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And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him.
In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven. Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."
- Luke 11:53-12:12
Yesterday we read that, as Jesus spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you. But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk over them are not aware of them." Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, "Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also." And He said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore the wisdom of God also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,' that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered."
And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, and seeking to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him. The conflict between Jesus and the authorities is quite open now. In yesterday's reading Jesus openly confronted them, calling them hypocrites, and warning them of the worst of possibilities because of what they do. Now they wait to accuse Him.
In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, "Beware the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. Again, here is Jesus' emphasis on the kind of purity (unmixed with the "leaven of the Pharisees") that makes consistent who we are from the inside to the outside, making the "inside of the cup" clean as the outside, as we read in yesterday's reading. It is His greatest warning to all of us! His words emphasizing that what is covered...will... be revealed, that what is spoken in the dark will heard in the light, and that what has been spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops, gives us a further idea of what kind of truth Jesus is all about; it's a truth about the consistency of a person, the revelation of the heart. There is nothing that will not be known, nothing that is truly hidden.
"And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." My study bible says that whom you should fear refers to God (Proverbs 9:10). "The body will die eventually, one way or another. St. Ambrose even states that the death of the body is not itself a punishment, but rather it marks the end of earthly punishments. The soul continues for all eternity; since God is the judge of the soul, our efforts in this world are to please Him alone." Again there is an emphasis here on what is known, the awareness of God for whom even the very hairs on our head are all numbered, and with whom not even a single sparrow is forgotten. We who are meant to bear the kingdom of heaven into the world are therefore extraordinarily precious.
"Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God. And anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but to him who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven." A note here tells us, "To say a word against the Son of Man is to reject Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus seemed to be a mere man to many people before their conversion. The scandal caused by the Incarnation and Crucifixion of the Son of God (1 Corinthians 1:23) makes this sin more easily forgiven. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is without bodily form and invisibly works divine goodness. According to St. John Chrysostom and many other Fathers, the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it. Jesus never calls the sin itself 'unforgivable.' Jesus makes this declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness 'evil,' and are beyond repentance by their own choice."
"Now when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Again, the Holy Spirit is revealed by Jesus to be the One who bears witness to the reality of God and the Kingdom in the world, and reliance on the Spirit is our key to witnessing truly. That means that the power of truth is at work via the Spirit. Essentially it becomes a part of Judgment. How will the witness of the Holy Spirit be responded to and judged in this world?
Jesus teaches today on many interrelated things; the subject grows more serious as He comes closer to the events of the Passion. Now the conflict is an open one with the Pharisees, and it comes over the issue of hypocrisy, which Jesus has condemned on no uncertain terms. (In yesterday's reading, He repeatedly told the Pharisees and lawyers, "Woe to you!") And the great subject of the Holy Spirit is given to us, revealed for us. As Jesus warns about a mere external show of goodness by complying with rules, He gives us the power of a trusting and truthful heart: the Holy Spirit which will be given. God is aware of everything about us, and there is nothing that will not be revealed. But it is the Spirit that will be the voice of spiritual truth in the world; and really, our response to this Spirit is what will create an ultimate judgment. Even people who condemn Jesus in the flesh may be forgiven, but the "word" of the Spirit will be that which really tests us; and will be that upon which His followers must rely in order to truly witness appropriately. It is the Spirit which will be working through the apostles to create the early Church see Acts of the Apostles, also written by the Evangelist Luke). It is the Spirit who helps the faithful to negotiate the difficult terrain of the world's hostility and still spread the gospel. So the question becomes, how is the Spirit at work in your life? Do you rely on and ask for guidance from God, in the person of the Holy Spirit? Do you realize the Spirit's omnipresence? What happens when you are in worship, in the middle of a liturgy or service? When you partake of the Eucharist? Powerful questions. In John 16:13, Jesus says, "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." How do we hear? How do our lives reflect this teaching?
