If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"  Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

- John 8:47-59

Our current readings are set at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem; the readings for the events at this feast begin with this reading.   In our most recent readings, Jesus has been disputing in the treasury with the religious leadership.  Yesterday we read that they answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."   Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

 "He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  Then the Jews answered and said to Him, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?"   Today's reading begins with Christ's last sentence from yesterday's reading.  My study bible comments here that the religious leaders who oppose Him are unable to defeat Christ through logic or truth, so these enemies resort to personal insult at this point.

Jesus answered, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges.  Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  Then the Jews said to Him, "Now we know that You have a demon!  Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and You say, 'If anyone keeps My word he shall never taste death.'  Are You greater than our father Abraham, who is dead?  And the prophets are dead.  Who do You make Yourself out to be?"  Jesus answered, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad."  Once again, Jesus returns to the essential importance of His relationship to the Father.   It is the word of the Father that He gives to the world that is the essence of life itself, that conveys life everlasting.  Here is the key to being like Christ and like Abraham:  He does not honor Himself, but His honor comes from the Father.  And  they do not know God the Father, as they reject the teachings He is given to reveal.

Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"  Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."  Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.  I AM is the divine Name of God of the Old Testament, which was first revealed to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:13-15).  My study bible says that to the Jews, this was a direct, explicit, and unmistakable claim to perfect equality with God, as evidenced by their response of seeking to stone Him (see also Mark 14:62-64).  John's Gospel places a special emphasis on the use of the Name to clearly reveal Christ as God.  My study bible adds that this divine claim illuminates Christ's authority even over death (see the verses above), a power which belongs only to God the Father.

Jesus' bond with the Father is the solidity of communion, and He invites us into that communion as well through His emphasis on faith.  In today's reading, He says, "I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.  And I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks and judges."  Emphasizing the point, He repeats, "If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing.  It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God.  Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him.  And if I say, 'I do not know Him,' I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word."   This word in Greek translated as honor (δόξα/doxa) is also frequently translated as "glory."   It can also mean "praise."  It is a word whose etymology implies good opinion, or worth, intrinsic value that merits or results in praise.  Let us understand how it is related to fame or to renown.  Jesus very carefully emphasizes that fame or "glory" for its own sake is nothing.  To seek only the good opinion of others without substance is a kind of lie.   Elsewhere, He condemns the religious leadership with woes that result from precisely their hypocrisy in this sense (see Matthew 23).   The key here is that He confirms that His own honor comes from honoring God, and not seeking honor for Himself.  Let us understand that He gives this teaching so that we may do the same.  Lent is the specific time when we emphasize practices of humility -- stressing precisely this humility before God, a life which seeks to practice seeking the honor of God in our lives and for our lives.   In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches His followers, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  This is a teaching which reflects upon His words about Himself here, and indicates that He wishes for us to do exactly as He does.   This kind of life could only be possible through the love of God in our hearts.  Jesus teaches that "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).  What we love, we will live.  Love conveys a kind of relationship that unites us with that object of love.  In the present reading, Jesus emphasizes the life conveyed through a true love of God -- as God is life.  In our current readings, Jesus has contrasted the truth of God and the freedom this conveys with the devil and hatred of truth.  In yesterday's reading, He taught regarding the devil,  "He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."  In today's reading, Jesus emphasizes that in the truth of God is life -- again contrasting God with His words about the devil, who is a "murderer from the beginning."  In the truth that Christ offers is life, because His truth is purely that which He is given by the Father to reveal to them.   He tells the leadership, "Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death."  The emphasis is on the word given to Him by the Father, and the life conveyed by this word.  Everything starts, though, with the honor we seek from honoring God.  In this we find our life, an essence of life that gives us identity and meaning.   Even Christ Himself, the Son and Second Person of the Trinity, does not seek His own honor, as He declares here, but seeks the honor of the Father.  He declares His honor to be nothing should He seek His own honor; but to honor God is in turn to have honor, glory, a light that can shine before others.  It is this substance of glory that we seek through Lenten practice, a way to know the connection of life that resides in the heart, and where we seek to clear away the detritus that gets in the way of the substance of truth we find in this faith connection of the heart.  In Matthew 23, just before Jesus speaks of the woes of the hypocrites, He teaches that "whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."  These are words that directly reflect notions of honor and glory -- and how we seek true honor and value in our lives.  Jesus gives us the starkest contrast He can to convey the importance of this honor and worth:  life and death.  For such honor, He will go to His own death on the Cross, and in turn in seeking this honor He transforms our world and our suffering into life.  Let us meditate on the depth of such a mystery.  We may not fully understand the spiritual reality of God in God's fullness, but He's given us a roadmap for how to get there ourselves, and trusts that we can follow.

He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God

 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

"I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."

Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me.  Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."

- John 8:33-47

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles.  The events reported at this feast began this reading.   Yesterday we read that Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone.  How can You say, 'You will be made free'?"  Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.  And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever.  Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."  The religious leaders respond to Jesus' statement to those who believed Him (and we know there are those among the leaders who do), "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  In this response is all defensiveness.  Jesus clarifies the notion of freedom:  that real freedom is ultimately freedom from sin.  The communion with God confers the freedom of love; but a life of sin is a kind of slavery to that which is not love.  Jesus' response opens up questions of belonging and communion, as well as the gift of eternal life conferred through the communion of love of God -- and through the Son who has come to reveal the Father.  It is the Son who brings not only discipleship, but spiritual adoption, to abide in the house [of God]  forever.

"I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.  I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father."  They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father."  Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.  But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.  Abraham did not do this.  You do the deeds of your father."   My study bible notes that to be a child of Abraham, it's not enough to be related by blood.  Abraham's true children share the faith and virtue of Abraham (Luke 3:8).   St. John Chrysostom comments on this passage that Christ wanted to detach these leaders from racial pride, to teach them that their hope of salvation is not in being of the race of Abraham's children by nature, but rather to come to faith of one's own free will.  Their concept that being a descendant of Abraham by natural lineage was enough for salvation is the very thing preventing them from coming to Christ.   Jesus also alludes here to the spiritual battleground of the world; their failure to understand or hear Him is not the working of the love of God in their hearts which is what Abraham is known for, but is the work of a different father.

Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father -- God."  Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me."  My study bible comments that Jesus' use of the word proceeded here refers not to the Son coming eternally from the Father, but rather to Christ being sent from the Father to His Incarnation in the world.

"Why do you not understand My speech?  Because you are not able to listen to My word.  You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.  But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.  Which of you convicts Me of sin?  And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?  He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God."  As being a child of Abraham is based on sharing his attributes (rather than DNA or physical inheritance), so also those who reject Christ share the same attributes as the devil (in particular, a hatred for truth).  Therefore, my study bible explains, they are rightly called the children of the devil.

It is important that we grasp Jesus' emphasis on truth and freedom.  An acceptance of the reality of spiritual truth is the beginning of freedom, as Jesus taught in yesterday's reading (see above, esp. "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free").  But here in today's reading, Jesus goes further, and He links up our capacity for spiritual hearing and sight to our own love of God, or lack of it.  These men to whom He speaks are confident in their inheritance as Jews; that is, as descendants of Abraham in the natural sense.  But Jesus emphasizes spiritual kinship -- and indeed, His is a faith of sonship by adoption.  In His understanding which He wishes to convey here, spiritual inheritance is a question of being like Abraham, who loved God above all else.  In this sense of spiritual kinship, Christ takes this understanding a step further.  Those who reject the truth of God -- even the words Christ speaks which are from God the Father -- do not share the attributes of Abraham.  They rather share the attributes of the one who hates the truth, the one who is anti-truth.  Christ pronounces the devil to be the essence of a lie.  Indeed, here is testimony about the devil, an identification by Christ:  "He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."   In this statement, the devil is not only identified as being purely a lie, but also lying is connected with murder, as is a hatred of truth.  These are important concepts for us to grasp; they tell us something about the nature of spiritual reality, and also about the spiritual battleground  that is the world in which we live our lives and learn how to make choices -- and are faced with sometimes dismaying, dizzying, confusing choices to make in our lives which demand a deeper understanding and the development of discernment in a crucible in which we are tempted and tested by circumstances.  What is perhaps most important here is the understanding that in contrast to this essence of lies, God the Father offers us sonship -- adoption through love and faith.  There are no other requirements.  And this love, on our part, must be purely voluntary.  God does not compel anyone to love God, and neither does Christ.  In this communion is our freedom, and by stark contrast, to sin -- that is, to break that communion, wittingly or unwittingly in service to a lie -- is to be a slave to sin.  A lie does not love; it is purely selfish, it seeks to use and to own and to destroy the goodness of human beings and their capacity for God-likeness (Genesis 1:26).   Note that Jesus says it is because He speaks the truth they do not believe Him.  Jesus puts into stark contrast lies and truth, love and slavery, love of God and hatred for truth.   But in reality, how these spiritual realities work themselves out in the world may be complicated and dizzying indeed.   Our faith, as stated by St. Paul, in a crucified Christ, is to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks [that is, the Gentiles] foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23).   This battleground of the world into which we are born will require a Savior who comes not in worldly form and action, like a leader in a chariot with great armies of warriors, but a more powerful one.  That is, one who will conquer death by death -- whose power transforms the greatest instrument of terror reserved for the worst criminals into a saving symbol of resurrection.  It is this reality that we seek to know; His fullness in which we seek to participate and grow and belong as children by adoption.  That is, as Christ puts it in today's reading, His is the house in which we seek to dwell forever, this Man of the Cross who asks us for faith in what is to the world a stumbling block and foolishness.  Let us remember that this all starts in our hearts with a love of God.  Our freedom comes from there because that is where our truth begins and ends, and in which we will find its fullness through the difficulties of the world -- and the manipulations of the liar.  What do we love?  It all comes down to that.  Will we be like Abraham, capable of hearing?

If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free

 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

- John 8:21-32

In our current readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  The events at this Feast begin with this reading.  Yesterday we read that Jesus spoke to the religious leaders in the temple again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

 Then Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin.  Where I go you cannot come."  So the Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"  And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from above.  You are of this world; I am not of this world.  Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."  Then they said to Him, "Who are You?"  And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.  I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."  They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.   When Jesus says He is going away, He is referring to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  He speaks of the mysterious relationship between Father and Son, as He did in the reading from yesterday (see above), and which they -- the religious leaders -- cannot understand.  It is important to understand in this context that He is speaking of salvation through faith in His testimony.  They will not be able to follow Him (into His Ascension), and therefore will die in their sins -- meaning with the worldly mindset they retain which refuses His testimony.  They are unable to grasp the truth given to Christ to speak to the world which He heard from the Father.  If we listen carefully, we understand Christ's attempts here are for the salvation of all, and especially for those to whom He speaks which include the leadership and also those others who listen in the temple treasury.  At His trials in the Sanhedrin and before Pilate, He will say next to nothing, except to confirm His identity as Son, for which testimony He will be put to death (Matthew 26:62-65, Mark 14:61-63, Luke 22:67-71).

Then Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  And He who sent Me is with Me.  The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."  As He spoke these words, many believed in Him.  My study bible says that lift up has the double meaning of being nailed to the Cross and also of being exalted by His Father upon the completion of His work.  Jesus continually returns to the unity of the relationship between Father and Son, emphasizing that He is in His Incarnation a revelation of the Father to the world.  Note that John tells us that many believed in Him.

Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed."  My study bible comments that Jesus expects all who follow Him to be disciples; this word in Greek (μαθηταί/mathetai) means "learners."    To abide in Christ's word is the responsibility of all believers, my study bible adds, and not simply of the clergy or an elite class of zealots.

"And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."   A note tells us that the truth refers both to the virtue of truth, and even more importantly, to Christ Himself (14:6).  To be free is to have freedom from darkness, confusion, and lies, my study bible says, as well as the freedom from the bondage of sin and death.

Because of Christ's words, notions and truth and freedom remain to us inextricably linked.  It's impossible to say how much influence this final statement of Jesus as He taught in the treasury has had on culture -- and remains so today.  Perhaps there are those who really don't know where such an idea became linked, and certainly within the Jewish tradition of law this understanding is also embedded.  Ironically, in Jesus' case, the whole discussion at the Feast of Tabernacles has centered around witnessing and Jesus' testimony as to His own identity and authority.  Indeed, the Gospels attach great importance to the idea that at Jesus' trial, false witnesses were called who contradicted one another (Mark 14:55-59).  But if we get into the deeper personal issues of Christ's statement about the link between truth and freedom, things sometimes get a little trickier.  On a grand scale, the notion that we can manipulate events through media and publicity -- even for a good cause -- always seems to come up.  Inevitably, lies and half-truths damage a noble purpose.  Manipulation is a tool of the "evil one."  Christ makes this perfectly clear by His own conduct, and particularly in His testimony in today's reading.  Whatever the Father gives Him to speak to the world, He speaks, and He will face the consequences.  When Jesus speaks of the "pure in heart" in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:8), He is speaking of those for whom purity is the fullness of who they are.  In other words, to use a popular expression, "what you see is what you get."  Another way this notion of purity is translated is by the word "simple," meaning unadulterated, without contradictory purpose of intention, not double-minded.  This is the term used when Jesus directs His apostles to be "wise as serpents and simple as doves" (Matthew 10:16).  Jesus' greatest criticism and condemnation of the leadership is their hypocrisy (Matthew 23:13-39).   His praise is high indeed for Nathanael, the man of great directness, when He calls him, "An Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit" (also translated as "no guile"; see 1:45-47).   For the truth to set us free, it must act against ignorance -- what John's Gospel calls the darkness of spiritual lies and deceit, that which masks something to which we are entitled as human beings, and for which Christ comes into the world as Liberator and Deliverer.  It is His truth that sets us free; and moreover, as my study bible says, He is the Person who is Truth, and through Him is revealed to us the truth of God the Father and our own place in the universe.  That place is in relation and communion.  Throughout the Gospels, we are given spiritual battle as that which is waged against the one who would blind us, oppress us in slavery, grinding onerous labor, and pain.  Those who are liberated through exorcism are oppressed by demons who torment them and seek to destroy them.  The truth of Christ that sets us free is the understanding that God loves us so much that He sent His Son who will die for us, in order that we may have life, and that life in abundance.  But when we embrace this truth, it is not the promise of an easy or simple life.  Rather, we enter into a battleground and take up sides through our choices.  To follow Him may require tribulation, but also gives us freedom, peace, and joy.  The question really is whether we are prepared to take up that discipleship, to work the works of faith.  How do we do that?  As He abides in the Father and gives us the word given to Him by the Father,  so we are to abide in His word.  We are to live and cherish the truth He gives us, for it is the key to our own freedom.  Are we ready?  Lent is the time when we get down to basics, and learn who we are.  We seek to face our own darkness, and cast it off for His truth.  In the Gospels, there is one story of particular cruelty through demonic possession, of a young boy who's often cast into fire.  When the disciples struggle to cast it out, Jesus finally explains, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29).  These practices of prayer and fasting are designed to do one thing, to shore up and build our faith.  They are the traditional practices of Lent throughout the historical Church.  Let us remember at this time what these tools are for:  there are to help to make us free, to set us down where we focus on truth and cut out all the extraneous business of life that takes up our time, clogs our thinking, keeps us distracted.  Let us get down to that truth and the business of our freedom, as we seek to more fully abide in Him.

I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life

 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.

- John 8:12-20

Yesterday we read that, on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, 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 our 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."

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."   On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, the great lamps of the outer court of the temple were lit.  These were lamps so high and so brilliant with fire that they lit up whole areas of the city of Jerusalem.  They were four menorah-style lamps 75 feet high, and meant to commemorate the pillar of fire that illuminated the way for Israel through the desert of Sinai.  In this context, my study bible says, Christ is declaring Himself the fulfillment and the divine object of all celebrations of light.  In the Scriptures, God the Father is light (1:4-9; 1 John 1:5), an attribute which the Father bestows on His followers (Matthew 5:14; Philippians 2:15).  In the following chapter, Christ will confirm this claim by performing the great sign of opening the eyes of a man born blind (9:1-7; esp verse 5), thus "illuminating" his sight.  Also of note here is that the lectionary skips over 7:53-8:11, the story of the woman caught in adultery.  This passage is missing from several ancient manuscripts; it is also absent from the commentaries of St. Chrysostom and other patristic writers.  Nevertheless, it has been understood historically by the Church to be inspired, authentic, canonical Scripture, bearing authority of all other Scripture, as my study bible notes.  In the context of that story, it perhaps should be understood that these great lamps of the last day of the Feast were lit in the Court of Women.

The Pharisees therefore said to Him, "You bear witness of Yourself; Your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.  It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."   In the law, two witnesses were necessary to testify to the truth of something.  Earlier (after He healed a paralytic at the Feast of Weeks), Jesus gave the leaders four witnesses which testify to His identity:  John the Baptist, the works of His ministry, God the Father, and the Scriptures (see this reading).   Here once again, the question of witnessing and testimony to Jesus' identity as the Christ is brought up by the Pharisees.  There is always the question of authority to answer; how does He have the right to speak and act with authority, and who has conferred this authority?  This time He answers by giving two witnesses:  Himself, and God the Father.  As He states here, they know nothing of Him; but He knows where He comes from and where He is going.  It is a statement about the mystery of His divinity, which they cannot understand.

Then they said to Him, "Where is Your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.  My study bible comments that because the Son and the Father share the same divine nature, one cannot be known apart from the other (14:7-11).  The text makes it clear that the leadership has decided that He must die, but His hour had not yet come.

Jesus answers the question of mystery with a mysterious answer.  He refers, ultimately, to God the Father.  In the passage cited by my study bible above, Christ gave the same answer, but more explicitly, to His disciple Philip:  "He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."  The mysterious figure of God the Father is one shrouded in a kind of darkness, and who is illuminated to us by the Incarnate Christ.   Christ is declaring to Philip that God the Father is revealed in both His teaching and in the works He does in His ministry.  In these mysteries of the Persons of the Trinity, we delve into the subject of what is called Apophatic Theology.  That is, the divine nature of God involves so much that is hidden from us that it cannot be spoken of entirely in positive terms; rather we may say more correctly what God is not.  God the Father is revealed to us through Christ, His teachings and His works.  But the completeness of a revelation to us of the divine Persons is impossible, for we are incapable of grasping the fullness of God.  Therefore, one reason for the Incarnation itself is for a revelation of God to us.  However, Christ makes it clear even as He invokes the Father as witness to His own authority as Son, that knowledge of God the Father is possible only through faith, and in particular through faith in the Son.   The mysterious reality of God the Father is also at work in human beings through faith.  When Peter declares in his confession that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:16-17), Jesus tells him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."   Even the relationship between Father and Son is mysterious to us.  We may grasp Jesus' words and what He is asking us to understand as revelation in His earthly ministry; and yet the fullness of the Persons of the Trinity remains something in darkness to us, a mystery into which we also may grow through the illumination of faith, and bear within us as light.  In the revelations of the Trinity of the Gospels, God the Father is revealed only through a voice that is heard  by very few, such as at Christ's Baptism, and in the Transfiguration.   That the Father is revealed to us only through a voice heard by John the Baptist and Christ's few closest disciples alone is another hint to us about the mystery of God, and God's hiddenness.  God is the One whom Jesus tells us is in the secret place, and who sees in secret, to whom we pray in secret (Matthew 6:6).    As Christ makes clear, it is through the Incarnation that we are given a revelation of the Father; God the Father is working within His ministry to the world.  But neither must we neglect our own understanding of mystery, and our participation via faith and prayer in this secret place, to the immensity of the hidden God, who sees in secret, and hears and answers our prayer in ways which are mysterious.  Jesus speaks in the same way to Nicodemus, when He reveals the mystery of Christian baptism and the work of the Holy Spirit in chapter 3.  Jesus tells him, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Therefore we must be aware that our illumination, the revelation of God that is given to us, will always be partial.  It is a hidden reality into which we may enter and in which we may participate only through faith.  Jesus tells the disciples, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables" (see Mark 4:11-12; Matthew 13:11-12; Luke 8:10).   As we think of this brilliant ceremony at the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorating the light that shined in the darkness for Israel, let us consider the mystery of illumination, and the far deeper hidden reality of God which calls to us and into which we are invited to enter, participate, and grow through faith:  "For whoever has, to him more will be given" (Matthew 13:12).   It is through the Son that the Father is revealed to us, and thus light is shed on all things.  His is the light that shines in the darkness and shows us our way.

No man ever spoke like this Man!

 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 our 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

Yesterday we read that about the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus went up into 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 you 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 is a ceremony of the drawing of water from the pool of Siloam.  It provides the backdrop and context for Christ's teaching, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  The living water of which He speaks is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the new life which 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 is a name for the expected Messiah, the Savior who was foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).  The Christ was expected to come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), descended from the lineage of David.   The ongoing debate over Galilee results from the people's understanding that Jesus is from Galilee, and their unawareness that He was in fact born in Bethlehem.

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."  The chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above, verse 32).  Now ti is the last day of this eight-day feast, and no arrest has been made, as the officers were converted by Christ's teaching.  My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom on this passage.  He writes that the Pharisees and scribes who had "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  But these officers, on the contrary, although they can claim none of the learning of the leaders, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When one's 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 our 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, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, is the one who had spoken with Jesus in secret at night (3:1-21).  Since that time, he has increased in faith.  But his defense of Jesus to his fellow members of the Council is still based on our law; this is not yet a public profession of faith in Christ, which will come later on as he and Joseph of Arimathea, another wealthy member of the Council, prepare Christ for burial after the Crucifixion (19:38-39).  According to the law, Jesus has to be given a hearing before He is judged (Exodus 23:1; Deuteronomy 1:15-17).  Meanwhile, the Pharisees here show disregard for the law in their blind hatred, and also their ignorance of the Scriptures.  Jonah the prophet came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, just three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). 


What are we to make of all the dissension and disagreement, argument and turmoil that surround Jesus?  The crowds are confused and there is a division among the people because of Him, the Gospel tells us.  But if we look closely, that same division is making itself known among the ruling classes and leaders as well.  The officers sent to arrest Jesus have failed to do so, so overwhelmed are they by His teaching.  The leadership as well have divisions.  As united and fully vested in resentment and outrage as they appear to be, there is dissension among them.  Nicodemus reminds them that the law does not judge without a hearing, and he is rudely rebuked.  By now the hatred and envy of the leaders has reached a stage where they speak thoughtlessly, casting out even knowledge of the Scriptures and the origins of Jonah.  But I think that it is important that we take a good look at these divisions.  We recall once again, as frequently we are called to do when we read John's Gospel, that the term "the Jews" is meant like a political term, to denote the religious rulers.  But even among the rulers there are important divisions.  Both Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, a very wealthy member of the Council (and so we might conclude an aristocratic member of the society around Jerusalem), will both publicly participate in the burial of Christ, showing honor to Him after the Crucifixion.  Nicodemus begins even here to speak up against the urge to rush to judgment.  There is no way that we can, in the light of the Gospels, make assumptions of monolithic nature of peoples under any circumstances.  Let us recall that every single person in this crowd and among the characters in today's reading is a Jew, including Jesus and His disciples.  The Gospel clearly shows us a great diversity of opinion surrounding Jesus, and this is explicit and deliberate.  Doesn't this teaching, made clear here in this Gospel, always apply to our lives and those who surround us?  Does not a great truth result in division, depending upon how each of us falls around it with our own opinions and perspectives?  Although in Christ is the true reconciliation of all things, and He is the Person who is Truth -- the pole around which our faith and divisions may rest -- each responds in their own way.  Moreover, the Gospel teaches us that each one is on a road of faith.  While the Pharisees as a whole are moving further and further into error and hatred, Nicodemus is moving further toward Christ on the pathway of faith.  The disciples, too, make a kind of pathway through the Gospels of doubt and faith, growing in their faith even while they clearly make mistakes (and are told so by Jesus; see, for example, Matthew 16:21-23).  While we can make statements about opinions and perspectives, we can weigh thoughts and assumptions and values, we really need great discernment when it comes to judging righteous judgment about people.  We have to be aware of what the Gospels teach us about each, and the road to faith that each must be on.  There is no doubt in the "mind's eye" of the Gospels, that Jesus is the Christ, the center of a universe and created history, the only begotten Son of God.  But in the meantime, human beings do a kind of dance all around this truth -- and while all individuals are capable of faith, no matter who they are or what position they hold in life (like, for example, Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, whose whole household received salvation), there are those who will go too far down the road of their own certainty and self-righteousness for repentance, and they in turn will mislead others.  Let us consider the important truths we find in this Gospel, that we cannot judge based on appearance, and neither can we make blanket assumptions of spiritual corrections based on them.  Each must decide for herself or himself, and each is on a pathway.  The critical question seems to come down to the capability we retain for repentance, for reconsideration, for a deeper introspection on truth and the human heart.  The Law was designed to teach good discipline and right relatedness, and from this lineage also comes Christ, the Reconciler of all things, the One who comes to heal, who is Truth.   In relation to Him we can have a sure footing, seeking to know ourselves, our weakness, our characters, and how we proceed along this road of faith -- even as we know we can't truly judge others, and always need His discernment.  Let us endeavor to know our weaknesses and blind spots, to be willing to reconsider, and to seek His truth with all diligence in our prayer, as we, too, journey toward Jerusalem through Lent in preparation for Easter Resurrection.  Our goal is to be like the officers in today's reading, who hear with hearts and minds capable of grasping what they had not known, open to hearing what they've never heard before.  No one could ever speak to us like the One who speaks to our hearts, except those who can share in that hearing.

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

 Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into 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 you 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

On Saturday we read that Jesus practiced His ministry in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  (The lectionary has skipped over chapter 6 for now, and we have begun reading in chapter 7.)  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"; other 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 into 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, an eight-day autumn harvest festival, commemorating the time when Israel wandered in the desert of Sinai, led by Moses.  Here 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 the authority of God over our lives and our existence in the created cosmos.  My study bible quotes St. John Chrysostom, who paraphrases Christ:  "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 you 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 turns here to the themes which repeat themselves throughout His reported ministry in the Gospels.  What is a violation of the Sabbath?  What constitutes an act against the will of God?  As in other instances, He here states a "blameless" violation of the Sabbath, that of circumcision, as given by law of Moses (or as the text says, from the fathers).    He cites not only the purpose of the Law, but the full aim of the will of God:  to heal.  To judge with righteous judgment is to do what He has said in the verses above:  to desire above all to do the will of God.

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."  My study bible notes that these crowds are mistaken, in two ways.  That is, in both an earthly sense and a divine sense.  As human being, they are thinking of Jesus as being from Nazareth of Galilee, but this is not the truth.  Jesus was born in Bethlehem (7:42; Luke 2:1-7).  Moreover, they can't understand that Christ has come from the Father in Heaven, and as the divine Son He is eternally begotten before all ages.  Therefore, this divine "origin" also remains unknown to them.   The crowds, as reported by John, reflect the confusion of the people regarding Jesus.  But Christ's emphasis remains on the desire to love and serve God, and the wisdom this confers.

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?"   Christ's hour is the time of His suffering and death.  He is the Lord over time, which is an authority possessed by God alone, as my study bible notes.  Jesus comes to the 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.  John repeatedly gives us instances where Christ is the object of murderous intent, but it is not yet His hour.

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."   Christ refers to His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.  It is a confirmation regarding His total foreknowledge and understanding of the culmination of His mission in the world.

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'?"  We are reminded yet again that the term the Jews is a political term in John's Gospel, used to denote the leadership.  (As opposed to the people, and the crowd.)   To go among the Greeks is to go among the Gentiles; that is, the Greek-speaking populations of the world, for at this time Greek was the international common language in the way that English is today.  The Dispersion is the Diaspora of the Jews among the Gentile populations.  My study bible says that this is an unwitting prophecy by the leaders (and not the last one; see 11:50), which points to the time after the Ascension, when His name will be preached among the Gentiles by the Apostles. 

The confusion of the crowds speaks volumes.  It tells us about our own places in the world, and how confusing it is to find truth.  Even the leadership are confused as well, and perhaps led even more astray than the crowds are by their own envy and resentment and outrage that Jesus seems to be violating and upstaging their authority.  But Jesus Himself gives us all the key here to understanding Him, His aim, His works, and our own places in the universe.  He gives us one great key to seemingly all things, and in particular to wisdom:  "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."  This is the key not only to doing as He teaches:  "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  But it is also given as the key to His own knowledge, when the leaders ask themselves, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  What Jesus offers us, then, in today's reading, is the key to discernment, to wisdom, and to good judgment.  That is, a sincere desire to do the will of God, to put our own wills second, and to find and to serve God's will.  This is no easy thing.  It's not simply about following rules written down and interpreted for us somewhere, as the passage clearly illustrates since so much evolves here around Jesus healing on a Sabbath.  The real key to seeking to know and do the will of God is in prayer, in dialogue.  And what is that dialogue like?  So much depends upon silence, upon our own capacity for silence and stillness in prayer.  The Psalmist tells us, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).  Christ teaches us about intimate prayer with our Father who sees in secret -- even about the importance of "secretness" (if we may call it that).  "Secret" is another word for mystery in the Greek, we must remind ourselves.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that when we pray, we are to "go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place" to "your Father who sees in secret" (see Matthew 6:5-6).  Let us consider the practices of monastic prayer designed to take us to this secret place with our Father who sees in secret, such as the Jesus Prayer, and remember that there is in our depth a kind of sacred silence into which we pray.  (Here is a rather thorough article on the practice of the Jesus Prayer, or Prayer of the Heart.)  It is said that God prays in us in silence, with language we're not keen enough to understand as anything but silence.  But this is also a great mystery.  Nevertheless, what remains with us is Christ's great teaching, this great key to all things:  that it is the will to do the will of God that really gets us someplace in life, that gains us the benefit of wisdom and understanding, discernment and good judgment.  This involves great humility, and its cultivation in ourselves, as 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."  Let us understand Him.  This is the way of the Cross (see Matthew 16:23-27).  Today is the day on which many branches of the Church commemorate the Annunciation, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary the Mother of God.  How could Mary have heard Gabriel speaking to her?  How could she have given her assent to the will of God?  Let us consider her as the model, even as His mother, for each of us.  Consider her life and what was of most central importance to her, how she remained with Him through all things and even at the Cross.  In humility we listen and accept and seek God's will for our own, even through all the times of our lives. 

The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil

 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"; other 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

In yesterday's reading, Jesus witnessed about Himself to the religious authorities, and gave other witnesses to His identity:   "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 walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  The lectionary skips over chapter 6, to which it will return later on in Lent.  In chapter 6, Christ speaks of Himself as the bread of life.  Once again, we remember that the phrase the Jews is used as a political term denoting the religious leaders, and not the people.

Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  The Feast of Tabernacles (Hebrew Sukkot) is an eight-day harvest festival in autumn.  It commemorates the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, and the people lived in tents, or tabernacles.  It is also the feast of the coming Kingdom.  This Festival was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews (together with Passover and Pentecost.  It included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, my study bible explains, this feast had particular special events on its final, eighth day.  These included drawing water from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7).  It also included the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple.  These events should be understood as backdrop for Jesus' teachings at this festival.

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.  The term brothers is used in the Near and Middle East even today to denote extended family.  These brothers are either stepbrothers of Jesus (children of Joseph by an earlier wife prior to his marriage to Mary, the mother of Christ), or they are cousins.  But the Gospel is careful to illustrate the nature of faith in Christ, and the people's response to Him.  Even His brothers -- His own people -- do not believe in Him.  Jesus' words echo His teaching to Nicodemus, but also the references to rejection, light, and darkness throughout the Gospel:   that the world hates Him because He testifies of it that its work are evil.  (See also 1:4-5; 10:11.)

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"; other said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  My study bible explains that not openly means not with a grand, public entrance, as on Palm Sunday (12:12-16).  Again, the Gospel illustrates Jesus' place among the people, in the world, so to speak.  There are those who think well of Him, and others who do not.  But above all, people fear the leadership, and speak only in private about Christ to one another. 

In today's reading, the Gospel illustrates the nature of the crowds.  While we may understand questions of belief as those of individuals, the Gospel makes a clear note of the impact that "the world" has on individual decisions.  The people are eager to speak to one another about Christ, as He is by now a public figure.  The leadership despise Him and wish to put Him to death, for all kinds of reasons.   Out of fear, the people don't speak openly in front of the leaders who have decided to put Christ to death.   John's Gospel is the one that repeatedly speaks of the hearts of people (see, for example, 2:24-25).    Indeed, it is John's Gospel that tells us that Judas criticized the anointing of Christ by a woman (Mary of Bethany) not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief (see 12:1-8).  Darkness and light do not mix; we're told that the light shines in the darkness, but that the darkness does not understand it -- neither can it successfully suppress that light (1:5).  We have already been told of Jesus' saying that a prophet has no honor in his own country, referring to his hometown (4:44).  In today's reading, He speaks to His brothers about "the world" -- the phenomenon of crowds, the effects of fame, and how that is related directly to His truth.  So the Gospel makes it clear that faith, and where we place our faith, is not a simple matter.  Neither is it necessarily easy.  It requires discernment, and we need to separate out our faith in God and in Christ from following the crowds.  There is nowhere in the Gospels where the crowds necessarily have it right.  Frequently, crowds are all-too-easily stirred to an evil consequence through manipulation; for example, at the crucifixion.  There are the crowds who desperately seek Christ (and wish to make Him king) because He's fed them (6:26-27).  The Gospels do not take the point of view that all of this is clear or easy or simple.  Rather they tell us that the key to faith is discernment, a kind of response from the depth of ourselves.  Most essentially, real faith and discernment deeply depend upon an attitude of humility.  When Nathanael asks, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" and Jesus, meeting him, declares, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit" (see 1:43-51), Christ is praising Nathanael's lack of pretense, his directness, and his willingness to "come and see" for himself.  Most of all, no deceit implies simplicity and humility.  This is a man who is not double-minded, but sincere, one without pretense.  In today's reading, even Jesus' own relations do not believe in Him, and the crowds speak all things about Him, even as they fear the leaders.  It is a time of confusion, and we live in a world that confuses, in which all things can be said about anyone.  This is the nature of the world, as presented in the Gospels.  It is the nature of the darkness to despise the light.  Therefore, our best bet is the simplicity and directness of Nathanael, our own willingness to come and see,  and  perhaps most all, the humility to open our own darkness to the light so that we grow in that light.  This is the path of discernment, and Lent is the time where we focus on what we really need to be clear on that path.  We focus on humility, get down to the essentials, strip away the pretense, and focus on what we need and need to do.   Let us consider all the opinions of the crowds, and where we get when we simply follow them.  Openness to Christ requires of us a different discipline, an unpretentiousness, and a willingness to let the light shine on what we don't really want to see.  It is the gate to repentance, a willingness to change, to reconsider, to change our minds.   This is humility.  It puts God first, before everything else, and lets in that light even when it hurts to do so.

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 after the healing of the paralytic, Jesus answered and said to the religious leaders who questioned Him for healing on the Sabbath and stating His equality to the Father, "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 into 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."  My study bible explains that the divine will is common to the three Persons of the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- who all fully share the same divine nature.  When Christ says that the Son obeys the Father, it is referring to His human will, assumed at His Incarnation (see the reading from yesterday, above, when Jesus refers to Himself as Son of Man, a messianic title).  My study bible adds that Christ freely aligned His human will in every aspect with the divine will of the Father -- and so each of us 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?"  Jesus anticipates the argument of the religious leaders regarding His own testimony about Himself.  By Jewish tradition, two witnesses are required for a valid testimony (Deuteronomy 17:6).  Here Jesus offers four witnesses to His identity as Messiah and Son of God (as well as the title He uses for Himself in His Incarnation, Son of Man).  The witnesses He gives here are God the Father (in the earlier verses above), John the Baptist, Christ's own works, and finally, the Old Testament Scriptures, through which Moses and others gave testimony. 

Jesus says, "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?"  In some sense, Jesus is confirming to us that the sort of worldly glory that is worshiped as a kind of earthly religion of fame is a part of the practice of idolatry.  In a day and age of social media, where so many live for the attention they receive thereby, and "mega-stars" seemingly are made every day, we're reminded of how Christ thinks about the honor that comes from one another.  Idolatry is basically a form of worshiping the creature rather than the Creator.  That is, the beauty of the natural world -- including the beauty of human beings -- points to the Creator who fashioned them.  When they are no longer "transparent" to the beauty and love of God, they become objects of worship in themselves.  In the Old Testament, we read of the constant conflict between the worship of God and the worship of idols.  But today we have other idols we seem to worship.  Twitter and other forms of social media call even our modern journalists into a constant tug of war between what is actually true and what is somehow well-publicized, in an environment where even opinions and theories can become objects of idolatry.  This is clearly the "honor that comes from one another" at work.   With the same understanding of the difference between idolatry and true worship, Jesus calls the works that He does as those things that witness to Him and to His identity.  When first questioned by the religious authorities regarding the healing of the paralytic by the Sheep Gate, Jesus answered, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."    Consistently He shows that in fact the works He does are transparent signs that point to the Father behind all things, and that it is in union with the Father that He does what He does.  The signs themselves are not things to worship nor to idolize, but rather forms of witness to the power and grace and presence of God.  So it must be, as my study bible says, that our lives may point to the beauty, grace, and truth and presence of God in our world.  What can our works testify to?  Do we do things to be seen by others?  Is Instagram the call of meaning in our lives?  Or do we seek as Jesus does to do the will of God in our lives?  Do our lives point to something greater, bigger, more powerful, more deep than just the surface appearance?  To what do we witness through our own works in life?  Let us consider the strong pull of God, the struggle into which Christ invites us to enter with Him.  There will always be those who cannot speak this language, who do not understand, lost in an idolatry that comes from recognition only of the honor human beings give one another, and without a clue about the love of God.  But Christ is working and the Father is working; the Holy Spirit is working and present with us.  The kingdom of God remains present with us and among us.  And so we can witness to a greater and more beautiful glory.   We are invited to dwell within this beauty in our own lives.   This is His gift to us, His legacy we carry, and His grace in which we all can participate.  It's just a choice, and remains so for us among the idolatry we see today in new forms -- but in an old, old story of human beings who struggle for truth and reality that matters as much as it ever did.