If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does out law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

- John 7:37-52

In our current reading, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot), an eight-day autumn harvest festival, commemorating the time Israel dwelt in temporary shelters (tents or "tabernacles"), following Moses in search of the Promised Land.  Yesterday we read that at about the middle of the feast Jesus went up to the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.   Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of your keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   The last day, that great day of the feast is the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  On this day there was a ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam, a remembrance of the water that flowed from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  This gives the context reflected in Jesus' words here:  "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  My study bible comments that the living water Jesus speaks of is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the new life that accompanies this gift. 

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  The Prophet refers to the expected Messiah.  That is, the Savior whom Moses foretold would come (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).   Bethlehem, birthplace of King David, is the town from which the Christ was prophesied to come (Micah 5:2).  Once again, John gives us the backdrop to the life of Jesus, and the controversy that surrounds Him among the people and the leaders.

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."   In yesterday's reading, we learned that the chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the feast (verse 32).  On this day, the last day of the feast, no arrest has yet been made, because the officers had been converted by Christ's teaching.  My study bible comments quoting St. John Chrysostom:  the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either one.  These officers, however, although they could claim none of this learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does out law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  Nicodemus, we remember from chapter 3, had spoken to Christ, and had increased in faith.  But, my study bible points out, his defense of Christ is still based on our law.  This is not yet a public profession of faith, which will come later (see 19:38-39).   In accordance with the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  My study bible also comments here on the statement that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  It notes that this shows blind hatred and also ignorance of the Scriptures by the Pharisees, as the prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25).  Significantly, elsewhere Jesus refers to His death and Resurrection -- when a sign or proof of identity as Christ is demanded of Him -- as the sign of the prophet Jonah (Matthew 12:39, 16:4; Luke 11:29-30).

Jesus is in the middle of controversy.  He has come into the world to reveal something, to reveal Himself as Truth (14:16), and to offer a gift of salvation through faith in this truth and in His teachings.  He will offer Himself also as sacrifice, even as nourishment in the Eucharist.  But such a great undertaking is not met with universal appreciation, nor understanding!   Instead, His life during His public ministry is one of challenges and dangers, misunderstandings and hostility.  In this, we should all take heart as we come to know and understand that the truth will not get us universal approval, and that ridicule in the public eye does not amount to a "hill of beans" as the expression goes.  What is important is the integrity of faith, the solid ground on which we stand in an internal sense when we put our trust in Christ, and the love expressed and experienced through faith.  But His is not a careless proclamation for all to believe, nor does He expect universal approval.  His "hour" has not yet come; it is not time for Him to go to Jerusalem for the final confrontation in an open manner as will happen on the day we celebrate as Palm Sunday.  His mission is deliberate, not careless, as He will teach His own apostles also to be deliberate and careful in their missionary work as well.  "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16).    This is not the dramatic fanfare of films nor the heroism of fairy tales and war stories or modern superheroes.  This is the grit and toughness of every day life, the things in our hearts that keep us from finding our Lord, and the challenges and hostilities we nurture in this world that remain ever with us.  Jesus' heroism is about faith, a fidelity to the Father's cause and will, the One who sent Him, as He has said.  He will follow in that faith and loyalty to the end, ready to sacrifice for the salvation of all.  Does a modern superhero make that kind of sacrifice?  Can we understand the challenge of undergoing this kind of struggle for something much greater than ourselves, even for love?  What we serve is Truth, but this Truth is a Person -- a Person who loves us and loves the world.  John's Gospel presents us with all the difficulties of a struggle for faith:  the doubt, even torment, in the midst of the world with its hostilities, selfishness, misunderstanding, envy, turmoil, and all the rest of the things that go into a life of struggle.  It doesn't shrink from telling us the whole story, all of the truth of what it is to tell the kind of truth that Christ tells.  It invites us in to the light that He brings, so that we may share in it, but it does not teach us fairy tales; it gives us a microcosm in the life of Christ of the things that plague our world and with which we struggle as human beings, even if it is an inner struggle.  Let us observe the crowds, as they respond to Christ, and the people who grow more apart in response to Him:  some to more faith, some to outright hostility and violence.  Where does this story find you in the choices you need to make, in the sacrifices you might give up for this truth in your own life?  Let us remember His teaching of endurance and prudence, and make our own choices to follow Him.  Our depth and abundance of life is in the rivers of living water that He promises.

He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up to the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.   Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of your keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

- John 7:14-36

Yesterday we read that after the confrontations in Capernaum over His "hard saying" regarding His Body and Blood (see chapter 6), Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 

Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up to the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."  We recall that Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot), an eight-day festival.  The Jews is a term used to refer to the leadership, not all the people.  Regarding this passage, my study bible comments that the simple desire to know and follow God's will is the key to understanding it.  Spiritual blindness comes from unwillingness to know God or to recognize His authority.  St. John Chrysostom paraphrases Christ's teaching as follows:  "Rid yourselves of wickedness:  the anger, the envy, and the hatred which have arisen in your hearts, without provocation, against Me.  Then you will have no difficulty in realizing that My words are actually those of God.  As it is, these passions darken your understanding and distort sound judgment.  If you remove these passions, you will no longer be afflicted in this way."

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of your keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Jesus speaks of Moses as one who sought the will of God above his own, whose law they claim to keep.   The Law makes certain allowances for the Sabbath (Jesus gives an Old Testament example here), and these men practice circumcision on the Sabbath -- and yet they refuse to acknowledge the same allowance for making a man whole on the Sabbath.  This would be righteous judgment.   Instead they are rigid in their legalism.  (See this reading for Jesus' previous encounter with the leadership in Jerusalem, and the healing He did on the Sabbath).

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me."  These crowds who claim they know where this Man is from are mistaken in both an earthly sense and in a divine sense.  As a human being, they think Jesus is from Nazareth of Galilee.  But they don't know that He was actually born in Bethlehem (see Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they cannot comprehend that He has come from the Father in heaven, eternally begotten before all ages.  Therefore His divine "origin" remains unknown to them as well.

Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"  According to my study bible, His hour is the time of Christ's suffering and death.  He is the Lord over time, an authority which is possessed by God alone.  Jesus comes to His Cross of His own free will and in His time, and not according to the plots of human beings (see also 8:20; 10:39).

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"   Jesus refers, in His statements here, to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  This is where they cannot come.   They think perhaps He's speaking about going among the diaspora; among the Greeks means among the Gentiles, or Greek-speaking populations.  My study bible calls this an unwitting prophesy (and it will not be the last) which points to the time after Christ's Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by apostles.

What does it mean that Christ would go among the Gentiles, that this is an unwitting prophesy?  In the position of these men who are leaders, particular that of the chief priests, is a certain type of authority that exceeds individual identity.  That is, in their role as chief priests, "unwitting" prophesies come regarding Jesus.  Here is one such example in today's passage, in which as they discuss among themselves they prophesy what will indeed happen.  Caiaphas, as high priest, will make another such prophesy when plotting Christ's death after the raising of Lazarus, when He says to the Council, "You know nothing at all, nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish" (see 11:49-52).  John's Gospel gives us transcendent meanings and values that exist side-by-side, even within the daily, "earthly" understanding of events and expressions.  It teaches us to look more deeply at words and sayings, to understand Jesus as One who gives us meanings -- imparts them to the substance of creation, of which He is Lord.  As such, to be both divine and human teaches us about the truth of creation, of the world around us, and what it is made for.  The sacraments He teaches us link the world and God together, link us together with the divine from which we also came as creatures, giving us adoption by God as children, as heirs.  In today's passage, Jesus points to the central way of knowing and living this truth, to seek and to try to live the will of God.  This involves humility, but also tremendous joy and even glory in God's love.  It will be exemplified in His own sacrifice, but in our own lives and the experience of countless faithful, it is an exchange of fulfillment, joy, exultation.  When Jesus says, "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him," He gives us a formula for our own growth and fullness of personhood.  Moreover, He teaches us how we find discernment, when He says to the leaders, "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority."  Jesus sets the example, but we are to follow and find this experience in our own lives, within ourselves, in prayer, in a lifetime of practice and growth in the virtues of humility He teaches.

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews. 

- John 7:1-13

Yesterday we read that many of Jesus' disciples, when they heard Him teach, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you," said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."   From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.   The next three chapters (7:1-10:21) concern Jesus' visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  This entire section will cover eight days.  The Jews who sought to kill Him refers to the religious leadership, and not to the people in general.  By now Jesus has stirred up enough controversy so that they accuse Him of blasphemy.  The Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Succoth or Sukkot) is an eight-day autumn harvest festival, which commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  At that time they lived in impermanent dwellings:  tents, or tabernacles.  Together with Passover and Pentecost, this was one of the three most important festivals for the ancient Jews.  It included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, the final eighth day of the feast included drawing water from the pool of Siloam (which will figure prominently in chapter 9 of John's account of Jesus' time at this festival), which was mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar -- both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock that Moses struck (Exodus 17:1-7).   Moreover, it included the lighting of great lamps in the outer court of the temple.  All of these significant events of the festival are reflected in Christ's preaching in the following passages.

His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.   Jesus' brothers are his relatives, either step-brothers from a first marriage of Joseph, or cousins (by custom also called "brothers").  It is one more sign of opposition and lack of faith in Jesus' ministry, even among those closest to Him.  In Jesus' ministry, He frequently points to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of My Father (see Matthew 12:49-50).  Jesus' time is the hour of His glorification, His time of being "lifted up" on the Cross.

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.   That Jesus goes up to the feast, not openly, but in secret means that He does not make a grand public entrance, such as on Palm Sunday (12:12-16), the "time" of His final open confrontation with the authorities leading to the Cross and His Resurrection.  Here, John gives us the controversy among the people concerning Jesus.  But all are afraid to speak openly about Him because of fear of the leaders.

This time in Jesus' ministry is a time of the building up of tension and controversy.  By now the leadership oppose Him enough to want to kill Him.  Many disciples have fallen away from Him because of the controversial teachings He has introduced (see yesterday's reading, above).  The controversy is enough so that Jesus goes to the Festival in Jerusalem not openly, but "in secret" -- that is, without fanfare or announcement.  It is autumn; the next Passover (in the following spring) will be the time of Holy Week, the final week of His earthly life.  We observe that at this point, even His own relations (His "brothers") do not believe in Him.  John's Gospel reveals all this truth to us.  This is not a story of a typical kind of victory.  Christ's victory will be one shared with all of us, on the Cross, and at Resurrection.  He does not come with a conquering army that displaces and forcibly imposes power.  His is a mission of the heart and of the soul, to those whom the Father has given to Him, He says (see Saturday's reading).  John's Gospel gives us the spiritual reality of this mission, which intersects with each of us as we live in this world.  As the Gospel teaches, there are many who reject His message -- and at the same time, there are those of His followers whose faith only deepens, such as Peter's (yesterday's reading, above).  As Jesus proceeds through the Feast of Tabernacles, we are called to hear and see in His ministry the echoes and reflections of Israel's past, as they wandered in the wilderness with Moses seeking the Promised Land.  Jesus' ministry and preaching in the following several chapters will give us insights and deepened meanings of all of these events within Jesus' mission and our understanding of His Person and work in the world.  John's Gospel -- as we've said in earlier readings -- gives us the meanings behind the works in Christ's ministry.  It deepens our understanding of Christ, His work and presence in the world, through the lens of Jewish spiritual history.  And, in so doing, gives us a sense of the future of His mission in the world, the time in which we now live.  Let us journey through the events of this autumn festival with Him, and follow His meanings and teachings for us.

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."   From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

- John 6:60-71

Yesterday we read that the leaders in the synagogue in Capernaum quarreled among themselves about Jesus and His teachings in our recent readings, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."   From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.    My study bible notes here that even His disciples took Jesus' teaching on His Body and Blood as a hard saying -- and that many walked with Him no more.   Of course, within all the denominations and movements of Christianity there are still those who find this a hard saying and reject the sacramental eating of Christ's Body and Blood, thereby not "walking" with this teaching.    The nature of this Mystery is extremely difficult; therefore some have sought to define it rationally or to explain Christ's teaching away, making it purely metaphorical.  My study bible says, "Either extreme is dubious; to reject this sacramental teaching is to reject the witness of the Scriptures and the unanimous teaching of the Church throughout history.  (See also yesterday's commentary.)

Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.  Jesus Himself notes that many of His followers have deserted Him, and He turns to the twelve to ask if they also want to go away.  But there is power in Peter's answer; Peter, speaking for the Twelve, turns to the truth He knows.  Jesus has the words of eternal life.  Moreover, He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  This is a unique place, not simply another philosophical way of life or path to spirituality.  Nevertheless, Jesus knows He will be betrayed by one of these twelve.

We come to a point in Jesus' ministry where His teachings are so controversial, they stir up so much antipathy and consternation, that His followers begin to desert Him.  To eat Christ's flesh and to drink His blood remains a "hard saying," unless we can grasp a notion of Mystery, something beyond our capability to understand precisely how it works.  This is the realm of faith, where we accept that Christ is mystically present in the Eucharist, and so this has been the teaching from the earliest apostles.  Even though others fall away, there is something more here to be found:  as many no longer choose to follow Him, so the disciples' faith grows stronger, with the exception of the one who will betray Him.  Peter tells the truth:  ""Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  This is the kind of reckoning we have that comes at rare and memorable moments in life, when we're faced with a depth of struggle and suddenly have a glimmer of truth -- how we really feel about something or someone, what the truth is for us.  Who else has these words?  Where would they ever find them?  We can all ask ourselves the same questions.  Is Jesus crazy, or does He say things that have no sense to them?  No, His words are beauty and truth, and they are the words of eternal life, and all that He teaches must be taken in context with the rest.  Furthermore, there is more to the experience of the Twelve with Christ.  Again, Peter uses language that makes it clear He is speaking for all of them:  "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  This is the product of their experience, and experience is all-important to our understanding of our faith.  Where else do we find what we find with Christ?   Do His very life, and very words, not sustain and and come to us in ways that we come to believe and know that He is Christ, the Son of the living God?  Experience is important, and ours is an experiential faith.  It is one of communion, and not merely abstract philosophy.  What do we find in our worship?  In our prayers?  Do we not, with experience, come to understand these words are true, and that His very life works in our life to bring salvation, help, change, transcendence, hope?  This is the reality the disciples have come to know and to share.  It is the sign of growth in their faith, and so we should come to understand that our own lives of faith are a process, a journey, a path -- a way, in the true sense of the original Greek word (ὁδὸς/odos) which also literally means "road" (See John 14:6).   If we look at Christ's word and teachings, at the experience of the Twelve, even at those who no longer walk with Christ, we see that we are indeed on a road, and so much depends on which direction we're taking on that road.  We're either on that road with Him, or we're not.  All of our bumps and turns and detours or pauses along the way may be distractions and difficulties, but so often it is a question of reconciling our own experience within the heart so they become learning curves.  Sometimes a stumbling block is just that -- something to catch our attention and come back to this road a better way, with a better grasp of just what is asked of us and what our lives with Him are all about.  Peter will go through several of these "stumbling blocks" in the Gospels (for instance, here).  Which way are you walking?  Jesus teaches, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).   But we need to understand that our goal isn't perfection in the usual sense in which we think of its meaning.  Rather, the word Jesus uses in the original Greek of the Gospels has the root of the word for "end" (τέλειος/telios) -- meaning complete, full, mature, and has come in context to be understood as indicating the fullness of the Christian character.  What we want is the long journey of faith, experience, the fullness of going toward the end of that road, Christ Himself.  He points us to the Father, whom we should be like -- as we are on that road on the way there, in the process of always becoming, in His words and truth, and in the fullness of the Eucharist, in Him, in the eternal and abundant fullness of life itself.

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you

 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.

- John 6:52-59

On Saturday we read that at the synagogue (in Capernaum, Galilee -- Jesus' "home" territory) the leadership then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  [See Friday's reading.]  And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves.  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.  The Jews, we remember, is used most frequently like a kind of political term in John's Gospel, indicating the rulers or leadership.  (John the author of the Gospel, Jesus, His disciples, and all those listening to Christ speak are Jews.)   My study notes regarding this passage that Christ was crucified in the flesh and His blood was shed on the Cross, and on the third day He was raised in a glorified state.  We, in turn, receive the grace of this sacrificial offering of Christ by coming to Him in faith (see verse 35), and by receiving Holy Communion in faith.  In Communion, we eat His flesh and drink His blood, and this grants the faithful eternal life (verse 54), with Christ abiding in us and us in Him (verse 56).  This is a great mystery, and His presence is mystical.  For the Orthodox, it remains simply so.  St. Hilary of Poitiers (310-367) is quoted by my study bible:  "There is no room left for any doubt about the reality of His flesh and blood, because we have both the witness of His words and our own faith.  Thus when we eat and drink these elements, we are in Christ and Christ is in us."

What is the great meaning of the Eucharist?  John's Gospel gives us a eucharistic perspective of our faith.  That is, everything begins here and all expands from the Eucharist.  Jesus speaks most solemnly here:  "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you."   Is He simply speaking metaphorically?  Are these just symbols He's speaking about?  We know that He will give His flesh for the life of the world (6:51) when He is lifted up upon the Cross (3:14-15).  This is quite literally true.  Is this most explicit and very seriously affirming speech in today's reading ("Most assuredly," Jesus tells us) just metaphor, analogy, smoke and mirrors?  One may come to all kinds of conclusions or develop many theories, but certainly we know that for His most immediate followers, it was not.  From the earliest time, in the development of the Eucharist, His words were perceived to be mystically true.  As commented upon in the body of the reading, above, for the Orthodox churches, this remains so.  It is mystically true; His flesh and blood are mystically present -- no explanation reasonable.  They are things which we cannot explain in an earthly way; perhaps someday we may understand, but for now it is a mystery as it was given by Christ, and remains so.  For the earliest Church, and as affirmed through many Councils, the understanding that God became flesh and blood -- both human and divine -- so that we, too, could be raised up, given His life, become "like God," was crucial to the full understanding of what Church is all about.  (St. Ignatius, for example, in the first century -- around the time this Gospel was written or perhaps even earlier -- writes in defense of this mystical presence of flesh and blood in the Eucharist.)   The ways in which we receive the life He offers, become "like Him," are as myriad as the problems that each of us must grapple with. resolve, and transcend in our own lives.  This is part of the mystical reality about which He speaks in today's reading, that connects body, spirit, and soul.  Without this Holy Communion, we as faithful do not share in the kind of communion among all of us that Jesus speaks about here in this passage in today's reading from John's Gospel.  John's Gospel is the one that gives us all the meanings we understand of the events reported in all the Gospels.  It "fleshes out," if you will, the reality of Christ's ministry, and gives us purpose and meaning, a sense of why Jesus did what He did, why He instituted the Eucharist, what it all means for us.  In these words of Christ are life itself, and the promise of its fullness for us.  We must take the words seriously.  And we will read, in tomorrow's reading, of the immediate objections,  right from the start, to Christ's words.  How can He give such a teaching?  The confrontation and objection was with us right from the start, from the moment He uttered these words, and is clearly addressed by Christ in this Gospel.  John gives us the fullness of the teaching for the earliest Church.  Let us be truly attentive.

If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world

 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves.  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.  I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

- John 6:41-51

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught the crowds, "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." 

 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down from heaven."  And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?  How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"  We recall that Jesus is in Galilee, "home" country for Him.  Those who complain about Him are likely to be leaders in the synagogue or other important men in the community.

Jesus therefore answered and said to them, "Do not murmur among yourselves.  No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.  It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.'  Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.  Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life."  Here is an important notion, that it is the Father who draws people to faith in Christ.  Jesus says this with complete assurance.  We recall in Matthew's Gospel, when Peter made his confession that Jesus was the Son of God, Jesus said, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:16-17).   It is of these whom the Father brings to Him that Jesus has said (in yesterday's reading, above), "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."

"I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.  This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.  I am the living bread which came down from heaven.  If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."  Here Jesus begins a passage with clear eucharistic significance.  He makes it clear that He is the bread of life as faith in Him becomes the key to life with Him (and the Father) in an eternal sense.  John gives us Christ's own words, which reveal the significance of the events of the Last Supper -- already known to his hearers at the time of the writing of this Gospel near the end of the first century.

Jesus' words here have most definitely a significance for the Eucharist, but there is another echo in the Gospel here as well.  Jesus says, ". . . and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."  We recall Jesus' words to Nicodemus, the ones that sum up His mission in the world, so often quoted, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (3:16).   There, Jesus spoke of God's love for the world in connection with His sacrifice, and here He speaks of His mission for the life of the world, as connected to His sacrifice.  The bread that He shall give is His flesh -- and it will be given for the life of the world.   Again, Jesus speaks not only of human beings and the eternal life that is offered through faith, but rather of life for the whole of the world, the created order.  It is with tremendous love, again, that we are given to know God regards the whole of the world.  Redemption, we are given to know in these words, is not simply for individual beings, but somehow for the life of the entire world.  Everything is to be restored, given life, saved in the sense in which Jesus grants life, has life, is life itself.  How can we imagine what marvels He's speaking about?  But the love with which God regards the whole of the world is tied to the life that He offers for the world.  The Eucharist is therefore tied, somehow, with the life of the world, with us -- renewed human beings in His life that He offers -- as stewards within the world so beloved by God.  Jesus speaks not only of individual believers here, but of the Garden, a kind of restoration of the life of the world that is in everything.  His is the life that brings abundant life to everything.  Father Alexander Schmemann, in his book titled For the Life of the World, writes, "To love is not easy, and mankind has chosen not to return God’s love. Man has loved the world, but as an end in itself and not as transparent to God."  If we are to correctly understand the life of the world, then, perhaps we are to understand a restored world as "transparent to God," in Fr. Schmemann's words; that is, a world in which its true purpose is restored, that we may have communion with God, and know God.  To restore the life of the world is to bring the world into such communion that God is known through God's world.  The elements of the world which form the Eucharist are brought together into this love -- and therefore is the Eucharist not simply for each one of us but also for this life of the world, a restoration gathered in Christ's love.  What would such a world really look like? Clearly, Christ puts His own faith into a restored humanity, God's people, returned to God, those whom the Father brings to Him.  His hope is in us!  Shall we play our parts in such a world filled with such life and love?   Let us not forget it is inextricably linked to the Cross; it is this life for which He will give His life.  Can we follow Him in such love?   Through the Eucharist, and through Christ's sacrifice, all is surrendered back to God for God's purposes, even the world.  Thus, we give our vision of the world to God, in exchange for the vision of the world God gives to us -- one of overarching love.

This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."  Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.  But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." 

- John 6:27-40

Yesterday we read that when evening came (after the feeding of the five thousand), His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

 "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.  Then they said to Him, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."   The work of God is to believe in Him whom He sent."  So often we forget that faith itself is a choice, a "work" -- there is so much work that must go on within ourselves as our faith is challenged by our lives, our experience, our thoughts and habitual responses, and the earthly life we live.   In this vein of understanding, prayer itself is another kind of "work of God."

Therefore they said to Him, "What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You?  What work will You do?  Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."  Then they said to Him, "Lord, give us this bread always."  And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."  Following the parallels to the Exodus noted so far in chapter 6 of John's Gospel, here Jesus declares Himself to be the true food and drink, the true bread that has come down from heaven (see also Exodus 16:1-17:7).

"But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.  All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.  For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.  This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.  And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."   My study bible remarks that since Christ has two natures, He has two wills:  the divine will and a human will.  The Sixth Ecumenical Council , held in Constantinople (AD 680-681), proclaims that these two wills of Christ do not work contrary to one another, but rather "His human will follows, not resisting nor reluctant, but subject to His divinity and to His omnipotent will."

Christ speaks so strongly of the link of faith between Himself and those whom He shall raise up at the last day.  He tells us of His link, His closeness with the Father:   "I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me."   At the Sixth Ecumenical Council, we are given to understand, the existence of both human and divine will in Christ was decided -- and so Christ speaks here not of the divine will which is united within the Trinity, but of His human will, that in His earthly ministry He has chosen to fully align His human will with the divine will of the Father.  This is an example to us, it is something we should wholly and fully desire for ourselves.  Indeed, this is the great goal of all monastic life, and we are also to understand that it is in that divine will of Creator where we truly "find ourselves" -- this process of alignment is, in fact, one of truly becoming ourselves.  If we seek who we truly are, we need to align ourselves to Creator, to have that as our firm aim and direction in our prayer and our efforts to become the persons that Christ asks us to be.  To follow Christ in faith, then, is like a time-based alignment of this will in the sense that Christ sets the example of alignment of will.  We don't "become" God, but we can become "like God."  We simply have a lifetime of work at this work He names, an ongoing process of conversion based on the gift of time that is also given to us as creatures by God.  And once again, what is the work of God?  "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent," Jesus tells the crowds, and us.  Faith itself becomes a work, because it implies so much else that is purely "work."  That is, this kind of faith sets out a lifetime of works, of choices and decisions to follow and to align ourselves with His will -- of allowing the Holy Spirit to work within us, and the indwelling also of Father and of Christ, influencing who we are which is known by the works that we do.  Let us reiterate that "works" are not merely things done to be seen by others.  Works are all the choices we make; the decision to pray; the decision to find the will of God and seek it for ourselves; to hand ourselves over to Christ, so to speak -- and faith itself, to "believe in Him whom He sent" is also the work of God, as Jesus states here.  So let us think about these works we do, what kind of fruit we wish to produce, and the results of a lifetime of choices offered and made through time within this discipline and gift of faith.  Let us never forget how it ties us to the gifts of Father, Son, and Spirit themselves working in us and with us -- and how much help we have all along the way, with myriad messengers and saints as a great cloud of witnesses helping us as well.

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him

 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

- John 6:16-27

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

 Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum.  And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.  Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.  So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.  But He said to them, "It is I; do not be afraid."  Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.  This is the fifth sign of the seven recorded by John.  Again we note the parallels to the story of the first Passover and Exodus of Israel in chapter 6 of John's Gospel.  Here we recall the story of Moses leading the people across the Red Sea.  They walked on dry ground in the midst of the water (Exodus 14:15-31).  But here, Christ sends His disciples across the sea and then He walks on the sea as if it were dry ground. 

On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone -- however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks -- when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.  And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You come here?"  Jesus answered them and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."     Once again there is a parallel here to Exodus.  In the Exodus, God fed His people manna and gave them drink from a miraculous source of water (Exodus 16:1-17:7).  But here, Christ declares that He Himself is the true food and drink, the true bread that has come down from heaven.  Once again, as in yesterday's reading (see above), the people want to make Jesus their king, but this time Jesus tells them they desire a lesser thing that what it is that He offers to them.  My study bible comments that all the parallels to Exodus in this chapter show that Christ our God is the fulfillment of the old covenant, and that the breaking of His body and shedding of His blood, which free human beings from the slavery or sin, fulfill the sacrifice of the Passover lambs (1:29), which brought hte people out of slavery into the Promised Land.  Here the true Promised Land is the Kingdom of which Jesus speaks. 

Jesus tells the crowds (and hence, He's telling us), "Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.  Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."   This opens up for us a really important question.  What do we "labor" for?  What do we work for?  What are our true goals in life?  Obviously, Jesus does not tell us that we should starve to death -- why would He have fed five thousand people in the wilderness if God doesn't know that we need food to live?  That is not the point here!  The point is what we consider a true goal as fullness of life, and the quality of the life that we need and want for ourselves.  A few readings back, we discussed the term "work" in Greek, and how it's related to "energy."  (Work is ἐργάζομαι/ergazomai, and energy is based on the same root; it's energeia/ἐνέργεια -- which is actually translated as "working" in the Bible.)  So what do we "work" for?  What do we put our energy and strength into?  What is the most important thing?  Jesus will teach, in the very next verses in tomorrow's reading, that to work the work of God is to have faith in Christ (6:28-29).  But we want to focus right on in to this word "work" and its ties to "energy" so that we see what our lives are about.  We have a certain level of energy, of strength to use in the world.  What must our efforts be geared to?  Are we setting ourselves up for a kind of "fallen" state if we leave out the work of God?  Aren't we missing the mark when we think that labor in our lives should be only about material things, and not a more full and complete life that includes the energies (grace) of God in it and amongst all those other things we need for the body?  Jesus is teaching us to set our sights higher for quality of life than simply the material stuff we think we need or want, as life subsists of so much more than the material.  We are not just the body -- we are soul and spirit.  And at heart, without that which quenches and satisfies spirit and soul, we lead very empty lives.  Our energies are depleted on what is only satisfying to a body without consciousness and animation -- without true life.  If we want to truly live, Jesus is saying, we need to work for more in life than simply the food that perishes.  We need a better goal, something that will pay us back immeasurably more than that.  And that means that everything in life needs to be couched within our faith in order to truly reward us with what makes life worthwhile, valuable, of quality, satisfying, and with joy contained in it for us.  We all have natural gifts and talents.  Do you have the experience of the difference between a work you take on because the work itself gives you joy, fulfills a part of your character or soul or spirit -- and work taken on just for the money?  There's a vast world of difference in the two.  But more than that, faith itself changes the very quality of our lives.  Faith can mean that we do something because it's right in front of us and needs doing -- but we do it in the context of the satisfaction of knowing that this is where God leads us.  We get an inner fulfillment that can't be easily explained or expressed, but which motivates us with energy, with the grace of the time.  We may even find, with faith, that we can take on responsibilities we never felt we'd want, and triumph in them with God's help and grace and truth.  Let us set for ourselves our highest and most fulfilling goals.  Let us find what satisfies body, soul, and spirit for a fullness of life without which life is inevitably "less" than what He offers to us.

 

This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world

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

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

- John 6:1-15

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

After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberius.  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with his disciples.  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.   My study bible first comments on the entire chapter we now begin, suggesting that it parallels the Passover and Exodus of ancient Israel in the Old Testament Scriptures.  First of all, in the Exodus account (Exodus 11-17), God's signs were initially performed against Pharaoh, then God gave instructions on how to be saved at the time of the Passover (Exodus 11:1-12:14).  In today's passage, we note that the multitudes initially follow Christ because of His signs, and this also takes place at Passover. 

Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.  Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little."  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?"  Christ first tests Philip to increase his faith, as Philip needed help in understanding Him (14:8-10).  Two hundred denarii, my study bible says, corresponds to more than six months' wages for a laborer.  But Andrew's faith is stronger than Philip's.  He knows that the prophet Elisha had multiplied bread for 100 men (2 Kings 4:42-44).  Andrew offers the food brought by a certain lad.  But nevertheless, Andrew also is still weak in faith, as he questions what a mere five loaves could do for the number of people who are there. 

Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down."  Now there was much grass in the place.  So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, "Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.   Here there is a second parallel to the Exodus account.  In the Exodus, the Jews are said to have eaten unleavened bread because they were hastily driven out of Egypt, and they had therefore brought no provisions for themselves (Exodus 12:39).   In this passage, Jesus feeds the multitudes with earthly bread as they have brought no provisions, having rushed out to see Him.   This feeding of the multitude is the fourth of Christ's seven signs reported in John's Gospel.   This miraculous feeding is reported in all four Gospels.  The description given of Christ as He took the loaves, gave thanks (eucharisto in the Greek), and distributed them is a prefiguring of the celebration of the Eucharist.

Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world."  Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.  My study bible says that although Jesus had performed greater signs than this, the crowds are so desirous of an earthly Messiah (that is, an extraordinary man who would be king of Israel) that they declared Jesus to be the expected Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19), only after they are filled with earthly things (see also verse 26).  Because of this misunderstanding, Jesus departed from them.

What would an "earthly" king or Messiah be like?  He would be something like King David, an extraordinary man, truly faithful to God, and a king who would possibly rule Israel within an eternal kingdom on earth, an Israel gloriously "resurrected" to its true place on earth with its fortunes properly restored.  But this is not the story of Christ, the Man who is also God.  This story will take a dramatically different turn.  Far from a glorious kingdom on earth that rules over all, in which bread and honey flow abundantly for all (Exodus 3:6-8), the story of Christ will take on a complex, puzzling, even strange (to us) history of the Church on earth, the Kingdom which struggles midst a world beset with evils.  It is not the story of "worldly success" on earthly terms.  There is little doubt of the beauty and benefits that the Church has brought into the world.  Throughout the centuries and around the world (and right from its beginnings), Christians as communities have been models of industriousness, of good works such as the establishment of hospitals and charities, of efforts at more humane justice systems and relief to enslaved populations.  (For the Eastern world, this took on one form, for example, of ransoming women enslaved in harems, with saints such as this one whose relics remain in central Athens risking and losing their lives in martyrdom to do so.)   Christ Himself, a victim of injustice, stands for us as our King, the One who rules heaven and earth, and whose return we await.  As His followers and subjects, our job is to live as He has taught us to live, to build His Kingdom in the world within us -- in ourselves and our communities.  We worship God in spirit and in truth, as He said to the Samaritan woman;  God's kingdom has no circumference and is found everywhere -- realized through faith which we carry within us and among us, conscious of the temptations, misunderstandings, lack of spiritual sight and hearing, and the myriad ways in which God is neglected and human beings can miss the mark of faith that is the promise of our own  make up which consists of more than the body, but also soul and spirit.  Christ's kingdom in the world will be one to which we come as volunteer citizens, fully engaged, and growing in that engagement and its depth within us, a synergistic human-divine enterprise, like its Founder.  It is consciousness to which we are called -- the so-much-more than merely "earthly" life that makes up the more abundant life that He has promised.  It is this depth of engagement that the miraculous feeding miracle in the wilderness promises, as Christ will come to teach in this chapter that He is the living bread for all of us.  Let us be ready to understand and consider the fullness of this promise, offered freely to all of us, and sometimes seemingly heard and claimed by so few.   He is so much more than simply a prophet, and offers us so much more in Himself.

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

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

- John 5:30-47

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

"I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."  In one sense, this statement sums up and emphasizes more deeply what Jesus has just said (in yesterday's reading, above).  As Christians, we understand that the divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- all fully share in the same divine nature.   My study bible adds, however, that when the Son is said to obey the Father, this refers to His human will, which Christ assumed at His Incarnation.  He freely aligned His human will in every aspect with the divine will of the Father, and so we are called to do likewise.

"If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.  There is another who bears witness of Me, and I know that the witness which He witnesses of Me is true.  You have sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.  Yet I do not receive testimony from man, but I say these things that you may be saved.  He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light.  But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me.  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me.  You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.  But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe.  You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.  But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.  I do not receive honor from men.  But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?  Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you -- Moses, in whom you trust.  For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me.  But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"  Here, Jesus provides witnesses to His claim of Sonship.  He is anticipating the argument and speaking the thoughts of the Jewish leaders (as He does also in Luke 4:23).   In Jewish tradition, a valid testimony requires two witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6).  Jesus offers four witnesses confirming His identity as Messiah and as Son of God in this passage.  First He names John the Baptist ("You have sent to John. . .");  Next, His works ("the works which the Father has given Me to finish -- the very works that I do -- bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me").  As His third witness, He names God the Father ("the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me").  Finally, Jesus names the Old Testament Scriptures ("You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me"), through which Moses and others gave testimony ("if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me").

Jesus names witnesses to the leadership who testify on His behalf, that He is the Son.  He begins today's passage with a clear specification that everything He does as human being -- and therefore in His earthly ministry --  is done out of obedience to God.  Jesus sets the example for us with this statement.  But then He names four witnesses with whom the leadership are intimately familiar already:  John the Baptist, the works that Jesus does, God the Father, and the Old Testament Scriptures which include the word of Moses who testifies to His coming.  Somehow we are given to understand through these words and witnesses provided by Christ that these men in the leadership are responsible for understanding the witnesses and the testimony that give evidence of Christ's identity.  That is, these all bear witnesses to the identity of Jesus as Son and Messiah.  And yet, they have failed to know Him.  They have failed to put together the witnessing testimony with the Man.  They can't truly see Him through His works, they can't hear the testimony of the Baptist, they don't recognize the One prophesied by Moses, neither do they know Him through their knowledge of God the Father.  All of this teaches us, leads us to infer, that we are all responsible for what we know and have been taught.  Surely, these men who are experts in Scripture, in the Law, and all the things of the spiritual heritage of Israel, are responsible for what they have inherited and carry as the leadership of the Jewish nation.  And yet, they fail to truly see and hear the One in front of them, they can't or won't see what His works produce and what manner of tree is indicated through the fruit He produces (Matthew 12:33).  We know that there are those among the leadership who are secretly followers of Christ at this point, such as Nicodemus (chapter 3), but as a body these men are willing only to condemn Jesus.  Yet so many among the common people do follow Jesus and suspect that He is indeed the Christ.  So why are these men so blind?  Why are they deaf to His word?  We are given one reason in the Gospels, that of envy (Matthew 27:18, Mark 15:10).   But really, all of this is a cautionary tale for us.  The story that Jesus tells us when we are given these witnesses, and He expects these men to understand Him and take the witnesses seriously, is that we ourselves must be responsible for our own hearing and understanding -- our own spiritual sight and hearing.  What we know already should not blind us to the holiness that may be around us, but rather open our eyes to it.  What we have learned already from the traditions of the Church, from our worship services, from Scripture, from prayer, from the saints, should prepare us for the immanence of God, God's presence to us.  (By the same token, it should prepare us for the discernment to understand when we are being deceived by false appearance as well.  See Matthew 7:15-20, in which Jesus also speaks of knowing people by the fruits they produce which bear witness to their character.)   Especially those who "know," who bear places of leadership in the Church, who hold themselves in some sense as those whose learning contains Scripture and tradition and spiritual knowledge, bear tremendous responsibility for discernment, for spiritual eyes and ears.  In our present time, this is the great "news" of this passage.  Our faith is living, alive, growing and working with its energies of grace all around us.  It is not meant merely for books and histories.  It is not something we memorize and codify to a set of laws or rules or customs.  Our faith is true and living, God's energies always at work in us and in the world.  We are called to be present to this work, witnesses ourselves.  Our prayer should make us more receptive, more alive to the work of God.  Let us consider, then, the responsibility to know testimony when we see or hear it, in any form in which it is given to us.  So much depends upon it.  What do we recognize, and how do we know it?