Behold, your King is coming to you

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt tied with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,
'Behold, your King is coming to you,
Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.' "

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David!
'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'
Hosanna in the highest!"

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

- Matthew 21:1-11

On Saturday, we read that as Jesus and the disciples went out of Jericho, heading toward Jerusalem, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt tied with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  Today we read of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  In the Church, this event is celebrated on Palm Sunday.  At this time, says my study bible, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control, and to reestablish the kingdom of David.  Jesus enters but not as conquering king with a mighty army.  He requests His disciples to find a donkey with a colt.  These two animals, found in Matthew's Gospel, are traditionally seen as representing faithful Jews and Gentiles who are brought together in Christ's Kingdom.  

All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey,  A colt, the foal of a donkey.' "   The daughter of Zion is the Bride of Christ, Jerusalem prefiguring the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers.   The New Jerusalem is His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).  This entrance into the Holy City, says my study bible, declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.   The prophecy is taken from Zechariah 9:9.   Christ enters as Prince of Peace, not warrior king.  He is displaying His word that as King He is gentle and lowly of heart, that His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:29).

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:   "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!"  And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."   The people spread their clothes did so as paying reverence to a King.  My study bible tells us that the spiritual interpretation of this is the need to lay down our flesh, our very lives, for Christ -- the deepest humility.  The cry of the people is from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  It is the recitation repeated daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (or Feast of the Coming Kingdom, Sukkot), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"

How does Christ enter His Kingdom?  Today's scene of crowds waving palm branches and spreading their clothes teaches us about the welcoming of a King.  The spiritual interpretation of Christ coming into our hearts is an important one, as we come to understand that no matter what else is portrayed here, the King who comes to our hearts is the Bridegroom of the soul, before whom we lay down all that makes up our lives, all that we think we are, and hope to be.  The heavenly Jerusalem is prefigured here, too, as this is the inauguration of a Kingdom that is fulfilled at the end of the age, upon His return, the Second Coming.  His Kingdom, we know, lives within us and among us in this world.  It is present in His Church, His Bride, present in the work of the Spirit, which is "everywhere present and filling all things" (from the Orthodox prayer to the Holy Spirit).  It is important to remember that all of this is in fulfillment of Jewish spiritual heritage, the true search for the Kingdom, the expectations of Messiah.  Today, many of us are tempted to think that liberation is only political, only philosophical, only in an abstract sense.  But none of this understands the power Christ brings into the world as a spiritual force, spiritual realm and reality.  Jesus has told us, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth," and that "the Father is seeking such to worship Him"  (John 4:23-24).  To worship in spirit and truth, and to acknowledge God as Spirit, isn't just to consider our faith some sort of abstraction of philosophical ideal.  The ancients who welcomed Christ into their hearts and minds were well-steeped in philosophy and abstraction, and political theory!  The Fathers of the Church, those who gave birth to theology, were all trained in the highest educational standards of the classical Hellenistic world, fully knowledgeable of all philosophical schools up until their time, and Christianity shone as a way beyond such thought.  To worship in spirit and in truth is to include all that is true and that serves truth, including philosophy -- but there is more.  There is the reality of spirit -- and the reality of the spiritual kingdom to which we belong.  We enter with our hearts.  The currency of this kingdom is love, the softening of hearts, something that can't happen based only upon ideological or philosophical abstraction.  To stay purely in intellectual capacity is to remain in danger of a hardened heart, or perhaps to find an easy sentimentalism that substitutes for honesty, for seeing what is, including the evil in the world.  To enter into this kingdom we have to be at full capacity:  heart, mind, soul, strength, spirit all engaged.   This consciousness is sometimes called "the mind in the heart," meaning the whole person, more in fact than just emotion and intellect.   There is no substitute.  In this marriage, there is nothing reserved.   There can be no real repentance without this level of engagement:  all "clothes" off, laid at His feet, for a total transformation of all that we are.  Can we engage with the fullness of the heart and find His Spirit that leads us?

That our eyes may be opened

 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

- Matthew 20:29-34

Yesterday, we read that, as Jesus began the journey toward Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were great displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.   Jericho was known as a place of sin.  We could consider the blind man symbolic of human beings, who are afflicted by sin, a kind of blindness to the reality of our full citizenship as children of God.  They greet Jesus as Lord -- the common title for God, and also as Son of David -- a title deeply associated with the Messiah.  We notice a frequent response here by Jesus, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  Christ asks us to articulate our desires, but surely He would know already what people want, says my study bible.  The point is, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  There is also a patristic interpretation of this miracle, in which the blind men symbolize a future generation who will come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  In this interpretation, those who try to silence the blind men are figurative tyrants and persecutors in every generation try to silence the Church.  Nevertheless, under persecution the Church confesses Christ all the more.

Have you ever been silenced for your faith, or had the experience of those trying to stop you from confessing your faith?  We know that around the world, the Church experiences persecution, and individual believers are targeted.  These blind men, if we look closely at the story, are not necessarily expressing the completeness of faith, but even more astutely they exemplify our understanding that we need Christ.  They are a picture of those who know that they need Christ for their very lives, for what they truly need in life.  And that's a true picture of our need.  The multitude welcomes Christ, and a great multitude follows Christ in today's reading.  But who knows how many are there because of a deep sense of need?  When we understand our own blindness, then we come to a very great revelation indeed.  We know that we need someone to help us to see, and we know who that someone is.  Ironically, as we come closer to God, we understand that need perhaps far more greatly than when we began the journey.  A dependency on Christ is not a bad thing, nor a sign of weakness or frailty, but rather it is a sign that we understand what life is about, and the place where "light" comes from:  that which enlightens our perspective, in the metaphor of the blind.  These men approach Christ as Messiah, and also as Lord (God).  But their real need is for healing and illumination, which amount to the same thing in the fullness of our relationship to God, to Christ.  Let us remember that there is one dependency that truly gives us strength, one very basic deep need that acknowledges the condition of a human being as "rational sheep."  That is, one capable of autonomous, independent choice, but needing illumination and light to make good choices.  This is where we are, where we acknowledge the ways in which we are asked to acknowledge what we need to be healed, and to follow.  Are we as clear as these blind men on just where we stand?

Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were great displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

- Matthew 20:17-28

In yesterday's reading, Jesus told a parable about all those who work for the Kingdom, from all time, first to last and last to first: 
 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."   This is the third time Jesus has warned His disciples of what is to come in Jerusalem  After the second prophecy (which we read on Wednesday, last week) the questions the disciples have asked, and the teachings Jesus has given, reflect what life is to be in the period in which the Church is established, what His power is like, how they are to live as servants of the Church.  My study bible says here that Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion was meant to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they would face.  According to the commentator Theophylact, it's as if He's telling them that they must think on all of His ministry -- teachings and great signs -- so that when they see Him on the Cross they will understand His suffering is not because He's powerless to do otherwise.

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  Once again we see the disciples focused in a sense of worldly power, applying it to the Kingdom and what kind of power Jesus wants us to understand.  This time, it is the mother of John and James Zebedee who requests a particular place for her sons, who are close friends to Christ.  She herself forms part of the women who have supported Jesus' ministry and been with Him since Galilee.  James and and John's own involvement in this request is revealed in the Greek, when Jesus says, "You do not know what you ask . . . "  There, the "you" is plural.   Again, my study bible emphasizes the voluntary nature of Christ's death on the Cross.  He calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  It says, "The Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is Baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6)."  This is a prophecy here by Jesus when He tells John and James, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with. . ."  Both of them will lead lives of persecution and martyrdom after Pentecost.  The places they ask for are not given arbitrarily, but rather they will be given to those for whom God has prepared them.  As for those who hold places of honor in the Kingdom, it would be impossible that anyone holds a place of equality to Christ.  In the history of the Church, the human beings most honored as holy are the Virgin Mary ("most blessed among women" - Luke 1:28), and John the Baptist (the "greatest born of women" - Matthew 11:11).

And when the ten heard it, they were great displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  Once again, the disciples are given a teaching on power and authority, what His Church should be like -- a preparation for the time after His Resurrection, the time in which we now live.  In Luke's Gospel, this teaching is given within a context of all of the apostles disputing about their places.  What we remember is that He's just given them the third prophecy of what is to happen; repeatedly their minds are on expectations of an imminent Kingdom manifesting and their places in it.  This is the clearest and most distinct teaching about how His power and authority conferred on them is not to be that of worldly kings.  The emphasis is on service.  The kings of the Gentiles at Jesus' time were exceptionally ruthless, that was particularly so for the family of Herod.  These power-hungry "heathen" the Jews considered an abomination, and Jesus compares the disciples' will for power to them.  Jesus contrasts such kings to Himself, who serves, and will give His life as a ransom for many -- meaning for all.  Once again, Jesus' example isn't only about who Jesus is or even what grace and holy power does:  it is an example for each one who would be His disciple.

Once again we are given an important distinction about power, and it is pure preparation for the life of the Church to come, of which these men will be its first Bishops.  So how do we serve?  How do we understand Jesus' life -- and death, and even Resurrection -- as an example to us all?  How do we incorporate these teachings about service into our own lives?  Certainly humility comes first.  How could we know what it is to serve unless we first work at the spiritual reality within us, serving Him by emptying of all our worldly expectations and ambitions to Him, and seeking His way, His word, for service and discipleship.  To my way of thinking, this is how we live a prayerful life, and I believe we will be led to discard what we need to along the way as conflicts come up in the course of our path with Christ.  The apostles really do set the tone for us to understand what kinds of foibles and human weakness get in the way of good discipleship.  They are an example of who we all are, our typical ways of thinking, and just how hard it is to really "change our minds," to practice the kind of repentance (or metanoia in the Greek) to really be what Christ asks us to be.  At the Last Supper, Jesus will teach them that He has chosen or selected them out of the world, separated them, made them different, and for this the world will also hate or persecute them.  For us, too, the process of being chosen out of the world is always a continuing force in the spiritual nature of what it means to follow Christ.  That is, the reality of the transformation we take from His teachings, and in His Spirit, in the course of what it is to have and live a prayerful life.  To change our understanding of power and how it works is a most basic and deep form of transformation in human understanding.  I don't think it's a mere intellectual process.  It is the same as the necessity for God's help in undoing attachment to great possessions, such as Jesus taught in the encounter with the rich man who asked about eternal life (see the readings from Tuesday, and especially Wednesday).  The two issues, possessions and power, are linked.  But it is with God's help that we come to understand how we are to conduct ourselves; this includes our relationship to the most powerless, the ones with "no currency" in any given situation.  Let us consider both examples:  Jesus on the Cross, and the disciples who ask after their places even as Jesus has just taught of His death and suffering.  There are always things we need to learn, and this is a long -- lifelong -- learning curve.

So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

- Matthew 20:1-16

On Tuesday, we read about a man with many possessions, who asked Jesus what  good thing he should do that he might have eternal life.  Yesterday, we read that Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."   Jesus' final statement in yesterday's reading is exemplified through the parable He teaches in today's.  My study bible says that the vineyard is the world.  A day may be a person's lifespan, and it also may refer to the whole of human history.  The first laborers are called early in the morning.  The additional laborers are repeatedly called at times that correspond to the Roman hours which began at dawn, and also traditional hours of prayer:  the third hour was about 9:00 in the morning, the sixth hour noon.  The eleventh hour is just before sunset, after which no work can be done.  The laborers are all people in human history, called by Christ for this special work in His vineyard.  My study bible says there are various ways of reading the parable as well:  each hour could refer to an individual person's life:  infancy, youth, adulthood, maturity, or old age.  We could also look at the different hours as times in the span of human history:  those called during the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally Christ.  My study bible says, "God's generosity provides equal reward for both early and late comers.  . . . The former should not be proud of their long service nor resent those called at the eleventh hour."  As for the latecomers, it remains possible even in a short time, or at the end of one's life, to recover and inherit everything.  Time is in God's hands, and so is judgment.  For the early Church, this message applied specifically to the early Jews as the "first-called" and the Gentiles as those called later.  But in our time, we could apply it to those who were raised in the Church, and to those who find it later in life -- both receive an equal reward.  We remember, the young man with many possessions asked what he must do to have eternal life.  One of the most famous sermons in history, given by St. John Chrysostom and repeated each Easter in the Orthodox Church, is based on this parable.   In the sermon, Chrysostom applied the call and the hours to each person coming into the very lengthy service, in preparation for the paschal Eucharist.

We remember that the most recent discussions and teachings of Jesus have taken place after the disciples asked an important question:  Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (in last Thursday's reading).  This question marks a turning point in the themes of Christ's teachings because it comes in response to His second warning about what is to happen at Jerusalem:  His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  It seems the disciples have begun to understand something is to happen, and it's asked in expectation of the coming of the Kingdom.  Jesus has been teaching about the use of power in His realm, in His church:  the care of the "littlest ones," the importance of humility, detachment from possessions, and a kind of exchange that happens when one sacrifices in the context of working for the Kingdom.  Peter asked, in yesterday's reading, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  Jesus' reply, regarding the time the Son of Man will sit on His throne of glory, included the statement, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."   Today's parable illustrates what He was getting at.  The disciples expected an immediate manifestation of this Kingdom, but we know that is not the case.  Time has passed so that twenty centuries later, as we begin the twenty-first, we understand we are all still being called.  Each one of us has an opportunity to step in the shoes of the apostles, of those who came first, although we may be the last.  What that means, then, is that each of the teachings given to the apostles -- all, in their entirety -- apply also to us who may be the last.  If we look at this parable as stretching to the whole of human history, then we also may apply not only the context of the entire Bible, from first to last, and the teachings contained therein in all of Jewish spiritual history, but even include an understanding of the acceptance that Christ descended to Hades after His death, even "calling" those in the tombs, all the dead of all time.  What we accept most importantly, it seems to me, are Jesus' teachings on service and humility, an understanding of relationship to the things we have, a comprehension that no matter where we are or what we do, we are all called in the same way.  This parable makes Jesus' teachings to the disciples timeless.  It is a message not just to Peter and the disciples present at the time, but to all of us who would come later to hear this text and these teachings.  We each carry this call with us, and have a Kingdom to serve, His way.

Who then can be saved?

 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

- Matthew 19:23-30

Yesterday, we read that little children were brought to Jesus that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.  Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  Now one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."   When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished saying, "Who then can be saved?"  Jesus gives an extremely vivid metaphor for the difficulties of detachment, especially from great possessions.  We often view this as disparaging wealthy people, but if we look closely, what it really tells us is the difficulties of attachment to wealth.  We could perhaps elaborate on various interpretations that have been given for this picture ("eye of a needle" was possibly the name of a small city gate that a camel could only pass through if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, or "rope" in Aramaic sounds like the word for camel).  In addition the Talmud uses a similar expression for difficulty:  "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."   But to be pressed and squeezed through a tiny opening (and we remember that Jesus has said all of us must enter through the narrow gate to life) tells us of a difficult journey, of unloading all the things to which we're attached and from which we feel we take identity in life.  The "wealthy" are going to have a harder time with this, because wealth determines so much about life and creates dependency.  But the attachment to riches doesn't only exist for the exceptionally wealthy.  This is a particular lesson for this time of year and where we put our emphasis during the holidays.   This is especially true in a world that has radically departed from the economies of Christ's time, and so emphasizes what we might get that will make us happy or "successful," and what others have that we might not have.  My study bible says that whatever the phrase refers to, it displays the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.   It notes that this is clearly evidenced by the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?"  This question reflects everybody's concern.

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."   I think the power in this statement is something that we often want to overlook.  We seemingly never fail to underestimate the power of God at work in our lives.  It is my belief that the Holy Spirit will help us to detach from the things which we need to become detached from, in order to let God more fully into our hearts.  Furthermore, Jesus clearly states that God is a necessary part of this equation.  It's impossible to change of ourselves alone.  How are we supposed to unthink who we are?  With what resources do we understand how to change in the ways that are necessary to reach a goal we can't yet contain nor understand, as it's not a part of us?  We need God's help for detachment, a lifelong process of movement in our faith and re-centering in the place Christ asks us to be instead.  We need help.  That is, we need the kind of help that makes all things possible.

  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  As far as we know, these are not wealthy men of great possessions who have followed Christ.  It's possible that Matthew -- the author of this gospel! -- was relatively wealthy, as he was a tax collector.  But Peter, who has a family and a house, still speaks for them all when he says, "We have left all and followed You."  It's another emphasis that this teaching isn't just for the very wealthy, but for all of us.  Jesus now speaks of those who have left behind the whole of their lives for His sake, for the sake of His ministry and His church.  According to St. John Chrysostom, this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family.  It means even the acceptance that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  The return is wealth within faith:  brothers and sisters in Christ, and the kind of wealth added to life in the richness of faith.  Faith helps us to understand and discover resources present to us (exemplified in the multiplication of loaves and fishes), including "houses" of worship and fellowship.  Again, it is a kind of exchange of one life for another, as we have so often seen  (see yesterday's reading and commentary on this subject). 

We've often written in this blog about the exchange that we can see in Christ's teachings.  When something is sacrificed in the process of our faith, our walk with Christ, somehow the exchange we receive is something magnified beyond the value of what we gave up.  Christ "fills us with good things."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus spoke of having "treasure in heaven," in exchange for the worldly wealth the man who came to Him would give up, and I think we have a great tendency to be so focused on the material that we can't understand the great wealth that comes to the soul.  Enlightenment, in terms of being illumined by faith, gives us a far different perspective on the things we have than life without that faith.  There was a time I gave up nearly everything I owned because I felt it was that important to move; I had to leave most everything behind because I had no place to take it to, and found a way to give it to the poor.  It was the most liberating thing I have ever done, because it taught me that I could always start, with Christ, from wherever I am.  And it made me permanently dependent on God in ways that I pray I will not lose.  Christ has blessed me with a material life far beyond what I had then but it all has to be in service to God.  Most important however is the place of the heart.  It really doesn't matter what one has or doesn't have if we're totally selfish human beings.  And there we start with the baggage of the wealthy piled atop that camel in today's reading.  It is a time of Thanksgiving in the United States where I live.  Tomorrow is the holiday for giving thanks.  In a letter from a bishop, I read today that we must particularly give thanks in times of persecution, not only in times of peace and prosperity.  I ask my readers to remember those who are persecuted for their faith around the world today.  And it really is a worldwide phenomenon that I am writing about.  I have many readers in Africa who understand too well what I am writing about.  People across the Middle East are also suffering persecution for their faith, including those in the persecuted Church (and others) who have suffered from genocide in the last century and now face similar circumstances.  Whether we are wealthy or poor, we can understand the needs of those who stand to lose even their lives at any moment, or their freedom to slavery of the most horrific kind as women and children, targeted specifically because of their faith, are either made sex slaves or child soldiers and murderers.  These things are surely evil in the robbing of the souls of those who are its victims, the innocent and powerless of the world.    It is a time for all of us to understand who "the least of these" really are in our world and to give whatever we can -- including our prayers and time -- to help.  It is a hardhearted form of sophistry not to care about such people when one is far away from the horror with which they must live.  Let us not be blind to the reality of those who suffer the most persecution because they are the most helpless. 

If you want to be perfect

 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  Now one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

- Matthew 19:13-22

Yesterday, we read that Jesus departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.  My study bible tells us that the disciples rebuked the mothers of the little children to Christ for two reasons:  because their manner was "unruly" and also because they thought children diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master (according to Theophylact).  But Christ clearly rejects this thinking, even setting the children as examples of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Earlier, Jesus taught the disciples they must "become like little children."  In other words, humble.

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  Now one is good but One, that is, God."   It's important to see Jesus' first emphasis here.  The emphasis is on a complete reliance on God for what is good, and the relationship to God as that which makes "the good."  It is like Jesus' statement that any blasphemy could be forgiven, even "against the Son of Man," but not against the work of the Spirit.    My study bible says that the young man considers Christ only a "good teacher," but Christ's response is designed to lead this man to knowledge, without denying that He is God.

"But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus names the commandments of God, given by Moses.  But the young man has been following all of these commandments.  My study bible says that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  It notes, "This man had an earnest desire for eternal life and sensed that he still lacked something; thus, he continues to press Jesus for the answer." 

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.   Jesus makes the point that nothing should stand in the way of our following the path to the kingdom of God.  In this case, this man's attachments to his possessions stood in his way.  The things we may be asked to let go of will be different for each person, depending on our own attachments and how we may need to go forward with a heart more fully committed.  St. John Chrysostom has commented that giving away one's possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  Following Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.

So how do we know what it is we need to let go of for the kingdom of heaven?  It's interesting that Jesus speaks to this man of treasure in heaven, because it is a sense in which the life of the kingdom may overlap with our life in the world.  It's a sort of exchange, whereby doing something good for the kingdom gives us treasure in heaven.  In this case, giving up wealth to the poor.  It's not a legalistic formula though:  this particular choice was important for this man, the one of great possessions.  It's  not formulaic in the sense that one can just choose something to sacrifice, or a particular good deed.  Too often we think of Christ's teachings that way.  But teachings based on love are always healing for us.  Even a chastisement from Christ, or a great challenge such as this one, is made in love, meant to heal and offer much more than it seems to ask of us.  So this challenge, "if you want to be perfect," is a way of making an offer, and it is asking the man to make a choice for an exchange.  The treasure in heaven isn't so much about having wealth "somewhere else."  It's rather about living a life in which we magnify that kingdom within ourselves and among the reality of the worldly life we have.  This is an expansion of the soul, a way to live life as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven even as we live in this world.  Hosea's call to repentance tells us, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."  Consistent with that, we are to see this challenge by Christ not as a sacrifice so much as a way to come closer in relationship to God, to participate in the Kingdom, and to be called to a kind of mercy that is born of the love of God.  This man does not lack in love of his neighbor, as he's already stated to Christ he follows this commandment.  But the fullness of love asks more, the perfection of life in the Kingdom is a wholehearted, all-the-way commitment.   Christ doesn't ask more than we can give.  He doesn't ask more than we receive in return -- the exchange is infinite on God's side.  But it's not easy to give up our attachments, and that's the particular reality that may stun us here.  The true mark of generosity is the giving up of what we're deeply attached to.  This is not an easy challenge, it's a tough one, for all to see.  But the life we receive in exchange is worth all of our loyalty, with a whole heart.  It all depends on what we love most.  I don't think this man is asked for only his possessions, but rather a whole life of particular attachments that may come with it:  to particular friends, or social circle, or even family and status.  Christ asks him to "come, follow Me."   We shouldn't minimize the difficulty.

What God has joined together, let not man separate

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

- Matthew 19:1-12

In Friday's reading, Jesus gave the disciples a system for correction in the Church, when one member sins against another.  Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'   And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."   The Pharisees come to test Jesus on the basis of interpretation of the Law.  The basis for the test is Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  My study bible says that Jesus' emphasis here is on the fact that God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, doesn't override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage as revealed in Genesis 1 and 2.   For the sources of Jesus' quotations, see Genesis 1:27 and 5:2, and Genesis 2:24.  His words enshrine marriage as a sacrament and institution of God.  It's important that we understand the emphasis on love and community.   This is particularly so within the context of all of Jesus' teachings on community as created and upheld by God and faith.  Our recent readings have been all about what kind of community He institutes, emphasizes, and upholds.

They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."   My study bible tells us that the permissible reasons for divorce were expanded in the ancient Church to include threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion, in all cases acknowledging that such a situation was a spiritual tragedy.   It is clear in all cases that what is given and upheld in spiritual truth and with divine help can be rejected, spurned, and bonds harmed and abused by human choice.   That all reflects, as well, our relationship with God and our care of all bonds that extend from it.

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."  Jesus is speaking of those who, in their dedication to the Church, sacrifice marriage.  We know that among the disciples, there were those who had families.  Clearly one is Peter, in whose home Jesus spends time and whose mother-in-law was healed by Christ.

Jesus speaks of marriage in the context of teachings about community.  That is, what kind of community He wants us to have.  Although the text tells us that Pharisees have come to question and test Him, and that He's traveled to "Judea beyond the Jordan" since His previously-reported talk to the disciples, there's still continuity in the text.  The Gospel takes us directly to this report of Jesus' response to the Pharisees, and both His talk on marriage and on Church discipline and forgiveness are related to the essential understanding of what creates community for us.  The bottom line:  He creates community, God creates community.  How?  In marriage we see this central understanding that God merges people together.  In the sacrament of marriage, "the two shall become one flesh."  Jesus makes it clear that it is God's power at work in this when He says, "What God has joined together, let not man separate."  Just as He is in the center of community in the Church ("where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them"), so God is in the center of marriage, helping this process of two becoming one flesh.  Jesus clearly let it be known that we're capable of breaking the bonds of community by failing to acknowledge how we abuse those bonds.  The same is true of marriage and, indeed, of our own relationship to God.  This isn't God's failure:  we have the freedom to choose to respond to God's love, or not.    It isn't a failure of God's love, either.  Jesus has come into the world as God in the flesh in order to teach us what love is and does; in other words, what truly makes for community, and these teachings figure squarely in the middle of that.  So when we approach marriage let us consider what makes for these fast bonds of community and also of the bonds of marriage which merge two people together.  What are the ways in which we may abuse -- and lose -- either?  What does it mean to sin in the context of community and marriage bond?  This is the clear emphasis of Jesus, His repeated teaching no matter what the form.  Whether He is speaking of the "least of these" or repentant tax collectors, or a woman who is cast off because of the hardness of heart of a husband in His own time, everything is about the bonds of love -- the love He seeks to teach as the true cement of community, and the sin that breaks community apart and abuses relationship.  So we should put all consideration of sin in this context.  Many times I hear people talk about "victimless crimes."  But if we consider what we do that hurts community, even if we think we are only abusing ourselves, we might see how the effects of sin expand to harm others with whom we are also in relationship.  Let us consider His teachings, and take whatever we do in this context as seriously as He asks us to.    If you think about it, "what God has joined together, let not man separate" can apply to so many places we haven't considered, even outside the immediate context in which Jesus is teaching today.

Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?

 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'   And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

- Matthew 18:21-35

Yesterday, we read Jesus' further teaching to His disciples about care, service, and authority in His Church.  This follows Jesus' answer to the question, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  (See Thursday's reading.)  "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.  Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two or you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."   Seventy times seven is a kind of figure symbolic of an unlimited amount.  Seven is symbolic of completion; seventy simply magnifies its significance.   It's important that we remember from yesterday's reading, above, that Jesus has just given the disciples a formula for correction in the Church, when one member sins against another.  So Peter's question comes within this context.

 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt."   My study bible tells us that ten thousand talents is an impossible sum.  It's more than a laborer could earn in several lifetimes.  There's also a spiritual interpretation that has been given by certain Fathers regarding the punishment of being sold along with wife and children (and possessions).  The man represents the soul, the wife the body, and the children a person's deeds.  This would mean that the body and the deeds are given over to slavery -- Satan, so that the soul might possibly be saved (see 1 Corinthians 5:5).  Jesus has taught that those who sin are slaves to sin (John 8:34); but we remember that it is often the experience of a "slavish" life that wakes people up to the need for a different choice, the better alternative.

"But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt."  This amount, a hundred denarii, is a significant amount (about three month's wages), but a pittance compared to the 10,000 talents owed to the king.

 "So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'   And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."  The example of the king's forgiveness teaches that God not only stays the punishment we deserve, but forgives us the entire debt.  This example teaches that we are in turn required to grant the gift of forgiveness to others.  But the wicked servant fails, although his debtor has recognized his debt and asked for forgiveness.  Thereby the wicked servant's own debt remains.

In the context of the teaching by Jesus of discipline in the Church, we understand this parable to be complementary to the discipline.  In Friday's reading, Jesus taught a procedure to be followed should one member sin against another.  It involves dialogue first in private and then in public, and compassion, and also repentance on the part of the offender.  Otherwise, he or she is to be "as a heathen and a tax collector"  to the Church.  But this parable in today's reading tells us also our responsibility for forgiveness.  It's to be so expandable as to be virtually unlimited, and fully given.  Our failure to do so results in a failure to receive forgiveness for our own debts.  Considering all the things we don't know about how we might need more teaching in God's sight for what we do, and therefore all the things for which we're always forgiven, this is quite an important teaching!   What Jesus teaches is about community:  how we preserve it, how we teach it.  I think forgiveness is an important concept to think about.  It's certainly widely mentioned in the gospels, and there is no doubt how much emphasis Jesus puts on it.  There's both the aspect of our own mercy given, and mercy received.  But it breaks down into more than we usually consider.  There are two parts to this process:  one given in yesterday's reading and one in today's.  For some reason, we often find ourselves following one or the other, but not both.   Forgiveness isn't just about an automatic giving up of everything in the sense that we don't take note of egregious behavior.  Too often people want to say that sweeping something under the rug is akin to this forgiveness that Jesus teaches.  But Jesus really teaches us to note the sin, respectfully and privately confront it, and then bring it to higher recognition if necessary (that was in yesterday's reading).  All of this is a process.  And the one who fails to recognize his or her offense is to be considered akin to "a heathen and a tax collector" as a result; an outsider.  So what do we do then?  How does forgiveness work?  Forgiveness can always be practiced if we consider it to be a letting to go God for judgment.  Reconciliation is the counterpart to acknowledgement of offense and restoration of relationship.  But forgiveness is always available to practice in terms of our understanding that how we handle offenses is always up to God.  This is part and parcel of the fact that it's Christ who really creates community.  I think these are important steps to understand and to acknowledge.  In that context we can always forgive and maintain a prayerful life with respect to even those who offend without acknowledging the offense, if we remember all the steps Jesus has mentioned here.  The truth will always be crucial to how we conduct our lives.  We're not to conceal if from ourselves, and in Jesus' steps of discipline and correction, we don't hide it from others.  But so is forgiveness ("letting go") always a part of this process if we understand that Christ is the judge, and community is made by Him. Christ is regulator and mediator.  In His good "regulation,"  the process is endless, "up to seventy times seven."  It's important also to remember that today's parable of the wicked servant is told to those who will be authorities in the Church.  We should take note of the much larger sum with which such a person is entrusted -- and therefore potentially a much larger debt.  So much depends on how we treat the "littler ones." 

Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them

 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two or you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

- Matthew 18:10-20

Yesterday, we read that the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of haven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast in to the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."

 "Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven."  My study bible tells us that St. John Chrysostom taught something interesting about guardian angels.  Everybody has them, not just saints or the particularly holy.  But the angels of the the humble have greater boldness before God, and greater honor before the face of God, because of the humility of the person they guard.  It's not the nature of God, but rather the weakness of human beings, that requires the service of angels.

"For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.  What do you think?  If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?  And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."   Here is an example of a kind of hyperbole, not unusual, in Christ's teaching.  Unlike an earthly shepherd, God's omnipresence and great love means that even one has extraordinary value, so that this Shepherd would leave the rest at risk in order to save one.  My study bible says that the ninety-nine sheep represent the righteous who remain faithful to God (Luke 15:7).   My study bible adds that according to certain Church Fathers, this is also an image of the Incarnation in which the ninety-nine represent the angels in heaven.  Christ came to our world from heaven to pursue the one sheep -- humankind -- who had fallen into corruption ("lost") on earth.

"Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.  If he hears you, you have gained your brother.  But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'  And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church.  But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.  Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again I say to you that if two or you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."    One who sins against another in the midst of a congregation is breaking community.   Here Jesus gives a formula for mutual correction in the Church, in three expanding stages.  Sin and correction are to remain private, unless the offender refuses to repent.  Note that all correction must be done with great care and humility.  Continuing on from the search for the one lost sheep, the highest priority here is salvation of the offender (see 1 Corinthians 5:5; Galatians 6:1).  Nevertheless, says my study bible, correction is important so that the sin doesn't spread to others as well.  "Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" tells us all about what community we are, and how community is created.

What is community?  This is a most important question, an essential question.  What makes community?  Clearly, what Jesus says here is that He makes community.  Where we are gathered in His name, He's there in the midst of us.  Everything we do -- including the central focus of worship, the Eucharist -- is to make His presence known in us and among us.  Once we start there, we start to understand what community has to be about.  Christ's presence is with us.  He wants us to go after the lost sheep.  He wants us to care for one another.  Discipline should be protective, privacy comes first.   Scandal or sin that disrupts the community must be contained!   All of these teachings reflect the ways in which the disciples are to use power, the ways in which His Church must be established and upheld.  When we think about community, we have to think beyond a superficial understanding of collecting under one flag or label.  We are even to take it further than one roof, so to speak.  When Christ teaches, in John's Gospel, that God is Spirit, and is seeking those who can worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:24), we need to think about what that tells us in terms of how our community of Christian believers is formed and shaped.  If God is Spirit, then there are really no limits placed upon this community in terms of how it is formed and shaped, or where it is, or who it encompasses.  It transcends time -- as we can see most clearly in the notion of the communion of saints.  It transcends space as Spirit is in all places ("everywhere present and filling all things" according to an Orthodox Prayer to the Holy Spirit that begins every service).  Spirit also encompasses dimensions, to use what most would think of as a modern scientific concept, as we who worship on earth consider ourselves worshiping together with the angels, especially made clear when we sing the the song of the Seraphim ("Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of Your glory"), as recorded by Isaiah.    God the Spirit transcends language differences, as illustrated in the tongues of fire at Pentecost, and each hearing the same thought in their own language (Acts 2:1-13).  And even at the Transfiguration, which we've recently read about, Peter, James, and John all recognize Elijah and Moses without a word:  each is known to the other.  So the limits of temple worship are exceeded and broken in the Spirit.  The sense of who we are is superseded by the God who is Spirit in every possible way.  To worship in spirit and truth is to find our identity in Christ, our community in Christ, beyond all other forms of identity.  It is the "group" that supersedes all other groups no matter what they may be or mean to us.  In this Spirit, worship in spirit and in truth transcends boundaries of gender, ethnicity, origin, social orientation, and political party.  We are all in this together.  It doesn't matter what else might make us affiliated, we are all sons in truth, in spirit, in the worship of Christ present at the center of wherever we are gathered together in His name.  It is our highest duty, the first and the last calling.  Our Alpha and our Omega of where we always belong.  Nothing can keep us from this community, not life nor death.  And He will not lose one of us.  Nothing can keep us from this identity, unless we allow it to.   Even the most humble have angels who so boldly and honorably behold the face of our Father in heaven.

Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of haven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast in to the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."

- Matthew 18:1-9

Yesterday, we read that while Jesus and the disciples were staying in Galilee, He said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up."  And they were exceedingly sorrowful.  When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, "Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?"  He said, "Yes."  And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "What do you think, Simon?  From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?"  Peter said to Him, "From strangers."  Jesus said to him, "Then the sons are free.  Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of haven?"  Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."  The question reflects a concern for the coming Kingdom, a misunderstanding of Jesus' teaching that on the third day He will be raised up (see yesterday's reading, above).  The disciples are concerned for their places in this kingdom as they are imagining it, something like the expected kingdom of the Messiah.  This teaching about humility sets down Jesus' understanding of power in graciousness.  It reflects the very nature of grace.  Some icons depict the little child in this story as St. Ignatius of Antioch, and some church traditions teach that this is the little boy who gave the loaves and fishes (John 6:9).   My study bible tells us that the little child as model of true discipleship emphasizes the virtues required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven:  "humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved."

"Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.  Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea."   My study bible says that little ones include all those who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.   Little ones can also be the vulnerable who come for spiritual instruction and guidance in the Church.  These men will be the first bishops and stewards; Jesus is teaching what kind of leadership He wants in His hierarchy.   There is an emphasis on the vulnerability of the humble to be misled, exploited -- to cause them to sin.  They will be in the care of these leaders.  There isn't a more dire expression for just how extremely bad such leadership would be -- better in fact for a millstone to be hung around one's neck and drowned in the depth of the sea.

"Woe to the world because of offenses!  For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!  If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast in to the everlasting fire.  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you.  It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire."    Again, warnings to these who will be the leaders of the Church in terms of their own failings and imperfections -- precisely because of what impact that has on the little ones.  These are the offenses Jesus speaks to, the offenses to the powerless and humble, those who come for spiritual care in the Church.  Once again we have the language from the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus taught that it is our own tendencies to sin that must be dealt with.  (See Let your "Yes" be "Yes," and your "No," "No.")  A hand or foot that causes one to sin is a possibly a hand that is grasping, a foot that wanders where it should not.  An eye that causes one to sin is perhaps an "evil eye" -- which means envy or jealousy, or an eye that looks with covetousness or other forms of lust that are inappropriate, particularly where exploitation of the little ones, the vulnerable are concerned!  To pluck out an eye or cut off and cast away a hand or foot is a metaphor for dealing with one's own sin so that it does not harm the others in one's charge.  Again, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke of name-calling as akin to murder:  there's always a temptation to express superiority by using such abuse  by those who crave power.  My study bible says cutting off and casting away also refers to harmful relationships that must be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26; 1 Corinthians 5:5).  Again this warning to His disciples is extreme:  better to enter into life (this is the life of the kingdom) without hand or foot or eye than cast into hell fire.  A dire image!

So Jesus emphasizes the care of the little ones.  His Church must be concerned with a power structure that emphasizes service.  If He teaches about sin, then the leadership must be the ones who bear the most responsibility for their own sin.  This is so particularly because it has a most deleterious effect on the powerless, the humble, the vulnerable who need care.  What might such sin be?  Covetousness, a love of power, or the desire to "lord it over" others come to mind as examples that Jesus suggests.  The failure to be true examples, to fail to cut off and cast away sin themselves, means that the leaders of the Church will fail in their mission, and that they will surely mislead others.  Jesus chastises the Pharisees and scribes in a very vivid way when He calls them hypocrites and tells them, "You travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves" (Matthew 23:15).  For the leaders of His own Church, He's making it perfectly clear that if they follow in the same footsteps they will suffer extreme consequences.  And so we take with us the need for the protection and care of "little ones."  Who are the littlest and most vulnerable you know?  Does the world suggest particularly vulnerable populations to you at the moment?  Let us think about power and its use, and what kind of King Jesus will be, the grace that is the hallmark of His power.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus made Peter consider who it is kings take taxes or customs from, and in today's reading He emphasizes care of the little ones who most need our help.  Let us consider where that leads us today, the temptations to abuse our power, and the importance of our own self-examination.  Who most needs your care?