.  The role of spiritual powers in the world must never be discounted."

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"   Again, we see Jesus initiate an encounter (as with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well).  My study bible suggests that Jesus asks this obvious question in order to stimulate the man's faith.

The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.   And that day was the Sabbath. If we look at the parallels with baptism, we find the sense in which Christians have historically compared the "types" of this pool as used at the time of Jesus, and baptism as given to us by Jesus.  Where the Pool of Bethesda was a place of miracles for one person at a time, in the fulfillment of Jesus we have a Person of miracles, for everyone at any time.  The pool healed through angelic mediation, which is not necessary for the Person of Christ.  Finally, this healing of the pool was considered to be, as my study bible puts it, for physical and temporal well-being.  But the healing of Christ is "for spiritual and eternal well-being which begins with baptism."    In this sense is the fulfillment of this "type" in Christ, and it is an illustration of so much of what John's Gospel teaches us about the nature of God as Spirit.

The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  My study bible says, "Although the law of the Sabbath (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15) does not specifically prohibit the carrying of burdens, this activity is mentioned in Jer. 17:21 and Neh. 13:19 and was explicitly forbidden by rabbinical regulations.  The Jews again refers not to the Jewish people (for the paralytic was a Jew), but to the authorities, who thought of themselves as guardians of the Law."

He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  My study bible notes:  "It was a common belief that illness and misfortune were divine retribution for sin.  The Savior, however, does not ratify this as an absolute principle (see 9:1-3).  The paralytic's cure is to lead to conversion and a righteous life."

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."   Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He had not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.  A note here tells us that when Jesus is confronted by His critics in the Jewish leadership, He argues that God's sustaining and redeeming work in the world does not cease on the Sabbath.  Hearing these words, the Jewish religious leaders are doubly offended; "Jesus not only violates scribal law, but also presents Himself as equal with God."

John's Gospel goes further and deeper here into what it means that God is Spirit, as Jesus told to the Samaritan woman in the previous chapter.  What does it mean, in fact, that our relationship to God centers on personhood, on the omnipresent quality of what this means with regard to worship and faith?  The Pool of Bethesda, as an element of faith, is noted above -- how it changes or is fulfilled as type in the Person of Christ, and how this expands our understanding of how God works and what our relationship to God is.  Is it tied to merely one place?  How does Spirit work?  Where does it work?  While religious worship and custom sets us into patterns and helps us to understand what God is about and what our relationship to God asks of us, Jesus takes it one step further here when He heals on a Sabbath, and also expresses Himself as Son of God by referring to "My Father."  It is a reflection of the ever-present and timeless quality of the life of God as Spirit, as well, when Jesus says, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  The spiritual reality of the life of God isn't something that goes away, or is there sometime and isn't there other times.  We can count on the fact that Spirit works at all times.  And so, we go deeper into this spiritual nature of the presence that Christ brings into the world, an awareness of the power of God, and the law written on the heart.  Not only do we understand this "ceaseless working" so to speak, but we also understand it to be directed by love and always on our behalf.  Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? becomes answered with the idea of the Person of God, as characterized by love, and an active personal presence in our midst.  That God is a Person opens up an enormous understanding of worship and relationship, just as Son and Father teach us about relationship and about love and about sacrifice for that love.  Let us for now understand Jesus' direction of confrontation with the authorities as that which is driven by revelation of God's love for us, God's deep desire to find those who will worship in spirit and truth, and God's manifestation of love for the world in the Incarnation of the Son.  Fulfillment of what has come before asks of us expansion, to new concepts and understanding, and into personhood and the capacity for relationship and love.  Let us think about the pool stirred by the angel, and how the healing living water is always available so that we do not thirst.

Your son lives!

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

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was not going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

- John 4:43-54

In Thursday's reading last week, we read about Jesus encountering a Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.  His conversation with her led her to ask of Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."   Friday, we read that Jesus taught her, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."   On Saturday, we read that at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  Meanwhile, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored, others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world." 

Now after two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  My study bible says that "Jesus' statement concerning the prophet without honor is reported in all four Gospels.  His own country refers to Galilee . . .  Galileans were present in Jerusalem during the Passover, when He won many devotees because of the signs He performed.  Because they gave Him only this minimal honor based upon their wonder at His signs, and not true glory based upon belief in His messianic vocation, He knew not to rust Himself to them."   (See John 2:23-25.)

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  My study bible points out that Cana is the hometown of Nathanael, who believed in Jesus when he realized that Jesus knew him from afar (see How do You know me?).   Here, the remarkable miracle is healing from a distance.

And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."   My study bible says, "Once again, recognizing humanity's need for signs and wonders, Jesus manifests His power to reveal Himself as God.  The Lord admonishes the Galileans (in the person of his official), a people whose faith depends on 'signs and wonders' (Deut. 4:34; Is. 8:18; Jer. 32:20).  Faith based upon the miraculous alone is inadequate, but not unacceptable (see 14:11; 20:29-31).  The Galileans, however, according to this account lack authentic faith."

The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was not going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  A note tells us that the official (a Herodian, one who served King Herod Antipas) approaches Jesus out of a desperate need to heal his son.  Jesus, however, gives no assurances, just the command to go -- and the word that his child lives.  That the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him expresses the idea that this was enough for him to have faith, and therefore a true belief.  The seventh hour correspondence to about 1:00 P.M.

So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  My study bible points out that this makes three times it's reported, your son lives.  "The very word of the One who is the resurrection and the life (11:25) gives life as well." 

Another unlikely source for faith comes through this official of the Herodian court.  Jesus has revealed Himself and the workings of God in the world now through a wealthy Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin (Nicodemus), a Samaritan woman (see readings of Thursday, Friday and Saturday), and finally this nobleman.  The themes here touch upon faith -- most notably in today's particular story, but also in the "hidden" ways that we need to ask ourselves about.  Why these people?  Jesus' ministry, looked at in this way, seems to suggest that faith itself is a tremendous mystery, something we can't predict and that works entirely at odds with what our supposedly rational assumptions would suggest.  Is faith really just a product of some extraordinary kind of proof?  No, it's not -- any more than the Gospel is telling us that people who are already doctrinally prepared are the only ones who can experience faith.  No, on the contrary, we have a Pharisee being taught about baptism in the Spirit (who has a very hard time grasping what Jesus calls this "earthly" thing), and a Samaritan woman to whom Jesus directly and openly reveals His messianic identity (when conventions of the time would dictate that He neither speak to any woman in public, or any Samaritan).  And now, this noble official of Herod's court (the same Herod who will imprison John the Baptist and have him beheaded) becomes not only the catalyst for the third miracle in John's Gospel, but also the one who shows a tremendous faith not borne of "outcomes" but merely in the word -- in the command -- of Christ.  He becomes the example that defies Jesus' exasperated statement, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."    This Gospel continually warns us against our own assumptions.  Faith, it seems to imply, demands that we hold no preconditions!  Not only is God Spirit (as Jesus taught to the Samaritan woman) and is seeking those who will worship in spirit and in truth, but the workings of faith also seem to blow like the wind:  going where we don't know and can't predict.  We can just tell where it's been.  This Gospel gives us unlikely characters through whom we learn our faith, and about our faith.  That the phrase "your son lives" appears three times in today's reading is essential for us to understand.  God is life, Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.  And life, real life, the Gospel seems to say, comes from a place that is so far beyond what we can contain in a set of our own expectations that we really must have better ways of perceiving it than our conventional ways of thinking.  Life itself is so packed with potentials and possibilities, so dense with things beyond our expectations and understanding, that it takes much more depth to perceive than anything we can categorize on our "normal" terms.  This faith that blows through this Gospel and defines for us the revelation of God contained in all of its stories and illustrations is something Jesus tells us goes far beyond "signs and wonders."  It is the power of a word.  It doesn't need a presence that is defined by space (nor apparently by time).  It is life bigger and stronger than anything we understand about life.  And it's connected to a place in us that can grasp it, grow in it, walk with it.  It is the way, the truth, and the life, and each one of us is capable of receiving it.  "Your son lives" becomes the power of life itself, the difference between a life which offers us a limited sense of who we are, and one which opens the doors to what we can't predict, and what can't be defined by immediate circumstances, appearances, expectations.  Where do you find life in abundance?

Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world

 And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.

Meanwhile, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored, others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."

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

- John 4:27-42

In Thursday's reading, we read about a Samaritan woman whom Jesus met  at Jacob's well, and their conversation there.  In yesterday's reading, the conversation continued:  Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." 

And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  Jesus' disciples marveled because a Jewish man was not allowed to converse publicly with a woman -- and this is a Samaritan woman (with whom, we've already been told by John's Gospel, "Jews have no dealings.")   My study bible points out that "Jesus' words and actions transcend ethnic and gender-related customs of the time."

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.   My study bible notes about the woman:  "The Samaritan woman becomes the first evangelist, testifying to the advent of Christ and bringing others to Him.  According to an early tradition, after the Resurrection of Christ she was baptized and given the Christian name Photini, 'the enlightened one' [in Greek].  Along with her two sons and five daughters she went to Carthage to spread the gospel.  There they were arrested, taken to Rome under Nero, imprisoned, and later martyred.  According to tradition, St. Photini, who first met Christ beside a well, was martyred for Christ by being thrown into a well."  That she left her waterpot perhaps tells us about the woman she is going to be, through the action of the Spirit:  something else is more important to her than the water from the well, and that is the living water in the promise of Christ.

Meanwhile, His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work."  My study bible points out to us that the disciples also misunderstand Jesus' words.  It's interesting that so often they, too, fail to grasp what Jesus is about, even as they are dumbstruck when they marvel that Jesus is speaking to this Samaritan woman.  Again, here, we see the technique of John's Gospel, to take us from a conventional meaning of words to the deeper spiritual meaning that Jesus' presence and teaching give them.  My study bible says, "His food is to bring people to believe in Him and be saved."   The teaching becomes a matter of setting priorities and values:  the woman left her waterpot because a deeper thirst called her, Jesus has a "food" that is essential and of greater significance than an immediate hunger.  I do not believe the Gospel at all expects the world to forget about its needs for physical food and water:  but there is a priority set here for that which always feeds and always gives its living water as something of far more value, for life that goes further and deeper than what we understand of life in a temporal or purely physical sense.  Here, to say the very least, is an opportunity of far greater value, a work of much more importance.

"Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"  My study bible points out that by tradition, the townspeople are thought to have been dressed in white.  Jesus speaks as they approach with the Samaritan woman.  It notes, "Our Lord urges the disciples to look up and see the ripe fields (that is, these Samaritans) ready for harvest."  This is a labor for food far beyond the food of this moment that His disciples remind Him of.

"And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  For in this the saying is true:  'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored, others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."  My study bible tells us:  The Father is the sower; Jesus is the reaper.  Jesus will send the disciples to reap (17:18; 20:21); their apostolic mission has been implicit from their initial calling.   The others are all those who have prepared the way for the coming of the Messiah:  the Old Testament patriarchs, prophets, St. John the Baptist and more."

 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."   My study bible says, "The Samaritans are the first to recognize Jesus as Savior of the world.  The gospel is for all people."  Like Nathanael earlier in John's Gospel, these people have come and seen for themselves.

It's interesting to think of the interconnectedness of people in the Gospels.  From a handful of encounters, we really don't know what will arise, how things will come to be known and to be revealed.  And there's also the important issue of encounter.  These people, these Samaritans, testify that they have come and seen Jesus for themselves, a direct sort of encounter -- even as Jesus teaches the disciples that they, too, enter into others' labor.  Everything isn't done just by themselves.  But, in some very real sense, everything that ties together this labor is the presence of Christ.  It is for this reason that Tradition teaches, via Church Fathers, that we read the Old Testament understanding the presence of Christ before the Incarnation.  When Jesus, in yesterday's reading, revealed to the Samaritan woman "I am (He) who am speaking to you" (as the Greek reads quite literally), it is a recognized assertion of the I AM who spoke to Moses at the burning bush, the presence of God.  And so, what we have is an understanding of encounter -- especially couched in the teachings of chapter 4 in John's Gospel -- that can take place anytime and anywhere through the presence of the Spirit.  And this is something important we have to understand:  encounter is necessary and important, for Nathanael and for these Samaritan people, but encounter becomes possible through the work of the Spirit.  As Jesus teaches His disciples that they enter into others' labors, so we have to understand that encounter, even through the labors of many, also becomes possible through the work of the Spirit.  We are not alone in any of this because God makes it possible.  No one's labor is separate from another, even as this blog is written via the assistance of countless contributors through centuries of reflection on the Gospel, via my study bible's notes and other commentaries studied, and the whole history of biblical scholarship and theological understanding.  The Gospel speaks to us all, though, through the presence of the Living Word, through something much more than our intellects.  And that's the spiritual food we need to seek, the thing that gives us life much greater and deeper than a temporal sense of what someone once said "once upon a time."  Let us remember that life is about encounter, that by stepping into the shoes of the journey of faith we're not just listening to and asserting intellectual concepts, but we're on a road with Him, with one another, with those who have come before and those who will come in the future.  All of this is possible through the presence of the Spirit, and the Incarnation that gave it to us, the gift of God.

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

 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.  Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.  You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He." 

- John 4:16-26

Yesterday, we read that, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.  A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You being a Jew, ask a drink from a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."  The woman answered and said, "I have no husband."  Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,' for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet."  My study bible says, "The woman does not yet understand the significance of what is being offered, so Jesus initiates a new direction in the dialogue.  When the Lord reveals to her that He knows that her present partner, following a chain of spouses, is not her husband at all, she is prompted to think Jesus a prophet.  Though the Samaritans did not accept any prophet after Moses, they did look forward to the promise of the Moses-like Prophet (Deut. 18:15-18), the Restorer, the true Teacher, the Messiah.  The supernatural knowledge possessed by Jesus is manifested in many instances in John; regarding Nathanael (1:47-50); Lazarus' death (11:14); Peter's denial (13:38); what would befall Him after His arrest (18:4).  By reporting these insights John underscores the divinity of the Messiah."
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"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship."  My study bible points out that the Samaritan version of the Ten Commandments instructed that they worship on Mt. Gerizim.  The Jews worshiped on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem.  It says, "The woman, thinking Jesus was a prophet, posed to Him this burning dispute between Jew and Samaritan."

Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father."  My study bible tells us, "The hour that is coming is the death of the Savior on the Cross, when the sacrifice made once and for all will supplant the necessity for any temple anywhere.  The idea that worship must be performed only at a specific place of revelation -- Mt. Zion or Mt. Gerizim -- will give way to His revolutionary teaching about worship in spirit and in truth."

"You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews."   Jesus affirms the validity of Jewish spiritual history and its revelation.  My study bible quotes St. Athanasius here:  "The commonwealth of Israel was the school of the knowledge of God for all the nations."  Throughout John's Gospel, Jesus' disputes are with the religious leadership, not the people themselves, and certainly not the spiritual heritage of Judaism.  My study bible says, "The Messiah was prophesied within Judaism; the Incarnation took place among the Jewish people.  God's universal gift of salvation arises within the context of His promises to the Jews and their religious tradition."

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."  The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ).  "When He comes, He will tell us all things."  A note here tells us, "While the Jews and Samaritans historically argued about where true worship takes place, Jesus teaches that worship is not tied to any certain geographical place.  Instead He turns to the heart of the matter:  the object of worship, God Himself, and how worship takes place.  The Father is worshiped in spirit -- that is, in the Holy Spirit who is given upon the completion of Christ's mission (14:26; 15:13; 20:22) -- and truth; which is Jesus Christ Himself (14:6) and His revelation.  God is Spirit, that is, He possesses a spiritual nature which cannot be confined to a particular geographic location.  Those who believe in the revelation of Christ and have the power of the Holy Spirit can truly worship God anywhere."

Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am He."   The words here in the Greek are literally "I AM" (Gr. ego eimi), who speak to you."  My study bible says that "I AM" is the name of God, "its use indicates a theophany, or revelation of God (Gen. 17:1; Ex. 3:14).  This is the first instance in John of Jesus' use of this formula of self-revelation (see 6:35; 8:12, 58; 11:25).  Jesus reveals Himself to be more than the Mosaic Prophet and more than the Jewish Messiah; indeed, He is the Incarnate God Himself."

The great, direct revelation of God's Presence, and the Incarnation, comes to this Samaritan woman at Jacob's well.  One must puzzle why this is.  Why should it be revealed so far away from Jerusalem, from the central leadership, even from the Jewish people?  Here it is revealed even to a woman who is from a different sort of faith, one that doesn't hold to all Jewish traditions -- even though Jesus says here that "salvation is of the Jews," and He specifically states to her that "you worship what you do not know."  It's an important question to ask, and one that asks about mystery.  Why this revelation?  Why here?  Why to her?  It is the least likely place it could happen:  to a woman, an enemy of the Jews, and alone here at this well.  It's just another example of what we could call "the greatness of small things" -- that which has glory "not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts."  Jesus teaches her about worship in spirit and truth, and He gives us a powerful example of what that means, right here in His choice to reveal Himself to this woman, before all the world.  It is, in itself, an example of the power of the Spirit, that which truly blesses and brings us the presence of God.  This impossible beginning, unthinkable by human standards, comes to us by way of a conversation that, by custom of the time, should never even have taken place!  And all of the Gospels are full of this glorious power of small things, small beginnings, the most unlikely and impossible of scenarios, that bring us the greatest revelation, earth-shattering good news, reality that topples everything else and is to be received by the world.  A pregnant young virgin, uneducated fishermen, St. Peter, their leader, who is often so full of exuberance he doesn't know what he's saying, all of these unlikely beginnings turn us to the power of God, the reality of God who is Spirit, God who is present with us no matter where we are, what we may see before us, what we may think really is.  The Gospels tell us what is real, and what makes for greatness, in the wilderness where there is no food to be had, in a deserted place full of tombs and a raving demoniac, it doesn't matter what the setting, what is at hand, what we start with.  That God is Spirit, and to be worshiped in spirit and in truth, is the greatest news we can have, because it means that the Kingdom is everywhere, even where two or three are gathered, even within us.  Let us understand the greatness of small things, this powerful revelation spoken by one man, in a deserted place under the noon sun, with only this Samaritan woman to hear Him.  Let us look, with Zechariah, to our own day of small things, and the prayer and faith, the spirit and truth, that links us with everything that glory is made of.

Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw

 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.  But He needed to go through Samaria.  So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You being a Jew, ask a drink from a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.  Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"  Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."

- John 4:4-15

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

 Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples), He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.   My study bible tells us that because of the growing opposition of the Pharisees to His work in Judea, Jesus leaves for Galilee.  Earlier, we read that the leadership had taken note of the Baptist and his ministry; here they begin to show interest in Jesus, since His ministry has begun to gather momentum.  It's interesting that John's Gospel takes us rather early into an understanding of potential conflict with the leadership.

So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.  Now Jacob's well was there.  Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.  It was about the sixth hour.   Samaria is the area north of Judea, between Judea and Galilee.  The town of Sychar is identified by scholars with Shechem or a village nearby.  My study bible tells us that the Old Testament doesn't mention Jacob's well, "but Jacob did own property in the area (Gen. 33:19).  Wells and springs are significant in Scripture because of their rarity in desert life.  In the Old Testament they often symbolize the life given by God, especially a life of blessedness (Ps. 36:8-9, 46:4; Is. 55:1).  This particular well, located at the foot of Mt. Gerizim, is maintained as a shrine and pilgrims can drink from it to this day.  Jesus is wearied and thirsty from the labors of His journey, showing His complete humanity which He voluntarily assumed."  The sixth hour is noon, so we understand the bright sun, and thirst-bringing conditions in this day of traveling northward.

 A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink."  For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.  Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You being a Jew, ask a drink from a Samaritan woman?"  For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.   A note says, "The Samaritans were a mixed race and traditional enemies of the Jews.  Although they worshiped the God of Israel and were awaiting a redeemer, they accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch) as their Scriptures.  They had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim, which the Jews destroyed in 128 B.C."  For a Jewish man to address this woman in public is already a startling act.

 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water."  My study bible tells us that living water, in the ordinary sense of these words, means fresh, flowing water, as if from a spring rather than a pool or cistern.  "In the spiritual sense," it says, "it symbolizes true life from God, who is the fountain of life (Jer. 2:13; Ezek. 47:1-12; Zech. 14:8; Rev. 21:6, 22:1)."

The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.  Where then do You get that living water?  Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?"   Typically of John's Gospel, this woman initially misunderstands Jesus; she's applying a conventional understanding to what He's telling her.  She mentions Jacob, patriarch of the Old Testament.   My study bible says that, according to the Church Fathers, Jacob -- who received the revelation of the divine ladder (Gen. 28:12) -- is a prefiguration of Christ.  "Jesus is thus greater than Jacob; He is the final revelation of God and giver of life and refreshment to all."

Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."  The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw."  A note here reads:  "The living water given by Jesus is the gift of the Holy Spirit which believers receive (7:37-39).  And the Holy Spirit becomes a fountain of water which flows with eternal life.  That this extraordinary water is springing (or leaping) up denotes the vigor of true life from God."

John's Gospel initiates us here into concepts of icons, images that tell us about spiritual things, but which give us meanings and values that come from our daily lives.  "Living water" becomes such an understanding here.  As my study bible has pointed out earlier, this is typical of this Gospel, wherein ordinary terms are given extraordinary meaning in order to introduce human beings to the reality Christ is bringing into the world, the things of the Kingdom among us that are being introduced.  That Jesus uses a Samaritan woman in order to do so is an extraordinary teaching in itself.  If we look so far at the text, John's Gospel has introduced us to very unlikely believers.  There was Nathanael, who asked, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"  There is Nicodemus, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee, to whom Jesus introduced the concept of baptism of the Spirit.  There, the understanding of "rebirth" was something Jesus introduced to Nicodemus, speaking of the Spirit as akin to the wind (the word for Spirit and wind being the same, pneuma), and water being part of the means of this rebirth.  This new wine Jesus is preparing is populated with the unlikely.  Just as His words are those that draw us to new concepts, to expand our understanding and to grow in spiritual perception, so His entire ministry is filled with that which asks us to expand, to take in the new, to bear the capacity for spiritual growth by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This vigor of the living water, as my study bible noted, is reflected in the term translated as "springing up" into eternal life -- a word that literally means "leaping" in the Greek.  A spring flows from one spot, but where the waters go, and where they are connected to greater bodies of water also is a kind of mystery.  But in a spring, the water is ever-renewed, ever-flowing, and ever-blessing, and this, too, gives us a sense of the vigor of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, and in the world, in the Church.  The Samaritan woman doesn't really understand at this point, but in the following reading, we will see Jesus take the conversation in a new direction.  But let us note the action here:  this one private conversation, at noon under the blazing sun, in perhaps a dry, dusty place midway on a day of travel, becomes one that will sprinkle the whole world, giving us "rivers of living water" to think about and to understand as it revives the world anew so that we may think about its meanings.  One example of a spring comes through this conversation that continues to vivify us with its refreshment.  Ultimately, the living spring is within each of us, for every moment, every seemingly lost cause, every time we thirst and need to refresh our perspective.  It will also call on us to expand, to see what we don't see, to go beyond what we already think we have, just like this Samaritan woman at the well.  We just don't know how that will happen.

He must increase, but I must decrease

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

Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him!"  John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.  Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease.

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him."

- John 3:22-36

Yesterday, we read Jesus words to Nicodemus, after teaching him about baptism and being born of the Spirit:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized.  Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there.  And they came and were baptized.  For John had not yet been thrown into prison.  Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.  And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified -- behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him!"   The temple leadership will echo these words, that "all are coming to Him!"  John the Baptist's response, and theirs, tells us something important in the difference between them.

John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'  He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice."  My study bible says, "John the Baptist is called the friend (the equivalent of a modern 'best man'), but it is Christ who is the bridegroom; the bride is God's people.  As God was the Lord of His people in the Old Testament, so Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church in the New Testament."

"Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.  He must increase, but I must decrease."  A note here tells us:  "The forerunner expresses profound humility and acceptance of his role in the service of God.  He renounces all earthly glory and reputation and glories only in Christ.  John's aspirations of hope and joy as a minister and servant of God have now been fulfilled."

"He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth.  He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.  He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him."  John sums up who Jesus is here.  As my study bible puts it, he "gives a summary of the teaching of the Gospel about the origin, dignity, and saving work of Christ."  It says of today's reading, "John the Baptist gives his final witness to Jesus as the One who is greater.  Jesus has the Spirit in fullness, He possesses all the authority of the Father, and He grants eternal life to those who believe."

It's important that we understand the figure of John the Baptist.  He's been called "the greatest among those born of women" by Jesus.  And yet, as Jesus said, "the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he"  (Luke 7:28).  In his own time, John was a highly revered figure and widely considered to be a holy man by the population in Israel; so much so, that the Gospels tells us even members of the leadership come to him to be baptized.  He is a radical figure of humility and service to God, both in his demeanor as one who is so clearly in the lineage of the Old Testament prophets, and also in his words toward Jesus, such as those expressed here in today's reading.  As we've seen in John's Gospel, John the Baptist shows his disciples the way to Jesus, the Bridegroom.  There really can be no greater humility than this.  The earliest disciples chosen by Jesus, including the author of this Gospel, were all followers of John first.  The sort of humility displayed here by the Baptist (also called Forerunner, as he is the one who herald's Christ's presence in the world) tells us something significant about spiritual truth.  Nothing can stand in its way.  In our own lives, if we're going to really follow where Christ leads us, we have to be prepared to give up whatever stands in the way of the fullness of that truth.  Here, John is prepared to lead his own disciples to another teacher, and in his words, "He must increase, but I must decrease," we hear the complete understanding of what he is called to by God, and his willingness to accept it.  This is a hard lesson to learn in life, but it is his willingness to serve, to fully accept the truth of God, that makes John the Baptist the great example that he is.  John points the way to the Kingdom, to this new Gospel, the dispensation that has come to Israel.  Could we accept the true things he is willing to accept, for a higher truth, a greater reality?  What do we love above all else?  Let us also receive the Bridegroom, and our own place in His wedding, as a friend and servant of God.  This, too, is part of righteousness, or right-relatedness.  It is the exchange of one way of being for another, the way to who we really are, to the place where our joy is fulfilled.