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 and the ninth 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

Yesterday we read that, after the rich young man had turned away, 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 and the ninth 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."  My study bible gives an interpretation of this parable:  the vineyard is life in this world.  The day refers both to the span of a single person's life and to the whole of human history.  The laborers are all the people in every nation.  Each hour can refer to times in a person's life, whether infancy, youth, adulthood, maturity, or old age.  There is another understanding possible in the framework of the span of history, in which each hour is seen as referring to those called during the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally Christ.  My study bible tells us that God's generosity provides equal reward for both early and late comers.  Jesus teaches by this parable that the former should not be proud of their long service nor resent those called at the eleventh hour.  For latecomers, it is possible even in a short time or at the end of one's life to recover and inherit everything.  For the early Church, this message specifically applied to the Jews (who are the first-called) and the Gentiles (those called later).  In the present time, we can apply it to those raised in the Church or those who find faith later in life, both of whom will receive an equal reward.  There is a famous paschal sermon attributed to St. John Chrysostom (repeated each year during the Easter service in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine rite Catholic churches) based on this parable and applied to the preparations of each person for the paschal Eucharist. 

Jesus' parable is given to illustrate His last statement to the disciples in yesterdays' reading:  "But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  He speaks to these earliest members and foundations of His Church, in response to their question about the reward of leaving all and following Him.  In the parable, He clearly gives a picture alluding to the Church and its believers who are to come.  His parable teaches us about the radical equality of the Kingdom, giving us to understand that despite the uniqueness of every circumstance and each believer who will come to labor in this vineyard, the rewards are the same.  Each is called in his or her own way to be a part of this effort, this living, enduring vineyard in which we who participate enter into the labors of others and continue the work of the harvest.  In the historical perspective, we are to understand the ongoing work of God in the world -- that we who are called to follow Him enter into the work of the harvest just as the disciples did.  Jesus tells this parable in the process of following up on His teachings to the rich young man and His speaking to the disciples of leaving wealth behind to follow Him.  The disciples wonder what they will gain in having done so.  Jesus first assured them that each one who leaves behind houses and family for the sake of the Kingdom will reap much greater rewards.   But the parable is given to teach humility on a greater and even more cosmic level, if we may use that term.  Each one who comes will receive their own reward.  The timelessness of the Kingdom is an assurance to us that although each has his or her own part, the reward is equal.  Therefore as citizens and laborers we are assured that it is right that each is called in one's own way, in God's timing, with God's prerogatives for just how this labor will work.  The landowner says in the parable, "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?"  Therefore we who choose to become a part of this Kingdom are given to understand that its "rules" do not work according to the same structure as worldly concepts.  It is outside of time and space; we all work in this same harvest who come to serve in it.  It is under one authority and one ownership, whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).  We follow in a very long line of those who work in the vineyard, and for the owner whose direction for a harvest stretches from the beginning of Creation.   At the end of John's Gospel, the risen Christ gives St. Peter his direction and instruction for his work of service.  But Peter asks what another disciple should do (considered to be referring to John himself), saying, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus replies to Peter, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me" (see John 21:15-25).  Each of us has our own role to play, and the vineyard owner gives the assignment and the equal reward.  There is one vineyard and one owner; none of us must compare ourselves to the other laborers.  In this we must each accept the humility to do as we are called, "So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

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?  No 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?"  But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  My study bible gives us varying interpretations that have been suggested for the impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  Some have commented that the word for camel sounds like the word for "rope" in Aramaic.  Some have suggested that the eye of a needle was a city gate through which a camel possibly could barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of its baggage, which symbolizes wealth or possessions.  In the Talmud there is the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  In any way that we read the phrase, it tells us of the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  The disciples understand this clearly, as they respond, "Who then can be saved?"  But by God's grace, even what is impossible for human beings can come to be.

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."  My study bible says here that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses and abandon children.  Rather, according to St. John Chrysostom, what this means is keeping faith under persecution, even if it means to lose one's family.  It also means that one may need to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, but rather in a spiritual one.  That is, in the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.  This includes the entire communion of saints, with whom we pray and to whom we can call for prayerful intercession with us.

Jesus speaks of the near-impossibility of a "rich man" entering the kingdom of heaven.  But, He says, "with God all things are possible."   By the standards of Jesus' time, there is no doubt that many modern people fit into the category of a "rich man," if we consider the types of prosperity and innovation that many in the world enjoy today, especially in countries in which there is a well-developed middle class.  But Jesus is not simply talking about wealth in terms of dollar equivalents.  He's speaking about possessions as they define who we are and what we do in life.  He speaks of the disciples who leave all behind for the sake of following Him, and ask Him, "Who then can be saved?"  What is important are the difficulties of exchanging one type of life for another, and how entrenched we are in the things that Christ will call on us to give up our attachments to in order to more deeply follow Him.   If we take the example of St. Peter, who tells Jesus, "See, we have left all and followed You," we get an interesting case to examine.  Peter, we know, has an extended family and is married.  Earlier in the Gospel we were told about His mother-in-law who was healed by Christ, and began to serve those in the house (Matthew 8:14-15).  What we understand about Peter's life is, first of all, his business as a fisherman, and that he was married, and also that his family home becomes Jesus' ministry "headquarters" in Capernaum.  We're never told that this makes Peter particularly wealthy by any standards of the time, but here he is the one who says "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  I think it's important for us to look closely at Peter's life, and see that he has left his job as fisherman to follow Christ and be His disciple and apostle.  His home has become a place for Jesus' ministry.  His wife's mother, we're told, serves Christ when she is healed.  Everything in his life has become a part of his faith, and has been "handed over" to serve his faith in Christ.   This is the type of devotion to which Jesus points, and in particular that which we should consider when we're told that "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."    Whatever possessions we have (including extended family in that equation), our lives will be turned over to our faith in an increasing and deepening journey in which our prime loyalty becomes to Christ -- and through Christ, the Kingdom of heaven and all that includes.    We all have some possession to which we are attached, but to give one's life over requires a deepening difficulty when one has many possessions in one's care and attached to one's identity and station in life.  We all need God's grace to do this.  We all rely on God's grace to lead us into a life where our goals and aspirations center upon a deepening participation in the Kingdom and the sharing of God's grace as a part of the life we live in the world.  This is not simply a matter of doing good deeds and sharing one's wealth.   It is even more significantly a question of the heart.  It becomes a question about what we are most devoted to in life, what we place first in the way we relate to the world, including our possessions.  It is an orientation of love that mediates the rest.  These men to whom Jesus speaks, His disciples, are those who've put everything else aside for this mission and in service of this mission.  This is the great difficulty of detaching from possessions that bind us to a way of life, a purpose, and the demands of a world that is not so attuned.  Let us remember that love and the deepening journey to Christ start in the heart, that the Kingdom of heaven is within us and among us.  Repentance is that long and continual process of turning from one "devotion" to another, to the place where Christ calls us.  It asks of us everything in our lives, leaving behind what we thought was more important, bit by bit -- and reassigning values.  Grace is the key to its work, and holiness part and parcel of what He asks.  It's important to know, as noted by St. John Chrysostom's commentary in yesterday's reading, that the specifics of what this will look like for each of us will be different.  There's a story from the Desert Fathers about one monk who thought he'd achieved great holiness.  His spiritual elder told him, "I know someone holier than you are."  He took the monk not to another hermit, but deep into the heart of a city, where there was a man who worked repairing shoes in his shop.  All the day as he worked, this man sang to himself the thrice-holy hymn and its praises to God:  "Holy God, Holy Almighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us."  There may be saints among us one never knows about; the real depth of devotion in the heart is something only God truly knows.

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

 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?  No 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, after His teachings on forgiveness, 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 explains that the disciples rebuked the mothers for bringing little children to Christ both because their manner was "unruly" and because they thought (according to a commentary by Theophan) that children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."  But Christ rejects this thinking.  Instead, He sets little children as an example of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.   Children, my study bible says, are invited to participate in the Kingdom through prayer, worship, baptism, chrismation, and Communion -- even as example to adults.  See also Thursday's reading, in which Jesus used a little child as an example of humility required of those who are greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and of all those who must be received in His name and cared for by His disciples.

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?  No 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?"  We note that (unlike the Pharisees in yesterday's reading, above) this man doesn't come to test Jesus.  But neither does He completely understand Jesus through faith.  He calls Him "Good Teacher," and this is how he sees Christ.  Jesus' response does not deny that He is God, but is designed to lead the man to this understanding.  In His response, Jesus first goes to the Law and the commandments received through Moses.  But this young man is already aware that formal observance of commandments isn't enough.  This does not make one righteous before God.  Rather, he has an earnest desire for eternal life and senses that there is something that he still lacks.   Thus, admirably, he continues to press Jesus for an answer.

  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.  To be perfect, my study bible tells us, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  There is nothing gained unless this sacrifice is freely given.  For each person, the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different on a "particular" level.  For this rich man, because his wealth has such a grip on his identity and place in life, his hope is to sell and give away his possessions.   St. John Chrysostom is cited by my study bible.  In his commentary, he states that giving away possessions is really the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.

We have to ask ourselves, "What is faith?" in the context of today's reading.  Christ asks something startling of this rich young man, which we can all agree is exceedingly difficult.  In the context of society, most likely he is defined by his great possessions and his status in life, and that of his family.  He wouldn't be the first, and certainly not the last, no matter what the economic structure of a country in any time and place, whose life would be so defined by what he owned.  Clearly he is a highly moral young man.  He follows all the commandments named by Jesus.  We cannot call him merely selfish nor self-centered.  But he lacks perfection, and perfection is found in an identity that is not necessarily that which is given us by the world and our worldly circumstances.  Perfection calls to us through faith.  What Jesus gives to this young man is the gift of holiness, of participation in the Kingdom, and that Kingdom calls us out of our worldly understanding of ourselves to something more.  It is only there we find "perfection."  Let us make note that Mark's Gospel tells us that Jesus gives this advice because He loves the young man (see Mark 10:21).  The command to sell all that he has is not given as rebuke nor test; it is given as a gift and an invitation of welcome to greater riches than the young man can understand.  He will have treasure in heaven, an exchange that is richer than what he thinks he owns, which can disappear in a day.  (If we consider the coming destruction of Jerusalem, we can imagine what happens to this young man and his class, particularly if he is a landowner.)   But there is, more importantly, no doubt that Jesus' call to "follow Me" is one that will take this young man outside of the life which he knows, and outside of the identity he knows of himself.  To follow Christ is to leave everything behind in one sense or another, and particularly those things to which we are most attached.  This, in such a context, eventually and surely becomes a call for each of us.  We may find ourselves even coming back to the life we know, but as different persons, for the call to "follow Me" means that life becomes an experience of participation in a Kingdom that will define how we relate to our world.  Jesus' call to this rich young man is one that breaks him off from what defines himself, and seeks to give him primary relationship to Christ first before all things in this world.  Our relatedness to Christ is meant to take priority, but also to come between ourselves and all else as mediator.  It is Christ as "the way, the truth, and the life" that gives us our lives back in a sacramental form, even made holy by the life and presence of the Kingdom and our participation in it.  This is the lifelong journey that starts with "follow Me."   It is an invitation into the love and holiness that defines and underlies this Kingdom He brings into the world and shares with us.  Jesus' instructions to the young man will be followed by countless numbers of saints to come, those who seek holiness and make the most extraordinary commitments to a life of devotion to God.  But His words to "follow Me" are for each one of us; and on this journey of faith we will each find things of which we need to let go as identity, so that He can give us the image in which He has created us and in which we conform to the things of the Kingdom, even as we live our lives in this world.   We are drawn into a place we can't define ahead of our experience of its grace, we are called to holiness which will most likely look nothing like what we expect and perhaps even think is desirable.  As St. Chrysostom says, each will be called in one's own way, and the struggle for us is simply to answer "Yes."

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

On Saturday, we read that Peter came to Jesus (after Jesus had given a system of mutual correction for the Church, in Friday's reading) 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."  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."    Jesus is now in the region just beyond the Jordan; He's come closer to Jerusalem and is in Judea.  We note that great multitudes followed Him.  The Pharisees come from Jerusalem to test Him.  Divorce was an important and contested question at this time, with the Pharisees even divided among themselves on the question of reasons for (easy) divorce.  The basis for the Pharisees' test is Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  God's condescension, my study bible says, or allowance for human weakness, does not override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage as revealed in Genesis 1 & 2.  It is with this original understanding that Jesus begins His response.  As always, His emphasis is on the true aim and purpose of the Law.  He adds His own clear prohibitions here against divorce.   Jesus gives possible ground for divorce as "sexual immorality."  The permissible reasons for divorce were expanded in the ancient Church to include threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion.  But in all cases, my study bible emphasizes, acknowledging the spiritual tragedy of such a situation.

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."   My study bible says that Christ steers the disciples here toward an understanding of the holiness of virginity -- not as a rejection of marriage but rather as a special calling for those to whom it has been given.  Eunuchs were men who had been castrated, perhaps by birth defect, disease, or mutilation.  They were often employed to guard women of nobility.  This was a centuries-old custom in many cultures until rather recently in human history.  Here, Jesus also uses the term "eunuch" figuratively, as metaphor for those who choose freely to live in lifelong celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.  This is a kind of consecrated virginity, which is not to be confused with self-mutilation (which was condemned at the First Ecumenical Council in 325).  See also 1 Corinthians 7:7, 25-38.

As is typical, when Jesus is challenged by those seeking an answer from Him, He does not reply in the same vein as the question demands.  In other words, if the Pharisees are asking Him for His perspective on a contested question of the time, Jesus does not simply reply as if their grounds for the question were reasonable.  Here, He doesn't really answer the question about divorce in the same perspective as the question is asked.  They ask Him about permissible reasons for divorce.  But Jesus instead emphasizes the nature of marriage itself; that is, its intended nature as a sacrament given by God in the first place.  Rather than answering the question with a list of permissible reasons for divorce, Jesus instead chooses to emphasize the essential importance of marriage as union intended by God in our very creation in the first place.  It is the purpose of physical gender, in the terms in which Jesus phrases His answer.   Even the concept of family takes on particular ramifications in Jesus' answer.  In the ancient world (and all over the world, even in the West until quite recently in historical perspective) marriage was arranged by parents.  The reverence for parents is built into the Law in the Ten Commandments.  But Jesus emphasizes what is written in Genesis:  "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."   And He concludes,  "So then, they are no longer two but one flesh."  In other words, the marriage bond to wife is meant to surpass the bond with father and mother.  We should keep in mind as we think about this passage that it wasn't possible for a Jewish woman to initiate divorce; Jesus is asked here about the divorce prerogatives of men.  He elevates the status of wife to one that is not simply somewhat higher than property to do with as one wills, but which is greater than the bond with father and mother, and is in fact inseparable from that of her husband, as "the two shall become one flesh" as commanded by God.   Moreover, the emphasis in both discussions with the Pharisees and with His disciples is on the bonds of commitment in a holy context.  First there is this supreme commitment that marriage calls from us, that "the two shall become one flesh."  But secondly, there is the commitment of celibacy for "those to whom it has been given . . . for the kingdom of heaven's sake."  Both are bonds of "marriage" that are given by God and consecrated as holy, unifying not simply by the power of human commitment but by the power of God.   What is not stated here, but which is evident in Jesus' teaching, is the hidden ground of love that forms the basis not only for the Law but for the type of bond which exists in a spiritual context.  As would become so clear for the early Church, "God is love" (1 John 4:8).  Ultimately, these teachings are related to the new commandment He will give (twice for emphasis) at the Last Supper:  "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34, 15:12).  Love is the basis for all the teachings Jesus gives, and most certainly it is so here, when He speaks of the bond of marriage -- so deep that "the two shall become one flesh" -- and also the bond of celibacy given by God to specific persons for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.   Rather than giving a list of reasons for divorce, Jesus instead emphasizes the purpose of the Law which is ultimately love, in many forms.   For this reason, Jesus isn't merely a lawgiver like Moses.  He fulfills the Law, but He leaves us with love as His command.   How we live that love is the mission of our faith and the way we fulfill its purpose, even -- in the historical view of the Church -- the way that we fulfill the mission of holiness.  One thing we know:  it always requires self-giving, a way of going out of ourselves as mediated by faith.   Such bonds ask of us humility, self-emptying, a foregoing of selfishness and self-centeredness and a practice of service, even on the most personal level.  But, as Jesus also indicates, sins against love, forms of abuse of relationships, can break those bonds.  Where is love and its work in you and in your life?  Let us consider the ways in which we are stretched to be more "like" our Creator, in whose "image" we are made.

Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?

 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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "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 of 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."   Seven is a number of completion or fullness.  Seventy times seven is symbolic of an unlimited amount.

 "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."   Ten thousand talents (the amount owed to the king) is an impossible sum, my study bible says.  It's more than a laborer could earn in several lifetimes.  By contrast, a hundred denarii (owed to the debtor servant) is a significant amount from a worldly perspective -- it's about three months' wages.  But it's a pittance compared to the debt that this servant owed the king.  The parable, of course, is a parable about the mercy shown to us by God.  God not only stays the punishment we deserve, but forgives the entire impossible debt as well.  As God forgives us, we in turn are required to grant the gift of forgiveness to others.

"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."  My study bible cites a patristic interpretation to the punishment described here.  It's seen in spiritual terms:  the man represents the soul, the wife represents the body, and the children represent a person's deeds.  Therefore, the body and the deeds are given over to slavery (that is, to Satan), so that the soul might possibly be saved -- see 1 Corinthians 5:5.

Forgiveness is an essential component of Christian faith.  We remember that Christ gives this parable in the midst of advising the disciples what type of leadership He wants in His Church, and after the second time He's warned the disciples the He will be killed, and rise on the third day.  He's just given a system for mutual correction in the Church (see yesterday's reading, above), and so Peter asks how many times forgiveness must be extended.  In this model of correction, forgiveness is extended when a sin has been acknowledged or "heard," in Jesus' teaching.  That is, if the person has listened to the complaint.  But forgiveness is a complex problem.  Jesus is, of course, giving instruction for those within the Church, as we understand this talk in the context of the teaching on mutual correction.  But there are deeper aspects to forgiveness.   The word for forgive, in the Greek, literally means to "let go."   Like the debts in the parable, it is something which one can demand repayment for, or forgive, let go.  Punishment for any type of debt is payment.  Therefore, in Jesus' model, forgiveness implies not seeking vengeance, redress, repayment for a type of boundary violation (implied in the word "trespass").  Within the Church, Jesus' system teaches, even one who will not listen or hear even the whole Church will lack standing -- but we must note that vengeance is still left out of this equation.  This is the form that "letting go" takes, that a failure to acknowledge sin implies an unwillingness to correct personal behavior.  But the decision to "repay" or "punish" isn't ours; that is up to God.  Therefore, under any and all circumstances, we may forgive or let go.  Each of us has some form of old hurt, an unacknowledged trespass.  It is important, regardless of whatever else happens in the matter, that we give up vengeance or pure justice to God.  There are all kinds of sins that can't literally be paid back or recompensed.  A terrible loss, such as the life of a loved one, can't really be recompensed regardless of punishment or payment in liability.  The pain of such a trespass can't be ameliorated fully through even the most just human legal system; there are too many layers of loss.  Forgiveness becomes important because without it, we lose.  We lose our souls, we lose our well-being, we lose our peace.  Forgiveness, ultimately, is letting go to God Who is the ultimate Judge.  There are all kinds of problems of justice in the world, but ultimate and true justice is in God's hands.  If we wish to experience the grace of our relatedness with God, then we need "give up" the things that stand in the way of true righteousness.  We need to recognize the infinite ways in which we are forgiven for what we fail to understand or acknowledge, and live within this system of grace so that it is also at work in us.  To carry a great debt can be a terrible burden emotionally, psychologically, spiritually.  Forgiveness is also our answer for that; it is a kind of contract, as illustrated in the parable, between ourselves and God.  In Romans 12:18, St. Paul reminds us, citing a passage from Deuteronomy, "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord."  Forgiveness and acknowledgement of transgression go hand in hand.  But forgiveness as contract between ourselves and God is wisdom, and it is for the restoration and health of our own lives, on so many levels.

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?

 "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 of 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, after Jesus' second warning that He will suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day, the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  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 tow feet, to be cast into 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.  for the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."  Jesus continues speaking of the little ones, the ones who are "least" in the Church, the humble and dependent.  Regarding their angels, St John Chrysostom teaches that not only the saints, but all people have guardian angels.  But the angels of the humble have greater boldness and greater honor before the face of God, because of the humility of the person they guard.  My study bible tells us that it is not the nature of God but rather the weakness of human beings that requires the angels' service.

"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."   My study bible says that unlike earthly shepherds, Christ sees such value in one sheep that He will leave the others at risk to save it.  (See also Zechariah 11:15-17, referring to false leadership, in which it is a worthless shepherd who leaves the flock and does not seek the strays.)  The ninety-nine sheep represent the righteous who remain faithful to God (Luke 15:7).   According to certain patristic interpretations, this is also an image of the Incarnation, in which the ninety-nine represent the angels in heaven.  Christ descended from heaven to pursue the one sheep -- humankind -- who had fallen into corruption 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."  The parable about "lost sheep"  brings up the problem of those who sin in the Church.  Jesus gives a formula for discipline within the Church, based on mutual correction, and expanding in three stages.  Sin and correction are to remain private unless the offender refuses to repent, my study bible notes.  All correction must be done with great care and with humility.  The highest concern is, in fact, the salvation of the offender -- thus, with the one who may be "lost" or astray (see 1 Corinthians 5:5, Galatians 6:1).  However, correction must take place so that the sin does not spread to others as well.

"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 of 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."   The authority to both bind and loose sins is given to the apostles and transmitted to the bishops and presbyters they ordained, according to my study bible.  This authority is given for the sake of the salvation of the sinner.   St. John Chrysostom comments that, "seeing that he is not only cast out of the Church, but that the bond of his sin will remain in Heaven, he may turn and become gentle."

The parable of the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to seek the one straying sheep may have struck ancient ears as rather odd.  After all, a shepherd of the time wouldn't necessarily leave the majority of his flock to seek out one, and risk losing them all.  But this isn't a story about sheep; it's a story about the love of Christ and the type of leadership He wants from His disciples.  They should go to the "ends of the earth" to find the strays and the lost who belong to the Master, and bring them together in one flock.  And this is, of course, what the Apostles will do after Pentecost.  We should remember that today's reading is given in the context of preparing the disciples for their leadership in the Church that is to come.  They've just received the second warning from Christ about what is to come:  that He will die on the Cross, and after three days He will be risen.  This news has left them dejected, but also no doubt curious to know their place in what they believe is the Kingdom to come.  His first teaching (in yesterday's reading, above) was about the use of power in His Church.  They are most importantly to care for the "little ones," that is, those who are like little children in the Church, the humble who will be in their care.  Into that context comes the story of the shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep to go after the one that's lost.  No effort should be spared in caring for "the least of these."  Christ's parable gives us a guarantee of the importance of personal attention.  It teaches us that each one is sacred and unique and special to the Father.  Perhaps Jesus makes His most important statement about the whole essence of His Incarnational mission when He says, "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."  It's an indication of how beloved each person is by God, our Creator.  It's not a call to selfishness or self-centeredness on our part.  It's rather a statement about the importance of returning the sheep to where they belong, to the place that is truly home, where they may dwell in that love.  It's about recalling the sheep to their true natures, and finding the place where identity becomes complete.  That is really the mission of the Church, to seek and find those who've been lost to this truth, this essence about ourselves as persons.  So strong is the desire to find the "lost sheep" that Jesus strongly warns the disciples that all care and all effort must be made to avoid their alienation, in the ways that they are to provide leadership and in seeking out those who've been lost.  It remains the essence of what it is to belong to Christ, and to find our true image and identity in Him.  Even in teaching about discipline within the Church, all care is taken to protect privacy and proper means of correction for each one.   At the Last Supper, Jesus will give one commandment that is both new and final:  "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34, 15:12).  In these teachings about the lost sheep, Jesus really teaches us about the love of God, a love so great as to seek redemption for each one.  Let us remember His command and seek to follow His example.

Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven

 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  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 tow feet, to be cast into 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 they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to the disciples, "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 heaven?"  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."  My study bible says that the question of the disciples indicates a selfish interest in worldly power.  Perhaps the second warning Jesus has told them about His death and Resurrection (see yesterday's reading, above) has caused the disciples to anticipate the imminence of the Kingdom.  They assume a manifestation of a worldly kingdom, as was expected of the Messiah.  Pointing to a little child as the model of true discipleship, Jesus emphasizes the virtues required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, my study bible tells us.  That is, humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and be loved.  In Orthodox icons of this event, St. Ignatius of Antioch is depicted as this child.  In certain legends of the saints,  St. Ignatius is the boy who gave the loaves and fishes (John 6:9).

"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!"  Little ones are all those who have childlike humility and simply, all who are poor in spirit.  That is, those who look to the Church for help and guidance.  Jesus is both cautioning and preparing His disciples for their roles as bishops and leaders of the Church to come.

"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 into 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."  Jesus teaches something quite similar in the Sermon on the Mount (5:29).  My study bible says that the reference to mutilation is an illustration of decisive action to avoid sin.  Jesus does not advocate literal amputation!  This is also a reference to harmful relationships that must be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26; 1 Corinthians 5:5).

Jesus begins to prepare the disciples for their leadership in the Church that is to come, after His death, Resurrection, and Ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  Here, His most important consideration is the little ones of the Church -- those who will need leadership and whose dependency upon the Church is for the salvation of their souls and guidance for their lives.  These are the precious commodities of the world, so to speak, those who need help, shelter, protection.  For their sake, it is necessary to take all action to prevent offenses.  If we think of foot, or hand, or eye, as Jesus suggests in His examples, we can also think of the sins of abuse of power that go with them.  A foot may go where it is unbidden, intrude over safe boundaries, violating the sanctity of a person or property.  A hand may grab what doesn't belong to a person, another violation of respect for others, especially of care for the little ones, those who have no worldly power or authority or rank.  An eye may look with a gaze that covets what does not belong to it, or in ways that suggest ownership rather than stewardship, conservatorship, or spiritual parent.  All of these things about which Jesus gives such a sharp warning are those things that violate good guidance and leadership.  They cast arbitrary goals and gains of selfishness over true wisdom and what it means to be a spiritual custodian of others, especially the littlest ones.  Jesus' words teach us about respect and the true spiritual liberation that belongs to each in Christ, wherein souls are meant to be guided to their highest good.  Among leadership of His Church, this requires the greatest discipline, and the willingness to sacrifice whatever stands in the way of His teachings for care of the littlest ones, those of all ages who are dependent upon spiritual leadership.  He gives us warning and guidance which apply to all of us, a way of being, and the character of power that is blessed.  May we continue to learn from Him, and put it into practice and understanding.

What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?

 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus 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."

- Matthew 17:22-27

Yesterday we read that when Jesus, James, John and Peter, returning from the mount of Transfiguration, had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

 Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus 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.   This is the second time Jesus has given a warning to the disciples about His death and Resurrection.  The first was at 16:21, and at that time was met with great resistance from Peter, for which he was rebuked by Christ (see this reading).  But now, the disciples respond by being exceedingly sorrowful.   Jesus shows that He is going to His Passion freely, and not against His will.  The experience of the Transfiguration has also conveyed to the disciples (through Peter, James, and John) that Jesus' divinity is ever-present and powerful, thus He could not go to His human death except voluntarily.

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."  Peter, as is habitual for his character, immediately answers "Yes" when asked if Jesus pays the temple tax.  Throughout varied incidents in Scripture, Peter will show a sensitivity to what we might call "social pressure" or expectations.  And, as is also in some sense typical, Jesus anticipates what has happened with Peter.  He is aware of what has already transpired as Peter comes into the house, which is Peter's family home in Capernaum.  My study bible says that this was an annual head tax on all male Jews (with the exception of priests) over twelve years of age for the maintenance of the temple (Numbers 3:43-51).  Jesus, as Son of God, is both High Priest and "proprietor" of the temple, and therefore is exempt from the tax.  But Jesus pays it anyway, both to avoid unnecessary offense and to show that He has totally identified Himself with mankind, my study bible explains.  The coin taken from the mouth of the fish is given in the original Greek as one worth the precise amount for two people.

What do we make of the temple tax, and its being taken from the mouth of a fish?   We remember that it is Peter the fisherman to whom, along with James and John Zebedee, Jesus told, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men"  (4:19).  In a sense, from the beginning, Jesus uses the talents and "metier" of Peter -- and by extension, all of His disciples and followers -- to redeem souls in the service of God.  The temple tax was a redemption tax, paid for the redemption of the soul of the individual for whom it was paid.  But Christ -- who is Himself both King and Son -- comes into the the world seeking other "sons" and "heirs."  It is these who are exempt from tax, according the conversation of Peter and Jesus.  St. Cyril of Alexandria comments, "For we are the fish snatched from the bitter disturbances of life. It is just as if we have been caught out of the sea on the apostles’ hooks. In their mouths the fish have Christ the royal coin, which was rendered in payment of debt for two things, for our soul and for our body."  In other words, this fish caught by the one commissioned by Christ to be a "fisher of men" becomes itself symbolic of the fact of redemption, the payment of the price for the soul, and at the same time the means by which sonship is conferred.  That this is by divine action is made "abundantly" clear as this miracle takes place in the depths of the sea, and by means of the first fish caught.  It is a prefiguring of the action of the apostles as fishers of men, and the reality of redemption and sonship in the Church, as transfiguration and fulfillment of the law in Christ.  The miraculous coin is a sort of gift, like those of the Magi at Christ's birth (2:9-11).  But its significance is not lost, as it is a Greek silver coin (a στατῆρα/stater) worth the equivalent of a shekel.  Given to Christ, it stands for the world transformed by God's action and command.  It becomes symbolic of a world redeemed, for both Jew and Greek, poor and wealthy, and our souls and bodies, as St. Cyril also tells us.  Peter immediately responded "Yes" to those who come with malicious intent, trying to trap the Master through His disciple.  But Jesus redeems all things, even in the most unlikely and impossible-seeming ways.  Let us remember this story when we find ourselves in a difficult place, and remember His abundance and redemption of all from all.

I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you

 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

- Matthew 17:14-21

Yesterday we read that after six days from the time Jesus explained privately to the disciples that He will suffer as Messiah, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.  Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.  So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him here to Me."  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.  In Scripture, my study bible points out, sickness is often connected to demonic activity.  As this father is kneeling, he's showing humility, but he lacks faith.    Although the disciples are also lacking in faith, Jesus first rebukes the man for blaming the disciples, when it is his own greater lack of faith that prevented the boy's healing, my study bible says.  What we observe is that Jesus defends His disciples in front of the multitude, but later rebukes them privately (in the verses following).  This teaches us that we ought first to correct people in private (see 18:15-17).

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.  However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."  St. John Chrysostom comments that this rebuke is directed at the nine disciples who could not cast out the demon.  We recall that Jesus has returned to this multitude with Peter, James, and John from the mountaintop of the Transfiguration (see yesterday's reading, above).  These three -- Peter, James, and John -- are "the pillars" of faith (Galatians 2:9).  When Jesus calls the demon this kind, He refers to all powers of darkness, my study bible says, and not simply those that cause a particular illness.  The word in Greek is γένος, from which we derive the term "genus."  Essentially it means family or offspring.  The banishment of demons requires faith, prayer, and fasting, my study bible says.  There isn't any healing nor victory in spiritual warfare without all three.  Beginning with the Didache (the earliest Christian teaching document, said to be the teachings of the disciples), the Church has taught that both the person in need of healing and the person performing the healing must believe, pray, and fast. 

The mustard seed is such an essential image of faith that Jesus has given it to us twice:  first in a parable about the kingdom of heaven (13:31-32), and now here in this illustration of faith.  It's hard to imagine what a lack of faith is when compared to the tiny size of a mustard seed.  Jesus' metaphor for faith gives us an image of encouragement to faith, however.  In effect, He seems to tell us that what we think is so difficult -- this "mustering" of faith, so to speak -- is actually much simpler and easier than we assume it is.  And, in fact, faith is such a potent substance that we need the smallest amount we can consider to see incredible results.  Regarding Jesus' reference to moving a mountain (which He will repeat in 21:21), my study bible indicates that while it's never been recorded than any of the apostles literally moved a mountain, it's clear that the Church has considered they had this authority if the need had arisen.  There are stories of  saints who made crevices appear in mountains, when necessary.  But more to the point is the power of prayer that is promised here, for things that are spiritually profitable.  There's also a correlation of faith with the working of the Spirit in us, and that connection to prayer as well.  St. Paul writes that "the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26-27).  What this, in fact, tells us is that faith in Christ, together with the Holy Spirit at work in us, renders prayer in accordance with the will of God.  St. Paul writes in the verse following that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."  Faith works to unite all these factors at work in us.  Hence, faith as a mustard seed unleashes cosmic creative forces, things which are far beyond our understanding, even though they are somehow at work in us and among us -- and definitely in all the affairs of the world.  So faith, fasting, and prayer work together for tremendous effect.  Fasting is a discipline that really applies to everything; it teaches us that we're not just victims of our own emotions, impulses, whims, and responses to the myriad provocations of the world around ourselves.  We can, in fact, make choices about what we will partake in and not partake in.  Prayer is purpose, meaning, and the discipline of understanding -- albeit partially -- the mind of God.  It gives us relationship and participation in God and the grace of God, the energies of God, if you will.  Jesus promises us that our devotion and "work" at this effort of faith will give us results.  But we need to understand the nature of participation.  Prayer isn't about what we want or even our own perspective on our needs.  Prayer will shape our lives into something different from what we already know; it is designed to lead us more deeply in participation in this Kingdom, to expand us and open our eyes to something more.  We aim not simply to pray but for a prayerful life, a prayerful way of being in the world.  But let us begin wherever we are and learn the endurance He teaches us.  Persistence is the one constant He always praises.

His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.  And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.

- Matthew 17:1-13

 Yesterday we read that from the time of Peter's confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ,  Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!"  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan!  You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then he will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves . . ..  A high mountain, my study bible tells us, is often a place of divine revelation in Scripture (5:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 19:3, 23; Isaiah 2:3; 2 Peter 1:18).  After six days means that this is the seventh day after Jesus' teaching about suffering and the Cross, what kind of Messiah He will be.  Seven is the number of completion or fullness; this is a "peak" experience in every way.

. . . and He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.   For the Orthodox, this event is a major feast day.  That He is transfigured before them indicates a significant revelation, a vision of reality that transcends the worldly, but also gives us an indication of the very nature of our faith.  That His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light teaches us about Jesus' divinity.  This is a theophany, a manifestation of God.  This display of light is of His uncreated, divine energy.  God is light (1 John 1:5), and all the light in this vision -- of His face, His clothing, and also the bright cloud (verse 5, further down) show that Jesus is God.  Many icons portray this light with a blue tinge, indicating that it is beyond white, an ineffable color giving us an understanding of its spiritual origin.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.   Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."  Moses and Elijah personify the Law and the Prophets.  Moses represents the law and all those who have died.  Elijah represents the prophets, and -- because he did not experience death -- all those who are live in Christ.  My study bible says that their presence shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.  Moses and Elijah also manifest the communion of saints by their presence (Hebrews 12:1).  Both are immediately recognizable to the disciples, and they talk with the Lord.   Peter has grasped the revelation, and connects it in his mind with the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths, which is significantly the Feast of the Coming Kingdom.  and so suggests building three tabernacles.  The feast (also known as Sukkot) commemorates the time when the Israelites wandered the in the wilderness, led by a bright cloud that signaled God's being extraordinarily present.  Tabernacles for Peter  are symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.  But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."  When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.   Here there is a manifestation of the Trinity.  The Father speaks of the nature of Christ as Son ("This is My beloved Son" indicates that the glory the disciples witness is Christ's by nature, an eternal truth).  The bright cloud that overshadows them indicates the presence of the Spirit which also shines in the dazzling light surrounding Christ and the whole mountain. 


Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, "Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead."  And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things.  But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished.  Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands."  Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.  For the second time, Jesus indicates the disciples are not to reveal to others that He is the Christ, the divine Son (the first was after the confession of faith that He is the Son of God, 16:16).  Because of the vision and the revelation of the Kingdom and the communion of saints, the disciples are now able to understand Jesus' words regarding the prophecy of Elijah's return.  That Elijah has come already refers to John the Baptist; they can now understand Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6) as referring to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17) rather than Elijah himself.   Jesus takes the occasion to affirm once more to the disciples the nature of His messiahship:  that He will suffer.

These disciples, Jesus' "inside circle" of the brothers John and James, and Peter, have a true "mountaintop experience."  This is perhaps the pinnacle of the worldly lives and experiences of these disciples, as they are given a vision of the revelation of highest divinity.  Light is a characteristic of God, as we've read (1 John 1:5), but it's also an indication of God's presence with us, a revelation that there may be so much more to life than we normally perceive.  Particularly for Eastern Christianity, the Transfiguration became a central indication of the presence of God, not only in its revelation of Christ and the Trinity, and the communion of saints, but also of the nature of our lives in Christ.  For this light, this divine energy of God, also transfigures human beings.  The vision of light is given to the disciples, but it is also a vision of the work of the God in the world that we don't necessarily perceive, and yet it is present with us.  At the Last Supper, Jesus tells the disciples that He will pray to the Father, and the Father will send the Helper, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth so that "He may abide with you forever," "He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you," and "He will testify of Me" (John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26).  Christ's suffering -- His death on the Cross -- will make this possible, that the experience of this light that the disciples have now will render them capable of understanding the reality of the Spirit which is sent to us through Christ's sacrifice (John 12:24).   They will also understand that His suffering is voluntary, and His nature truly divine.  Therefore, the vision of Jesus' transfiguration and what it is to be full of light, that the world is illumined through this light, will become a lasting understanding of the work and action of the Spirit and its illumination in us.  "Transfiguration" in Greek is Metamorphosis, and this word gives us a flavor of how this event shaped an understanding of how Christ lives in us.  It gives to us a conceptual framework of what it is to participate in grace, and how the action of grace works in our lives.  To think of this illuminating light that surrounds everything, is within everything, and is always present in our world, is to have a vision of God's energies at work.  It is also a vision of complete beauty, a transcendent reality that is also a part of our lives, if we but learn to recognize it, and to perceive its values and meanings.  The disciples are permanently changed, their perception now allowing them to realize the prophecy from Malachi and its spiritual meaning present in their own lives.    The light of the saints is the adornment of this beauty.   May it continue to illuminate the good, the true, and the beautiful for each of us, by God's grace.   It is the presence of the Kingdom, the reality for which our world and our lives were made.  His is the light that reveals our true destination and hope.  This beauty is the true pearl of great price, worth every cost, surpassing the beauty of everything else.