I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!  But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!  Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division.  For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and two against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?

"Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."

- Luke 12:49-59

On Saturday, we read that Jesus taught His disciples, "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.  And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."

 "I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"  My study bible says that fire here references the proclamation of the gospel and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  It notes that this fire both enlivens the faithful and judges the faithless; it purifies virtue and destroys sin (see 3:16; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

 "But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!"  Baptism is a process of death and rebirth; here Jesus is referring to His Passion.  My study bible writes that His death is baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world.  See also Romans 6:3-6.

"Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth?  I tell you, not at all, but rather division.  For from now on five in one house will be divided:  three against two, and two against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."  My study bible says that there are two kinds of peace.  One is a false peace, to which Christ refers here.  That's a shallow sort of harmony that results from ignoring issues of truth.  A true peace is reconciliation to God through faith in Christ and surrender to truth.  Genuine peace, says my study bible, has division as a byproduct -- not everyone wants truth.  In the fallen world, divisions are necessary for truth to be manifest (see 1 Corinthians 11:18-19).  Christ emphasizes how truly personal these divisions can be, the truth manifesting and doing its work in the most intimate parts of ourselves and our lives, before all other relationships (see also Hebrews 4:12).  My study bible also notes that the divisions Christ notes here fulfills the prophecy of Micah 7:6.  Its literal meaning has been experienced in the Church since the time of Christ.  But also, an older generation being divided from the younger can symbolize (1) the rejection of the new covenant by followers of the old, and (2) the spiritual struggle between our old, sinful state and our renewal in Christ (see Ephesians 4:20-24).

Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is.  And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is.  Hypocrites!  You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?"  This time is the revelation of the Kingdom of God in the coming of Jesus Christ, the Incarnation of God present in our world, the Messiah.   This time is also the signaling of the beginning of Judgment, to be culminated in His return.

"Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right?  When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.  I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."  My study bible says that just as a guilty person would attempt to reconcile with his opponent before facing an earthly judge, so even more should one be reconciled to God in Christ before facing His dread judgment. 

The truth is a powerful judge.  Perhaps this Truth should be put in capital letters, because we're speaking of spiritual truth -- the truth that comes from Christ, from a holy life or one led in pleasing God.  We live in a world of supposedly competing truths, where there are many belief systems and opposing "absolutes" we may hear or listen to.  But the spiritual truth of Christ is at its depth about a living truth in this world, and about the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is the Spirit that gives life to Jesus' word, so that what we read and hear is the "living word," not a set of dead letters nor a legalistic document that merely sets down rules for us to follow in a manner without Christ's active love and mercy.  We note the words used here:  "active" and "living."  This truth is that born of faith, of an active relationship to Christ:  a loving and prayerful way of living in the world and seeking to be His light reflected into the world.  That is, learning to practice His truth and His love and His mercy -- meeting life, we could say, in an actively prayerful manner.  The truth of God in this sense is always going to be at work within us, refining our intentions, giving us a better window and understanding of our own thoughts, exposing the "plank in our own eye."   Even a depth of love for Christ is going to be a source of potential conflict, a way of being in the world that is at odds with the people we are closest to, or belief or value systems which even we may hold dear.  But truth calls us in a way that has to do with Christ's Incarnation and with the ultimate Judgment that comes with His return.  Truth is also about witnessing.  The word "martyr" means witness in the Greek.  This isn't so much about witnessing to the world or those around us as it is tied up with the ultimate spiritual judgment that Christ alludes to in today's reading.  What do we live for?  Do we honor this truth that we find in prayer and in faith, in an active life of spiritual hope?  A life lived this way is all about witnessing, and in so doing we are also going to encounter the response of the world to that truth.  This is part of the struggle of faith.  Ultimately there is something in our hearts that kindles a love and loyalty to the living Word, to the work of Christ -- or does not.  We may encounter a struggle with the world within our own hearts:  opposing ideas of what is good or proper will create struggle and ask us for choice (such as the man who asked to go home and bury his father before taking on the work of discipleship; see Luke 9:57-62).  Ultimately, Christ is telling us, His Incarnation means that we have a choice, that within the moments of our lives are opportunities for choice.  A deep and burning desire for truth, a love of truth, forms and shapes choice.  Jesus tells us, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  He leaves us teaching about the Spirit of Truth that will guide us (John 16:13).   Among the many certainties people may insist there are in life, there is this one central thing of the heart:  trying to fulfill and to live the love of Christ as He instructs us to do (John 13:34).  To meet a world full of confusion, conflict, evil, and greed of all forms, we seek that place of peace from which we take our spiritual truth, a union in the heart with His love.  And that will be our Judgment.  We mustn't forget this is active and alive, living -- the fire of the Spirit in the world and His Kingdom that lives within us and among us.  Moreover, His "baptism" of Crucifixion tells us that His Incarnation is about Judgment:  the Judgment of the Lord of the universe,  God of all creation and everything that is, Who knows what it is to be a suffering creature, a victim of injustice, One who dies even in sacrifice for others.  What this assures us of is that His truth, His love, and His Judgment are all about witnessing against that which oppresses and harms and enslaves.  The evil that causes pain is the enemy (in Greek, poneros, the word for evil or evil one, has as its root the word for pain).  We are all a part of that plan, witnesses for His way, when we live His truth and meet the world in it.

Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning

 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.  And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."

- Luke 12:32-48

Yesterday we read that one from the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."  Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  In this discourse, Jesus will return repeatedly to these words, "Do not fear."  We must contrast this with a teaching also recently given by Jesus (in Thursday's reading), and that was to fear God's power of Judgment (see Luke 12:4-5).  We contrast the two by noting Jesus' emphasis against anxiety, and repeated encouragement to trust in God to know what is good for His flock, and God's desire ("good pleasure") to given them the kingdom.  All believers are included in this little flock.  My study bible says that they are little in two ways:  (1) they are insignificant in the eyes of the world, and (2) they are small in number when compared to earthly and heavenly creation.  We note once again the emphasis on a kind of exchange:  giving earthly alms, practicing love and charity and mercy, fills us with an inalienable and indestructible treasure.   Where our treasure is, there our heart goes also.   That is, the full center of who we are.

"Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.  Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching.  Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them.  And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."    This call for vigilance on the part of His followers echoes the imagery of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).  Let your waist be girded refers to preparation for virtuous action, a kind of readiness for immediate action.  Your lamps burning means spiritual discernment must always be in operation.  Taken together they refer to readiness to carry out commands of the Master and constant vigilance for full preparation.  The second and third watch is between 9:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m., which my study bible says is interpreted as hours of heightened temptation.  The servants are most blessed who remain faithful during the night.  Christ has already taught that there is only one thing to fear, and that is the judgment of God.  Here the unpredictable return of the Master, the Son of Man, is what is emphasized.  We are simply to remain faithful and be ready at every hour. 

Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?"  And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season?  Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.  Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.  But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers."  Peter asks an important question.  Jesus' response, to speak of the faithful and wise steward, is to give a parable that does indeed speak to the apostles and their successors, those who will be rulers and teachers of the Church.  They are the stewards of the Church.  A good steward is one who is always aware of the Master's commands, and cares for the entire household with its full good in mind, especially careful to be in relationship with the servants for such an end and goal.  But a steward who runs the Master's household as if it is only for his own lording over, for his power, to exploit the people and things of the household, will face the harshest penalty.  To those who are corrupt the Master will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

"And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.  But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.  For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."  Here is a statement about judgment.  Those who know and to whom has been given much will be fully responsible for violating the wisdom, power, and knowledge they've been given.  (See James 3:1.)  The many stripes symbolize condemnation to those who are willfully and knowingly disobedient.  The few stripes, says my study bible, are for those disobedient out of ignorance and indicate chastisement or correction.

The call to vigilance is a very serious one.  How do we take our faith?  Particularly to those who "know," who have been given much, the strictness of Jesus is very deliberate.  The more that has been given, the greater the responsibility.  He especially emphasizes the temptations of power and authority.  Those are temptations to exploit, to mistreat, to use the Church as if it were personal property, to understand authority not as something held in stewardship and service to the fullness of the Church, but rather to be used as personal extension of oneself.  Greatness, Jesus will repeatedly teach, is found in humility.  True greatness is found in the one who would be servant or slave to all.  When He speaks of keeping the waist girded (that is, a way of tying up outer garments so one is ready for action) and lamps burning, He's speaking about the constant readiness and vigilance in keeping His word and following His commands.  So much emphasis has been put on almsgiving and the interior life  in this sermon that it is also unmistakably addressing temptations to all forms of greed and selfishness.  That is, the inner life -- particularly of those who will be His stewards in His Church -- must never be neglected.  In such a state, the temptations to power will be far greater.  Exploitation and corruption will always be temptations; Jesus demands much more of His stewards than of the rest.  The goals of the practice of charity, then, become much deeper goals of inward humility before God.  They become a shoring up of strength in service.  The constant vigilance of prayer and spiritual work means a greater fight against the temptations that lurk in the dark, unless one's lamp is always kept burning so that we may truly see what we are about.  All of this works together for a life within His grace, and it is particularly so for those who would be in leadership or who are graced with the teachings He has to give.  The penalties are harsher for those who know better and fail in this mission of loyalty and love and care for the little flock.  Christ asks of us a kind of strength and courage which teach us what stewardship really is.  In the Church, we're led to understand that stewardship isn't only about the Church, but of all the world and everything in it that is God's creation, every living thing, every creature.  It is all a great gift, and none of it truly belongs to us.  It is in our care.  To be a good steward is to remember His commands at all times, to be ready to take action against our own temptations and to shine a light on our own weaknesses, so that we may truly serve Him best and be prepared for His return.  He wants to find us watching -- alert and awake, constantly mindful of all that we are to be about.

Seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you

 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

- Luke 12:13-31

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus spoke to the scribes and Pharisees, they 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 of 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."

 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."  But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"  And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  My study bible says that it was customary for respected rabbis to arbitrate personal disputes.  But a dispute over an inheritance can be detrimental to salvation if it simply exacerbates covetousness and greed, which are actually forms of idolatry.  The real question is a matter of emphasis and the centrality of God to one's life (see Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13).  

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:  "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  So he said, 'I will do this:  I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'  But God said to him, 'Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."   What the emphasis in life?  What do we focus on?  Jesus seems to teach here that in fact our time is not truly our own, so we must spend it wisely.  If we're not thinking about salvation, then we're wasting our time.  What is it to be rich toward God?  In the Gospels, almsgiving is consistently presented as a way to store treasure in heaven.  How we practice mercy is a way of building up the treasure we take with us into eternity, something that truly belongs to a soul.  The meaning of this parable presented by Jesus is that this rich man has actually cheated himself.  My study bible says that "Whose will those things be which you have provided?" is actually the key to understanding the saving up of material goods.  St. Ambrose writes, "The things which we cannot take with us are not ours.  Only virtue will be our companion when we die."  Even when Joseph stored up grain in Egypt, it was for the benefit of the whole nation.  My study bible adds that these teachings apply to parishes as well as each person.

Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing.  Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?  And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things.  But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."  There is a depth of emphasis on what God knows about us here in these words.  Jesus' beautiful preaching asks us to look around at the beauty of the world and to understand that God knows all about us and all about the needs that we have.  Our first trust should be there.  An anxious mind is one that is spending one's time thinking all about the material goods one can get.  The emphasis here is about what we put first.  Seeking the kingdom does not mean we leave behind all our needs.  But it does mean there is something that is our recognized treasure that is central to all the rest of life and into which we place our trust, to which all these things are added unto you.

Jesus places a great emphasis here on how we spend our time.  What do we think about?  What is it we dwell upon?  What gives us anxiety?  What is it to be rich in the things of God?  There is always a system of exchange at work.  Christ seems to teach that we can't really have it both ways; we must put an emphasis on pleasing God or mammon.  Our time is limited.  He doesn't leave out the good in life that we need.  Neither does he leave beauty and enjoyment out of life.  He points out the care God provides for the ravens, even for the beauty of the lilies of the field.  These things are not wrong nor bad.  But the more essential thing is what we put first, and then "all these things shall be added unto you."   We store up treasure in heaven by building up the things of the Kingdom in this world.  By practicing charity and mercy, by helping others, by keeping our focus on the love of God, we build treasure every day that is also a true part of ourselves, a part of the soul, the reality that will stand before God.  There's a key to true richness here, that joy and wealth don't really come from an abundance of riches.  In fact, we should all understand that when one can feel an internal wealth it changes our perception of our own lives, our feeling of wealth in life.  The loneliest and saddest place in the world can be a life full of "stuff" without meaning and without connection to love and true beauty.  We can delude ourselves, as the rich man in Christ's parable, by thinking it must be so.  But we are more than just a body; our very lives exist in the fullness of what it is to be a human being made in the image of God.  There is nothing that can make a person more wealthy than understanding what they have to give to others, or the abundance of love they can find within themselves, the great treasure of resources God provides which is surprising and inestimable.  Charity is so much more than wealth.  It's a frame of mind.  What a person needs may not be money. It might be a thoughtful caring word, a reassuring smile, maybe a telephone call.  St. Basil says that a coat hanging unused belongs to the person who needs it.  A conversation -- one's time -- with a person in need may do more to give hope and support than an impersonal donation.  There are all kinds of ways to spend our lives focused on the Kingdom and the wealth and abundance we create there.  Let us not forget to trust God to find the place we need to be, and to understand the good gifts of life and all that we need.  Lest we forget, let us not neglect prayer when there is nothing else we can give; it's the source of so much that can change a life.

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 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 of 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 the 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.  In yesterday's reading (see above), Jesus strongly criticized the lifestyles of the scribes, Pharisees, and lawyers.  He called them hypocrites and proclaimed there would  be "woe to them" for their failure to uphold their positions as religious leaders of the people.  They were not merciful, and in fact hindered others from finding the wisdom of God.  This criticism has turned their feelings against Him, and they now plot to find accusations with which to charge 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 of 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."  Here is the great enemy, so to speak:  hypocrisy.  It was this with which He condemned the practices of the scribes, Pharisees, and lawyers.  Hypocrite, as discussed in yesterday's reading, is a word that meant "actor" in the Greek.  In the ancient plays, actors wore masks to denote their character.  The word literally means "under a mask."  Jesus proclaims here the work of God; it is the antithesis of hypocrisy.  Everything spoken in the dark will be heard in the light; what is spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.   We are to live our lives with this understanding.

"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."  This is  again a statement about what is known.  It is a radical awakening against hypocrisy.  The disciples are always to be aware of the vision of God, that nothing is lost to the sight of God.  Therefore what we fear is not the death of the body, but rather the One who watches our soul (see Proverbs 9:10).  My study bible says that the body will die eventually, one way or another.  St. Ambrose states that the death of the body is not itself a punishment -- instead, it is the end of earthly punishments.  But the soul continues for all eternity.  Since God is the judge of the soul, what we strive for even in the world is to please God alone. 

"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."  Here is another exhortation against hypocrisy, a teaching on how His disciples must live.  My study bible says that to say a word against the Son of Man is to reject Jesus as the Messiah.  Before their conversion, Jesus seemed to be a mere man to many people.  The scandal caused by the Incarnation and Crucifixion of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:23) means that this sin is more easily forgiven.  But the Holy Spirit is without bodily form and works invisibly for divine goodness in the world.  Many Church Fathers, including St. John Chrysostom, say that even blasphemy against the Spirit would be forgivable if one repents; and Jesus never pronounces it "unforgivable."  But the truth Jesus teaches here is that those who knowingly blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure goodness "evil."  Therefore they are unrepentant by choice.  But there is more important teaching here, and it is about Judgment.  To do and speak the words given by the Holy Spirit is to bring a kind of truth into the world that is true testimony.  It then falls to every person who hears how they will respond.  Judgment is of course up to God, and depends on all kinds of things including repentance, as my study bible points out. 

So what does it mean to avoid hypocrisy?  What is it that Jesus is teaching that may be whispered in the ear in the dark and is proclaimed on the housetops?  I think there is a deep connection here to mystical truth and to the work of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus calls His followers to an entirely different awareness than that of the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers.  His faith is not about only conforming to outward expectations and appearances, but that which must shore up the love of God in the heart.  This is not a passive love that declares itself loyal and is satisfied with confession or declaration.  This is an active love, one that translates into all wakeful activity, focused in prayer, and in the desire to please God.  An active love is one that is always present and always renewed, one that considers each action within the context of living prayer and communion.  What does that mean exactly?  Jesus places it in the context of something very active indeed:  testimony.  One cannot imagine a more "quickened" moment of life than being brought up before the the synagogues and magistrates and authorities.  But in His words, it is then they are not to worry, but rather trust in the Holy Spirit who will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.  This is an active love.  It's like a spouse whose ongoing thought and effort is about making a happy home, a good marriage.  So we are to think about pleasing and being in communion (and communication) with God.  We can't always know the thoughts of God, and we can't always be certain we understand where God is leading us.  But we can focus on our intentions and our love.  We can dwell in a state of active prayer and inner focus.  We can live our love the way love is lived in one who cares every moment for a beloved one.  This is what it means not to live as a hypocrite, to say from the housetops what is said in the ear in an inner room, to be true to a heart that is true.  Just like a marriage and a family, we don't know what is perfect -- and none of us is Judge.  But we can work at what He teaches, and most of all, we can trust as He teaches.

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 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 the 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."

- Luke 11:37-52

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus was speaking, a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."

And as He 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?"  The Pharisee is thinking about ceremonial washing, an observation of oral tradition (not violation of the law of Moses).  But Jesus speaks to the hypocrisy of strict observance of these built up customs as if they were in fact the fulfillment of the Law in and of themselves - and as if they were the only necessary focus.  To be holy in God's sight one must not neglect the "inside" also created by God.

"But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you."  How does one build up the inside?  Giving alms, the practice of charity, is one way of building up an internal cleanliness, so that then everything is clean.   We can see this in the practice of Christ's mercy, when He touches a leper to heal.  (See Titus 1:15.) 

"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."   All of these things are an indication of emphasis on the external, on only things done to be seen.  To tithe herbs but to bypass the justice and love of God is to do what is tiny and to bypass what is of the essence and truly great.  To love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces is to crave the admiration of others as one's focus.  But they neglect the love of God which defines and centers everything else.  In this way they are like unseen graves; their inner death and emptiness is unseen and unknown, the worth of the soul forgotten.  Jesus does not condemn religious practice designed to shore up faith and center us on the love of God and neighbor.  What He condemns is the use of built-up traditions in such a way that obscures the focus on the heart and the love of God and allows for its neglect.  Woe is a term that indicates complete and devastating destruction, says my study bible (6:24-26; see Isaiah 5:18-24; Amos 5:18-19; Revelation 12:12).

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 the 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."   It is possible to be zealous for the law and to neglect the weightier matters of love of God and true justice.  My study bible says that because the example of a leader can be so influential, leaders who do not love God can hinder others from finding Him as well.  Thus leaders are held to a higher standard (James 3:1). 

 Christ calls hypocrites those whose emphasis is so fully on the outside that they neglect the "inside" -- the inner part of a person.  This inner part is also understood as the heart of a person.  That is, that which unites all that we are:  mind and spirit and soul.  Jesus says that to clean this inside renders all clean; the body is not left out of this understanding.  Jesus addressed this in yesterday's reading, when He said, "The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light."  This lamp of the body is the spiritual eye; that is, the mind, that with which we perceive and view life.  In effect, He's telling these men that they don't allow the light to come into that eye and to make all things clean.  True purity or cleanliness of the heart leads to an understanding of what is truly clean or pure.  A wholly external emphasis on rules compiled via oral tradition renders these men hypocrites.  They neglect the weightier matters of justice and mercy in favor of how they are reflected back to themselves in the eyes of others, their peers and contemporaries.  This is what Jesus means when He tells them that they "love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces."   What is really important here is not a separation between external and internal.  In fact, this is what Jesus is condemning as hypocritical.  (The word hypocrite in the Greek originally means "actor."  In the ancient plays such as those contemporary with Jesus' time, actors wore masks to denote their characters.  Hypocrite literally means "under the mask.")   What Jesus is offering is the authenticity of a heart devoted to loving God and neighbor, and in the fullness of life this means that externally acts are also clean.  This is a true salvation of all of life, not a separation of interior and exterior.  Hence, St. Paul writes in a letter to Titus:  "All things are clean to the clean" (Titus 1:15).  My study bible emphasizes the danger to Christians as well in that when we have beautiful ritual and practices, all those traditions designed to shore up the love of God and neighbor, we also run the risk of putting all the emphasis on the external and neglecting the very thing the practices are meant to help.  Prayer must be the place we go to find God and the love of God in our hearts, which leads us to true purity and righteousness.  That is, to right-relatedness to the world and all beings and things in it.  It is not about being seen by others.  Alms-giving, charity, the practice of mercy becomes treasure in heaven when it comes from a pure heart.  Hence, Jesus will teach that we go into our inner chamber -- alone with God our Father "who is in the secret place" and "who sees in secret," and He will reward openly.  That word for inner chamber indicates an inner room in a house for the storage of valuables, and it truly works through all meanings implied, including to teach us that we need to pray undisturbed whatever else we do -- and emphasizes Jesus' teachings about the treasures of the heart as well (see Matthew 6:6, 21).   All emphasis here goes back to the love of God, the true love of God in the heart that enlightens everything else.  What He implies in today's reading is that these men are like those who killed the prophets sent by God (their "fathers").  That is, the prophets were sent to remind the people of the love and this commitment to God they lack -- and were killed for doing so.  It starts with the heart, and none of us are immune from the temptation to external emphasis, to hypocrisy.  Those in leadership, especially, deprive others when they fail to be true to this kind of purity and integrity.  Let us remember God's love.

If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light

 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."

- Luke 11:27-36

Yesterday, we read that Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; sand the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."   Others, testing Him, sought a sign from heaven.  But He knowing their thoughts, said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.  If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.  But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.   When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." 

And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  My study bible notes that these words are read on most feasts of the Virgin Mary.  Jesus is correcting the women from the crowd, not by denouncing his mother, but rather by emphasizing her faith.  People are blessed in Gods' eyes, says my study bible, if, like Mary, they hear the word of God and keep it.  The Greek word which is translated, more than that, is translated "Yes indeed" in Romans 10:18.  This word is a correction by amplification, not by negation.   This passage reinforces what we read in chapter 8, when Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were waiting outside to see Him.  His response: "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it" (8:21).

And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here."  The sign of Jonah to the Ninevites was preaching to them for repentance.  The Ninevites are great examples of repentance as response to Jonah's preaching.  Further, Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days, prefiguring Christ rising from the tomb (Matthew 12:40).  In contrast to the Ninevites and their king, the leadership of the Jews fail to repent in response to something far greater than Jonah:  Christ's preaching and Resurrection.  The result is judgment.  The Queen of the South, a foreigner like the Ninevites, came to hear and praised God for the wisdom of Solomon, recognizing the presence of the God of Israel for such blessings.  She too will be a judgment against those already prepared for the Messiah by tradition and knowledge, who reject Christ's wisdom and the presence of the Kingdom (see 3 Kings 10:1-10).

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."  Here, as elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus uses the metaphor of light as an essential need for those who would not walk in darkness.  In John 8:12, Jesus teaches, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Here He teaches all of us that we can be "sons of light" by bearing that light within us.  Not only does it give light (like a lamp) to those who are around, but also illumines the mind, which is the spiritual eye of the body, and guides 'how we see.'   But if this eye of the mind is bad and full of darkness, then so will be the fullness of the life we lead.  This is where we must take heed about what we put our faith into, which guides how we see.  If we choose to live by the light that shines through Him, we expect illumination over all that we are and think and how we see.

What is light, and what is the eye?  This is an important part of Christ's preaching.  It is found in the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, and clearly was preached elsewhere throughout Christ's ministry.  They are themes He returns to again and again.  The light that illumines the eye is the light that we need so that we won't walk in darkness, and we won't stumble.  We'll know where we are going.  There is a deep emphasis on the spiritual nature of our faith and its working within us.  This is a light that illumines the mind; if the whole body is lit by this light of the eye, then Christ is teaching us that it is a light that is meant to be thrown upon all of our lives, everything that we are, allowing us truly see.  In Luke chapter 6, as He does in the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches us to be aware of the "plank in our own eye" so that we may see clearly enough to remove the speck in another's eye (6:42).  It is this same light that illumines our imperfections and blindness so that we may truly see what we are about, in order to help others.  This is a journey that is meant to be lifelong.  To illuminate the entire body is the work of our lives, in His faith and in His light that allows us to see light (Psalm 36:9).  This is what it is to truly be His family, children by adoption, to seek to know and keep the word of God.  To reject the light, He says, is to risk judgment.   In John's Gospel, He tells Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).  None of what He teaches is ever about proofs.  No one is forced to believe.  He is looking for a connection of love, the capacity for spiritual perception, the desire for the life of light.  This is an ongoing journey, in which the light teaches, illumines, and changes us as we come to terms with the things which block that light.  Let us go forward in its grace with thanks.

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters

 And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; sand the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."   Others, testing Him, sought a sign from heaven.  But He knowing their thoughts, said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.  If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.  But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

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

- Luke 11:14-26

On Saturday, we read that as Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:  Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us day by day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a  serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

And He was casting out a demon, and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; sand the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  Beelzebub refers to a pagan god, which the Jews derided by calling "the Lord of the Flies."  In this case, it's a direct reference to Satan (as Jesus infers).

 Others, testing Him, sought a sign from heaven.  This will be the constant theme in Jesus' ministry; He refuses to give proofs to those who demand it.  A sign isn't given to those whose motive is just to test God. (See 4:9-12; this is one of the temptations of the devil in the wilderness). 

 But He knowing their thoughts, said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.  If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."  The finger of God is the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:28).

"When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.  But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils."  Here, the strong man is Satan (also called by Christ the prince or ruler of this world - John 14:30), who holds sway over the fallen human race, while the stronger man is Christ (see 1 John 4:4).  One could say this is a parable of the mission and ministry of Christ which is ongoing.

"He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters."   My study bible suggests here that it is the work of Christ to gather the children of God, while those who scatter are in direct opposition to Him.  Those who work in opposition to Christ are different from those who work in good faith toward His purpose but aren't yet united to the Church (see 9:46-50).   My study bible quotes from St. Seraphim of Sarov who says that only "good deeds done for Christ's sake bring fruit," and therefore deeds done for other purposes, "even if they are good, are deeds that scatter abroad."  Clearly this is a statement of Christ's power and centrality to the mission of salvation.

"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."  The unclean spirit, according to St. John Chrysostom, refers to the rebelliousness cast out of the Jews by the Old Testament prophets to prepare them to receive Christ.  Those who refuse to receive Him are left open to the wickedness of seven other spirits or demons.  We recall that seven is also a number of completeness or fullness. 

St. Paul writes about the sons of disobedience in Ephesians 2:2.  Although he is speaking to a formerly pagan audience, and not a Jewish one, we can see the same idea at work:  disobedience or rejection of Christ, His words and His teachings, is a problem of a complex spiritual nature.   Similarly to Christ's words above, St. Paul refers to the "prince of the power of the air;" that is,  to a spirit that is lower than Christ but has power in this world.  In the  Gospels there is often reference to a 'worldly' state of mind in those who cannot receive Christ.  John tells us that even among the rulers in the temple, there were those who believed, but who feared the Pharisees, and loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.  This is a type of worldly point of view, in which the 'desires of the flesh' (in this case, one's image in the eyes of others) rule.  It's not easy to stand up to the world, to a social milieu, to one's environment.  This is precisely why one needs the power of the "Stronger Man" to draw us out of the world, so to speak, and refashion our lives (see John 15:19).  At the heart of Christ's teachings there is a choice on offer, and that choice is found in our own hearts.  Christ's reference to the unclean spirit that is cast out, and does not find rest elsewhere, but draws seven spirits more wicked than himself and returns, seems to me to be a reference to a pattern of life, in which we are always asked to make this choice, and with His help.  Without Him, the commitment cannot be strong enough for the consistence and power to refuse to fall back into the same pattern.  It's a common wisdom to observe and understand that life is a kind of road; we don't remain in one state, but are on the way somewhere.   So much depends on choice, in order to avoid "the last state" that is "worse than the first."  As discussed in a reading last week, when we think of evil or demonic influence, we should not fall into the trap of assuming that popular culture can teach us something about what this looks or feels like.  The influence, if present, is subtle.  Things take place in the heart that a person may barely be aware of.  A lie can be subtle, a deception is something we may all be tempted by and subject to.  St. Paul includes himself in Ephesians 2:3, when he writes that "among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."  One presumes he is speaking of his own role in the persecution of the Church.  Ultimately Christ is speaking about the openness of the heart to the saving mission of God, the revelation that takes us "out of the world" so that we may come to senses that have been charged only with material ways of thinking, of fitting in, of the "praise of men," of everything we are minus a communion with God that changes the ways we see and experience life and the world.  Jesus teaches us that there is a power struggle going on, a battle that takes place in the hearts and minds of human beings, and that we are always left with a basic choice through all things.  This choice is neither simple nor easy; it's often not at all black and white.  What sounds good may not be good at all -- and what is truly good may sound like a really bad idea (see Matthew 16:21-23).  We should be aware of the ways in which deception works through our own senses and perceptions.  The one place we can rely on is also in the heart, and that is in the affirmation of love for God, love for Christ, and a dependency on this love to show us the way.  We should remember that He is the "stronger man," the one who has come to bind up the ruler of this world, and to set free the captives and give liberty to the oppressed.  We put our trust there.  It's not our own power we rely on.  Prayer and all the practices of the Church are designed simply to shore up that basic choice, to help us with what we truly need at the heart of everything.   It all starts and ends with this love, this deep and gentle place that is stronger than all the rest.

Give us day by day our daily bread

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one."

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs.  So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a  serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

- Luke 11:1-13

Yesterday, we read that as Jesus and the disciples went toward Jerusalem, He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  So He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study bible says that the Father/Son relationship of Christ and the Father is one that we are invited into.  We become "sons" (male and female, as inheritors of the Kingdom) by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7), and so we may say Our Father.  This is not because God is Creator, but rather because we truly enter into such a relationship that asks of us the same love, trust, and service as we see in Christ's relationship to the Father.  This is a saving and personal relationship that comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16).

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  Daily is a mistranslation of a Greek word (epiousios) which was seemingly coined just for this prayer.  It's not found elsewhere in Greek literature.  It means literally, "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  The expression daily bread, then, is not about asking for material bread as a daily portion, it's about life lived as member of the Kingdom; it is bread for "the eternal day of the Kingdom of God," as my study bible puts it.  It is clearly Eucharistic in its image; but the living, supersubstantial bread is Christ Himself.  My study bible says, "We are not asking merely for material bread for physical health, but for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58)."

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  My study bible notes that this request is plural, which means that we are directed to pray always for the forgiveness of others.  Jesus often speaks in ways or metaphors of exchange; here the term debts refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  The plural also indicates this is  about community; we are individuals in relationship with community.  Sin and sinning always affects community and is not only a personal affair.

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."  God does not tempt us to sin, says my study bible (see James 1:13).  Temptations are from the evil one (as this word indicates in Greek), the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5), and these occur in all kinds of ways and elusive forms.  We pray here that great temptations -- that which tests us beyond what we can bear --  should not come to us (1 Corinthians 10:13).

And He said to them, Which if you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  This parable, says my study bible, is a demonstration of God's faithfulness to all those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  A traditional interpretation holds that midnight is both the time of our death and a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ -- our only source of grace upon whom we rely to provide everything we need.  We note a very human quality that Christ indicates is shared with God:  a response to persistence.  It is an assurance that God hears. 

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a  serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  In the Greek, the verbs ask, seek, and knock indicate a command for continuing action.  That is, Jesus is saying to us that we must always "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  It's consistent with the emphasis on the importance of persistence.  There's also an emphasis on what we ask for here:  bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life which symbolize the gift of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3).

There is a consistent emphasis on the spiritual life in Jesus' teaching.  That is, a life lived in the world as part of the Kingdom.  We may think of prayer as asking for all the material things we feel that we are in need of (and of course, Christ says Himself, once again emphasizing our relationship as 'sons' to God, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" - Matthew 6:32).  But here the emphasis is clearly on the spiritual sustenance and participation in the life of the Kingdom that we as disciples want and need, even as we live our lives in this world.  The term epiousion, or "supersubstantial," gives us a clear indication of the emphasis in this prayer.  It is the life of discipleship, a life lived and nurtured in spiritual sustenance not only for the body but also for the soul.  It is a wholistic life, in which we are not separated from our true natures as children and inheritors of God, as those who may say "Our Father in heaven."  Jesus' teaching on prayer in the latter part of today's reading -- naming the gift of the Holy Spirit -- will in fact take us by surprise if we do not understand the true emphasis here.   The Holy Spirit, according to a prayer that begins every Orthodox service, is God who is the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth.  He is "everywhere present and filling all things," as well as the "Treasury of blessings and Giver of life."  There's an even deeper mystical connection between prayer and the Spirit as it is the Spirit which indeed teaches us how to pray and what to pray for (Romans 8:26-27).  At this point in Christ's ministry, as He is approaching Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit becomes a truly important actor in the life of the disciples.  They do not know yet that they are heading toward Pentecost, but Christ's emphasis on discipleship is clear.  This is all about the continuing journey of those who will be His Church, the Body of Christ, the community of believers.  We as children of God, who also call the Father "Our Father," as does the Son, are knit in the Holy Spirit as children who are members of this community, this Kingdom, inheritors who grow in image and likeness via this relationship of grace.  What Christ sets out then, is a job, a work, a life of continual prayer in this relationship and communion in which we keep asking, we keep seeking, and we keep knocking at the door of this Treasury which is inexhaustible, the true gift of life in the Spirit.  This is how we are to live while we await His return.  We will always have this work to do.  It is to be our way of life that teaches us and gives us the fullness of life (John 10:10).

Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her

 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

- Luke 10:38-42

Yesterday, we read that a certain lawyer stood up and tested Jesus, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."  Martha and Mary are the sisters of Lazarus (John 11).  The entire family is beloved by Christ and are His close friends.  My study bible says that Martha is not rebuked for serving, but for complaining and being distracted. worried, and troubled.    In following Christ, it notes, we serve in order to facilitate the spread of the gospel (see Acts 6:1-4). 

For me, this gospel story of Martha and Mary reflects somewhat on Jesus' earlier teaching about discipleship.  In Monday's reading, there is the story about various people who come to Christ and wish to be disciples.  Jesus calls one person, saying, "Follow Me."  But he replies, "Lord let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus replies, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  Another tells Jesus, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."   Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  Martha is doing the necessary work of hospitality, a character trait that remains consistent in the stories of her in this Gospel and also in John.  The would-be disciples who wished to follow Christ (in Monday's reading) were also seeking to do something nominally "good" in their requests of Jesus.  But Christ places a kind of value on the Kingdom and its service that gives a weight and a measure of priority.  In some sense, it's similar to when He tells Martha that "Mary has chosen that good part."  It's not that the rest of these things are bad.  And Martha is playing her part in serving the ministry of Jesus.  But Mary chooses for herself something of great value, of the highest good, and it will not be taken away from her -- Martha's complaints notwithstanding.  In a certain sense, Jesus' words allude to a kind of intrinsic value that becomes a part of Mary, which will not be taken away from her, like the "treasures in heaven" that come as a result of our choices.   My study bible is clear that Martha's work is good, but the problem is that she is distracted, worried, and troubled.  Perhaps there is an emphasis here on our choices and mission.  What we may find set before us to do in His name, or for the gospel, may be simple and straightforward.  It becomes a direct focus.  The distractions and worries and troubles get in the way of such a focus.  Jesus will give clear direction to St. Peter when, at the end of John's Gospel, Peter is three times given a command by Christ.  Peter then asks what John should do, and is told to keep his mind focused on his own work for the kingdom, Christ's command for him (John 21:21-22).  What Jesus asks of John is really not Peter's business, in the same sense that Mary's good part will not be taken away by Martha's worrying.  The key here seems to be simplicity, a true focus on what is before us to do.  Our lives may be guided by our own particular work for this Kingdom; whether that is helping as did the Samaritan in yesterday's parable above, serving those whom we are called to serve in our lives, or sitting at Christ's feet "listening."  Let us remember "that good part."