As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening

 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.  While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.

- Luke 9:28-36

Yesterday we read the final passage in Matthew's Gospel, in commemoration of Ascension Day in the West (which will be celebrated on June 6th in the Eastern Orthodox Church).  After Christ's appearance to the women at the tomb (Matthew 28:1-10), the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

 Now it came to pass, about eight days after these sayings, that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.  Today's reading follows in sequence the reading from Monday (see Who do you say that I am?).  In that reading, the disciples made their confession of faith (through Peter) that He is the Christ, and Jesus also revealed to them His suffering that is to come, and spoke of each one who would be His follower taking up his or her own cross daily.  Eight days is symbolic of what is called the "eighth day"; that is, the day of the Lord's Kingdom, the day we commemorate His Resurrection.  In the early Church, Sunday was frequently referred to as the "eighth day."

As He prayed, the appearance of His face was altered, and His robe became white and glistening.  God is light (1 John 1:5), and the presence of an extraordinary light permeated this transfiguration experience is a sign of the presence of God, and a revelation that Jesus Himself is God.

And behold, two men talked with Him, who were Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.  Moses and Elijah represent the Law and the Prophets, and also the communion of saints.  (Note that they are immediately known to the disciples without any apparent communication.)  Moreover, Moses represents all those who have died, while Elijah, who did not experience death, represents those who are alive in Christ.  Jesus' decease (which is literally the word exodus, meaning "departure" in the original Greek) refers to His death, which He has just predicted to His disciples (see Monday's reading).  My study bible says that Christ's death is intimately connected to the glory of the Transfiguration, for Christ is glorified through His death (John 12:23).  It adds that the Greek term exodus reveals that Christ's Passion is a fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover, and is the true exodus from enslavement into salvation.

But Peter and those with him were heavy with sleep; and when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  Then it happened, as they were parting from Him, that Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- not knowing what he said.  Peter's slightly inchoate response to what he was witnessing makes sense in terms of the associations he has made between his perception of the presence of the Kingdom and the Feast of Tabernacles, which is the feast of the coming Kingdom, during which Israel's time in the wilderness was commemorated, when the people dwelt in tents (or tabernacles) and the Lord's presence went with them in the tabernacle of worship.  The tabernacles at the feast serve as symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom.  Note again the presence of glory; light pervades this whole experience upon the mountain.

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were fearful as they entered the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  When the voice had ceased, Jesus was found alone.  But they kept quiet, and told no one in those days any of the things they had seen.  This is a manifestation of the Trinity, or what is known as a theophany.  Christ is transfigured and revealed as divine and beloved Son, the Father speaks from heaven, testifying to Jesus' identity, and the Spirit is present in the form of the cloud and the dazzling light which surrounds Christ and overshadows the whole mountain.  When the voice had ceased, Jesus is found alone, just as He appears in worldly form.  But these disciples will not forget what has been revealed to them here.

It's interesting to think about the small, closed circle of disciples to which the Transfiguration (Metamorphosis in Greek) has been revealed, and the eventual revelation to all of this event.  In going up to the mountain in the first place, Jesus takes only His closest circle of disciples, Peter, John, and James.  These are the disciples with the strongest faith, the same ones He took with Him for the resurrection of Jairus' daughter at a time when all others were ridiculing Him because she was dead (see this reading).  It reminds us of Jesus' teaching, given in quite another context (as a warning to His disciples against hypocrisy) that "there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops" (12:2-3).  In that case, Jesus was warning the disciples against the "leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."  But the same saying applies to that which is revealed in today's reading of the Transfiguration:  the mysteries of the Kingdom may be initially revealed to very few, but what is given is the truth which is eventually revealed to all, and for all in the edification of the Church.  In his second Epistle, St. Peter writes about the revelation in today's reading, saying, "We did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."   In the "light" of today's reading, we are also reminded of the shepherds of Bethlehem in Luke's second chapter, and the appearance to them of an angel of the Lord, and the glory of the Lord that shone all around them, and the good tidings of great joy for all people given to them (see Luke 2:8-20).  What is given by the Spirit finds its way for the illumination of all, and the help of the whole of the body of the faithful, past, present, and future.  In this we should take great heart and great hope, because the light that shines for one who may be truly illumined by God is meant for all those faithful who will profit by it, and with whom it may be shared.  In this we take our own glory and understanding, for we also are in turn so gifted.  Let us rejoice (as the shepherds were told) in this light that shines in a dark place, as St. Peter puts it, the light that we are promised and given today through the revelation of Transfiguration.  It is given to us all, and we who follow as disciples also seek in this example our own transfiguration, or metamorphosis, in His light.  So may we all find ourselves and our true identities in His way.

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age

 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

- Matthew 28:16-20

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

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  Today's reading commemorates Ascension Day, which is celebrated today in the West.  For the Eastern Orthodox, Ascension is next week, on June 6th.  The eleven disciples are the twelve, minus the one who has betrayed Christ, Judas Iscariot.  Let us note that when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  The Gospels make clear to us that there are those who doubt.  (In Matthew's Gospel, from which today's reading is taken, Christ has made a Resurrection appearance only to the women at the tomb; see 28:1-10.  In John's chapter 20, we are given the appearance to the women, the Great Commission in today's reading, and also the story of doubt as expressed by the apostle Thomas).

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  My study bible says that this is a declaration by Christ that the authority that was His by nature in His divinity is now also possessed by His glorified human nature.  The completion of His mission as Incarnate human being has meant that this human nature has now trampled the final enemy, which is death (1 Corinthians 15:20-28). 

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you . . .."  This is the Great Commission, the Lord's final commandment which is given on earth.  My study bible comments that it is to be lived out in the Church until His Return.  To make disciples cannot be done through human power alone, but only in the power of God.  Therefore, the power of the Resurrection isn't just for Jesus only, but it is given to all believers for Christian life and mission, which connects us to the promise He makes next.

. . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.  My study bible tells us that Christ Himself is present in each believer and in the Church always, both personally and in the Holy Spirit, as neither can be separated from the other.  To the end of the age, my study bible says, does not imply we will be separated from Christ at the end of the world.  As we often hear in worship and prayer, He is with us now, and forever, and unto the ages of ages.  Amen.

How do we teach others to be disciples?  In other words, how do we fulfill Christ's command given in this Great Commission?  Does it apply only to religious, those ordained in the Church to baptize and to teach?  As laypeople, so we also have, in the tradition of the Church, a commission to baptize where baptism is impossible otherwise, such as at the sudden death of an infant.  We teach others discipleship through our own example of discipleship.  In this sense, this commission is for all of us, for each of us, for in our own discipleship we will find natural ways to teach and to give example.  Without a doubt, just as He promises that He is with us always, even to the end of the age, He remains with each one of us, both in Himself and in the Holy Trinity which dwells within us also, and in that Trinity, so dwells the communion of saints in heaven and on earth.  This promise leaves us connected and in communion in ways we don't know and can't easily see of ourselves, but it is a promise nonetheless, that works in ways which are mysterious (meaning "hidden") to us.  Our lives, in our faith, are never separated from a vast connection both visible and invisible.  Christ, as divine Lord who has also transfigured human nature through the Incarnation, remains with us and within us, as He has promised.  He connects us more thoroughly to the divine and righteous.  The angels rejoice, we are told, at His Ascension, to see human nature glorified and entering into heaven -- for this is a revelation even for them as well.  All of creation, then, and not simply we human believers, rejoices in this Ascension and given commission.  If our own human nature is so transfigured in the Incarnation, Resurrection, and Ascension of our Lord, then the Church has been left for 2,000 years to wonder what that means for us who dwell in the world as believers.  We are given the myriad saints as examples of what that means, their own unique natures and character each transfigured in the light of Christ, magnifying compassion and love, a communion exemplified, the depth of adoration revealed that is possible to us.  In the saints we find a divine longing for the love of God, a thirst that is only possibly fulfilled in God's love, and all the expressions of such love shared with us as is possible, in unique ways for the circumstances, times, and characters of such saints -- and also of those myriad saints whose names we don't know.  We are connected through a web of prayer and of love, a love we don't know except through God who surpasses human expectations.  Our Lord transfigures our passions into love, and shows us the way into that love through discipleship.  By implication, the way is unlimited; but our own natures go with Him so that we, too, may rest in that discipleship and that future for we are created for this divine purpose.  As He states, it all begins with baptism, where we are invited to die to the old and live a new life -- a baptism that continues throughout our discipleship.  Do we accept the Commission, and that future for ourselves and our world?

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these

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

- Luke 12:22-31

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

 Then He said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on.  Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing."   My study bible notes here that Jesus is warning against anxiety, and not against thoughtful planning.  It notes that our physical well-being is directly dependent upon God, and indirectly on food and clothing.  It says that great anxiety over earthly things demonstrates a lack of faith in God's care.  This statement, life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing, is a statement about the true reality of our natures as creatures of God.  We are something more, and His emphasis is on the more that we truly need.

"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them.  Of how much more value are you than the birds?  And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?  Consider the lilies, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?"  God's love and care extends to all of nature.  Ravens are an interesting bird for Jesus to mention.  As animals they are known in cultures worldwide for their intelligence.  In Scripture, it is said that a raven fed Elijah in the wilderness (see 1 Kings 17:2-16, a story in itself about dependence upon God).  If we think about it, that God endows a bird with such intelligence teaches us Jesus' point about the value of human beings.  The lilies are themselves gorgeous, arrayed in great beauty by God -- even the purple reserved only for kings in Christ's time.  All of nature, therefore receives the abundance of God's gifts; therefore how much more will we receive?

"And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.  For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things."  Today, as ever, we know the truth of these statements.  The nations of the world fight wars over resources they wish to claim.  But Christ is saying that there is something else that comes first.  My study bible says that in Christ's time, the Gentiles (the nations of the world) served pagan idols, and therefore remained consumed by dependence upon earthly things.  To follow God is to be dependent first upon God, for "your Father knows that you need these things."

"But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."  Here is the central theme of Christ's teachings, and also of our faith.  We put first God's kingdom and God's righteousness.  My study bible says that in calling us to be free from anxiety about earthly things, Jesus directs us to look to heaven -- secure in the faith that God will provide what God knows are needed earthly blessings.

Jesus' admonition here is falsely read to mean that we have no need of things mentioned here (as if we live upon air, and matter or material needs are somehow sinful), or it is misunderstood to suggest that in fact God promises us tremendous material bounty and riches in reward for our faith.  Neither of those two interpretations is worthy of Christ nor worthy of the God whom we worship, and neither is worthy of the beauty of our faith, for both reduce our faith to a kind of extreme materialism, one without balance.  But it is precisely of the balance of the world in which we are created to live that Jesus speaks here:  we are creatures who live in both realms; human beings with body and soul, corporeal beings who need spirit to live.  In John 6:63, Jesus says, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."  Here, Christ teaches us one single formula for how we are to live even as beings who have needs in this world:  "But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you."   The formula is simple:  we put one thing first.  This one thing, the kingdom of God, is worthy of all other sacrifice.  Moreover, there is nothing else worthy of such sacrifice but this kingdom.  To lose our lives in excess anxiety is throwing away the life we're given by God, a waste of our time.  Jesus asks, "And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?"   All the anxiety, time, effort, thinking, and ruminating in the world will not gain us what we truly seek.  Our mission is plain:  we put the kingdom first, we put all things in the hands of God, and our dependency there first.  This is not to say that we won't have jobs, lives, resources to plan wisely for, families to take care of, and all kinds of worldly things to consider in our lives.   Scriptures, again, are full of the stories of those who have lived fully human and worldly lives while seeking first the kingdom of God.  But our command, and our wisdom, is for one thing first of all in our hearts, and that is the one thing that leads to all the rest.  Let us note that what precisely all the rest contains isn't up to us, and it's not a promise engraved in stone like some cash jackpot guaranteed by the lottery this week!  But it is a promise that God knows what we need, and that our work is to understand our dependence upon God and to seek God's kingdom for ourselves as the place where we truly dwell.  Psalm 91 echoes the promises of Christ:  "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation" (Psalm 91:14-16).  Let us remember that living the life of the Kingdom is a day-by-day and hour-by-hour practice.  We don't swear allegiance one moment and presume we are then set up for life; neither do we take it upon ourselves to understand what this means in terms of what our lives should look like.  The saints of every age are unique, and their unique missions testify to the idea that each one takes up his or her own cross daily to dwell in this place and to practice one's faith.   In prayer, we seek to cement the relationship in which we put God's kingdom first, and then we seek to meet each challenge of life in that faith, asking for guidance, good choices, as well as insight and especially growth.  Life offers us an infinite variety of moments in which we can choose to seek that Kingdom first, and allow ourselves to dwell in God's righteousness -- and remember that it is all a great, long learning curve.  This is where we are as disciples; we are "learners" as the Greek word for disciple truly means.  Let us set our hearts where they need to be, and follow where that learning leads us in each of our lives.  The great beauty of the kingdom of God rivals that of any worldly glory, but we need to be able to see.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!

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

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

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

- Luke 11:1-13

Yesterday we read that, as He was alone praying, that Jesus' disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God." And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."  Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."  Today the lectionary skips ahead (as it will tomorrow as well) in preparation for Ascension Day.  In the West, Ascension Day this year takes place on Thursday, May 30th, while for the Eastern Orthodox, Ascension is on June 6th.  In today's reading, we're given the prayer Jesus has left the Church.  My study bible says that the request, teach us to pray, expresses a universal longing to be in communion with God.  We remember, also, that many of Jesus' disciples were first disciples of John the Baptist, referenced in this request to be taught prayer.

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  My study bible explains that the Father-Son relationship within the Trinity is a revelation of our own potential relationship with God.  Christ, as Son of God, grants us also the privilege of calling God Our Father by the grace of adoption (Galatians 4:4-7).  As a "son of God," each believer is called to love, trust, and serve God as does Christ.  It's also noted here that God isn't our Father because God is our Creator alone; rather He is Father to those in a saving and personal relationship, a communion that comes by the grace of adoption (see John 1:13; Romans 8:14-16). 

"Give us day by day our daily bread."  Daily is a rather misleading translation of a word in Greek which is unique to this prayer, epiousios.  Epiousios literally means "above the essence," or "supersubstantial."  It speaks of bread but with an additional substance or essence as part of itself.  The expression daily bread, my study bible explains, indicates not merely bread for this day (or for earthly nourishment), but it is the bread for the eternal day of the Kingdom of God.  That is, it is for the nourishment of our immortal soul.  The living, supersubstantial bread, my study bible says, is Christ Himself.  In the Lord's Prayer, therefore, we're not asking simply for material bread for our physical health.  We are asking for the spiritual bread of eternal life (John 6:27-58).

"And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."  In this corporate prayer ("Our Father" as opposed to "My Father"), our request to be forgiven is also plural, which indicates that we pray for the forgiveness of others as well as ourselves.  Indebted refers to spiritual debts (see Matthew 18:21-35).  Note also the mutual nature of forgiveness; as we practice forgiveness, so we will realize the forgiveness we also desire (Matthew 6:14-15).

"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."   My study bible notes here that God tempts no one to sin (James 1:13), and that temptation comes rather from the evil one, the devil.  Temptations are aimed at the soul's giving in to the sinful passions of the flesh (Romans 7:5), or to our own selfishness alone, to a way which does not consider God's way for us.  John Chryssavgis teaches that "passions are our inner wounds, those deep marks in the space of our heart that require healing" (In the Heart of the Desert: the Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, chapter 8).  My study bible adds that no one lives without encountering temptations, but we pray that great temptations, tests beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13), should not come to us.

And He said to them, "Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within and say, 'Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you'?  I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs."  My study bible tells us that this parable is a demonstration of God's faithfulness to those who are in need and who pray with persistence.  Patristic commentators interpret midnight as both the time of our death and also a time of great temptation.  The friend is Christ, who, as our source of grace, provides the things we need.  This is also a similar encouragement to the parable of the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8). 

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will be give him a serpent instead of a fish?  Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"  The verbs here which are translated as ask, seek, and knock are more accurately translated from the Greek as "keep asking," "keep seeking," and "keep knocking."  My study bible says that God responds when we persistently ask for things that are good.  Bread, fish, and an egg are all images of life, and they symbolize the gifts of the Holy Spirit (see John 14:13-14; James 4:3), which here are given absolute emphasis as that for which we should fervently pray.

We note the emphasis on the gift of the Holy Spirit, and this makes it clear that Christ is speaking to His disciples.  That is, He speaks to those who fervently desire this gift, the spiritual gifts of discernment and wisdom, the gifts which allow us to truly develop the spiritual side of ourselves, our souls, and our capacity for growth in discipleship to Christ.  It is poignant to consider that Jesus teaches us to address our prayer to Our Father in light of this.  Just as He is Incarnate Son via the grace of the Holy Spirit, so we, too, are enabled to become "sons" (as heirs, both male and female) through this gift of the Holy Spirit.  It is as if we are encouraged to pray every day for rebirth, growth, new gifts of life, as symbolized by the bread, fish, and egg in Christ's examples given here.  What we pray for, then, primarily is the gift of sonship, of adoption by Our Father and into "our Father's" house and kingdom as God's children.  The whole prayer emphasizes our growth in discipleship, desiring that God's will be done and God's kingdom come to our world as it is in heaven.  Ultimately, the prayer is a kind of guidance for how to get there.  We give up the "debts" others owe in terms of our hurts and the things we perceive have diminished us through harmful acts of others, to God.  We leave God as arbitrator and judge -- and ultimately as the One who rewards us, gives us true selfhood and identity, helps us to grow in stature as those who seek to be "like God" -- or, in other words, God's children.  That which the world sees as diminishment:  an unkind word, an insult, thievery, taking something away from us, doing us harm, becomes something for which we seek God's recompense and guidance to address, rather than our own understanding of vengeance.  This is what forgiveness is:  it is putting things in the hands of God, seeking God's way for ourselves in response in this world, and asking for the gifts of the Spirit to help us to become who we need to be in response.  It is in this way that we are children of God by adoption, that we seek to bring God's kingdom to this world, and to live God's will for us.  This does not mean that justice is ignored; God may direct us to use the law appropriately and also to extend mercy where it is better done in such a way.  Forgiveness is not merely a practice, as seems to be so frequently taught, of overlooking the harm done to us.  On the contrary, rationally speaking, forgiveness isn't possible unless we fully understand our hurt or harm.  But it is a way of saying to the One whom we worship that we seek Christ's way of handling the hurts, the justice countenanced by our faith and not merely from solely a worldly perspective, and that we also seek the healing help God provides for whatever it is we think the world owes us.  To live in this way of discipleship is therefore to become more fully dependent upon God -- and let us remember God the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus proclaims here we should continually keep asking, seeking, and knocking.  This is our focus and emphasis, our guiding light as disciples.  It is this for which we fervently pray, and this which creates, in turn, who we are and who we become throughout our lives.

Who do you say that I am?

 And it happened, as he was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."

 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.  But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

- Luke 9:18-27

On Saturday, we read that Jesus called His chosen twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.    And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

 And it happened, as he was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"  So they answered and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said, "The Christ of God."  My study bible emphasizes that as in every generation, what it is the crowds say about Jesus is usually both unpredictable and misguided.  But who do you say that I am? is the ultimate question in Scripture, and also in all theology.  My study bible adds that how this particular question is answered defines the universe.  Let us also emphasize the pointed direction of the question to the disciples, and ultimately, to each one of us.  Peter answers for all.  Christ (in Hebrew, Messiah) means "Anointed One."  My study bible tells us that the declaration of Peter that Jesus is the Christ of God reveals Jesus to be not just another anointed king of prophet (such as King David; see 1 Samuel 16:12), but He is the long-awaited Savior.

 And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, "The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day."   My study bible comments that Jesus desires to keep His identity as the Christ hidden in order to avoid popular political and theological misunderstandings.  It is only after His Passion and Resurrection that His identity as Messiah can be understood.  His mission must be fulfilled, and unfold in a particular way; all must make their choice for faith based on that mission and its fulfillment.

Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels."  My study bible draws our attention to two things of note.  First of all, Jesus phrases His words here to indicate that each person must take up his or her own cross.  That burden, my study bible emphasizes, is different for every person, because each one has been chosen by God to bear certain particular struggles for one's own salvation, and for the salvation of those around oneself.  Second, the cross is to be taken up daily.  The commitment to following Christ isn't a one-time event.  It's a continual practice of both faith and obedience, sustained through prayer and communion, and even to the point of being shamed and persecuted by the world, as the witness of the Church testifies.

"But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  My study bible tells us that this is a reference to those who will witness the Transfiguration (9:28-36), but also to those who in each generation who experience the presence of God's Kingdom.

Today's reading seems to emphasize a kind of knowing, a particular kind of knowing.  The answer to the question, Who do you say that I am? must come from a place both of experience and awareness of a certain kind.  Surely Peter speaks for all of the disciples, especially the chosen twelve, who are closest to Christ, and have had the most complete experience of living with Him and learning from Him, and of observing all that He does.  But still, the communion within which awareness comes is closer than observation.  It gives us a kind of experience of living with someone that occurs only at a depth of awareness within the soul that is possible through spiritual communion.  In other words, our perception of who Christ is very much depends upon our own encounter with the spiritual side of ourselves, and our willingness to open to God to find more and to know more.  In this sense, our discipleship is intimately connection with a capacity for spiritual seeking, an openness to the things of God which will take us where we haven't gone before, and push us toward a greater acceptance of the spiritual life.  In Saturday's reading, Christ fed "the world" (in the form of the five thousand) with a prefiguration of the Eucharist, as such an image of the spiritual food which co-exists within our material existence as in the Incarnation itself.  But this food isn't something we simply passively accept.  It is something we must eagerly desire, and for which our own personal spiritual hunger ("Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" - Matthew 5:6) encourages us to active participation, a kind of synergy within us in which we cooperate with that grace He offers ("from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" - Matthew 11:12).   In John's Gospel, after Jesus teaches about His Body and Blood, we're told that many disciples turned away from Him.  Peter's confession of faith in that Gospel comes in the form of an answer to Jesus' question 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" (John 6:67-69).   Our impulsive need for and response to those "words of eternal life" tells us something about discipleship and also how we know.   There is a depth of spiritual connection within ourselves -- the spiritual part of ourselves we must feed and that desires also to live side-by-side, part-and-parcel, hand-in-hand with our worldly material life, as we are creatures of both material and spiritual stuff.  We have a body which lives through spirit, animated with a soul, and in the fullness of who we are, we need what Christ offers to us.  It is not a question of separating ourselves from material life, but of fulfilling the fullness of our true natures as created human beings who straddle both spiritual and material worlds.  It is a question of recognizing the depth of our need for what Christ offers to our lives, and not living in blindness or ignorance to that fullness.  As those who grow in recognition of this deep need, we also grow in our capacity and recognition of the choice to sacrifice in order to deepen its fulfillment, by taking up our cross daily, as He teaches.   So, "Who do you say that I am?" remains the question for us all, and hopefully one in which we can continue to grow in our response throughout our lives.

When the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing

 Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him. 

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing  When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

- Luke 9:1-17

Yesterday we read that when Jesus returned from the country of the Gadarenes across the Sea of Galilee, the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."  While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.  He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  And He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.  Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.  The chosen twelve (6:12-16) are sent out on their first mission.  Note that Jesus sends them out by giving them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases; also to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  We note the great emphasis on healing.  Jesus does not send them out empty-handed, but invested with His own power to do these things.  His instructions further enforce their dependence upon the power which He has given to them.  They are to take nothing with them, nor extra clothing; their demeanor is to be humble and grateful for whatever is offered to them first (not to "trade up" for better lodgings after they are known).  Their power is also in testimony -- those who will not receive them receive testimony against them.

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again.  Herod said, "John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?"  So he sought to see Him.  Herod the tetrarch is also known as Herod Antipas; also known as a "king," he was the tetrarch or ruler of Galilee, who ruled for Rome.  During Jesus' time of trial, He will be sent by Pilate to Herod the tetrarch (23:7).  This Herod is the son of the Herod who slew the innocent children in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  The story of the beheading of St. John the Baptist can be read at Mark 6:14-28.  The curiosity of Herod Antipas at this stage is one more indication that Jesus is coming to the notice of ruling authorities; the conflict with the kingdom of God becomes inevitable.

And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done.  Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.  Jesus tries to go away privately with the apostles, those twelve who have been sent out on their first mission.  But the crowds and their constant need, and demand for healing, makes this impossible.  Note that Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom of God; His mission is to spread this word, not simply to respond to demands.

When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."  But He said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people."  For there were about five thousand men.  Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty."  And they did so, and made them all sit down.  Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude.  So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.  My study bible cites the commentary of Theophylact, who sees a liturgical parallel with the feeding of the five thousand.  First Christ healed and spoke about the gospel, then fed the multitude with the miraculous bread by the hands of His disciples.  In the Church, it says, a person is first healed through baptism; then at the Liturgy, the gospel is preached and the bread of life and the cup are received from the hands of ordained clergy.  "You give them something to eat" is a command -- a kind of commission that is a preparation for the apostolic ministry to come after the Resurrection.  My study bible says that they will feed the world with the word of God and with the Eucharist.  On the five loaves and two fish, St. John Chrysostom comments that Christ is the same Creator "of both the earth and the sea, who in the beginning brought fruit from the earth and life out of the water."   St. Chrysostom further comments on the image we're given of Christ looking up to heaven, suggesting that He does so "not as receiving power from elsewhere, but as honoring the Father who begot Him."  Moreover, he adds, that Christ blessed and broke the bread teaches us "not to touch any meal until we have given thanks to Him who gives us food." 

My study bible has an additional comment on the feeding of the five thousand, which adds that Jesus' blessing of the bread with which the crowds were fed gives us a clear eucharistic image, and therefore directs us to pursue spiritual food greater than that which is earthly (see also John 26-27).  In our modern age, which has made and continues to make tremendous progress in the realm of the material (such as scientific and technological progress and new advances of all kinds), we tend to think in material terms.  That is, we think that addressing the problems of the world can be done through material gain.  If only we had enough money for research into this or that problem -- for medical research, or research into the production of more food for more people, or for investigation into the abolition of disease, pollution, natural disaster, etc., we could truly solve all the problems of the world.  But the problems of the world do not rest simply in the material.  Christ comes into the world with the fullness of compassion for all of our problems:  our illnesses, our needs and wants, our desire to be fed.  But never in the Gospels is compassion simply a matter of material understanding of material problems.  Compassion is, in the first place, a product of a spiritual life and spiritual understanding.  Grace comes from God -- and through our understanding of a gracious Creator, we may in turn share a communal concern and right-relatedness with others.  In other words, the material doesn't simply come first, but rather the material is fulfilled through the direction and guidance of the spiritual.  As creatures, we are both material and spiritual beings.  We have a body and also possess a soul.  As such, in the cosmology of the Church, human beings occupy a special role in the fullness of Creation, we straddle both the visible and invisible worlds.  But with so much emphasis on the material, right down to the images purveyed through the mass penetration of social media into more and more of our lives, we forget about our own spiritual side.  We tend to discount that it means anything, because we don't see overtly evidence of its impact or a lack of spiritual attention in our lives.  We may simply come to know and understand, after the fact, an emptiness in our lives, a lack of good direction, the overt callousness of the selfishness and self-centeredness propounded through such total emphasis on image.  But still, our own awareness of ourselves as spiritual beings competes with the ever-driving demand for more:   a better house, more money, to look like a social media star or to be one, to have a child as a kind of commodity that makes us okay or part of a group, to have the right amount of friends and do the right things.  All of these, in a self-centered world, focus on one thing:  what is my image in the eyes of others that will feed me what (I think) I need for myself?  The chaos that emerges from the lives of those driven to be stars in such a cosmos tells us something about the social breakdown that occurs in hidden ways within ourselves when we forget that we, too, are made of spirit, and that our lives need spiritual values to be meaningful and fulfilling, and even challenging in the right ways.  That chaos includes the hidden anger and resentment, the constant challenges of competition for its own sake, and the rivalry for things and even for image that go on all the time under the surface of what we consume -- especially and even through a social media-driven world.  Without a real spiritual basis for community, we find easy scapegoats, terrifying punishments for those who fail, obscurity and rejection of images that don't fit the latest thing, whatever that might be today or this moment.  We find inconvenient facts something to ignore; a threat to the illusion that we are swimming in a stream of progress becomes a threat to our own sense of well-being.  But let us note this little verse in the reading today, that when the apostles come back from their mission, Jesus' first desire is to draw them away from the crowds, to come away for a time to rest and also to discuss with Him all the issues of this mission.  And we must take our cue from Jesus:  we need time alone with Creator; away from image, from the thoughts and popular opinions of others, from the desire merely to please the demands of the crowds.  Jesus always takes time for the spiritual, for the word of the gospel.  Healing doesn't come without it, and we can't heal without a perspective that will give us an independent and especially a detached point of view of all the fuss, demands, and chaos that surrounds us -- and especially the impulse that drives a feeling that all there is is the material and nothing more.  To escape alone by ourselves, to retreat into faith and worship, to set aside every worldly care in order to worship in true freedom (as the Cherubic Hymn of the St. Chrysostom liturgy declares in all languages in which it may be heard -- here is a famous version by Tchaikovsky), is to find ourselves in communion with our Source, with the One who loves us better than anything or anyone else, and who can teach us what it truly means to heal.  Let us consider what we lose in a world caught up with its own fantasies about itself, separate from Creator.  And let us return to what has given us so much, and continues to love and to bestow grace, to await our love and hearing in return for what it offers.   We continue to dwell in a Kingdom that lives midst our own world, no matter what the state of our world may be, and for all times and places.   The twelve baskets left over to the twelve apostles for the whole of the world are still left to feed us all with the spiritual food we need.

Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.  And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.

- Luke 8:40-56

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned.   Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.

 So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him.  And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue.  And he fell down at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying.  But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him.  Back in Capernuam, everyone knows Christ, and the multitude welcomed Him.  A ruler of the synagogue seeks Him out.  We note the contrast, for the disciples, between what is known and what is unknown.  Jesus has just had them go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, in the encounter with the man with a Legion of demons (see above, yesterday's reading).  But then He returns them to what is known to them, and to His ministry here.  In this way, He is constantly "stretching" them as disciples for the mission that will be ahead of them in the Church, after His death, Resurrection, and Ascension.

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  And immediately her flow of blood stopped.   My study bible tells us that for the Jews, contact with blood caused defilement, and would lead to religious and social isolation (Leviticus 25).  For this reason, she came from behind and touched the border of His garment.  My study bible says that this woman displays bold faith by approaching both Chris and a ruler of the synagogue in a crowd, which is potentially defiling to all of them and a risk of subjecting herself to ridicule.

And Jesus said, "Who touched Me?"  When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."  Let us consider that Christ, the knower of hearts (Acts 1:24), most likely understands -- or is perfectly capable of discerning for Himself -- who has touched Him.  But He draws her out into a confession of faith.  My study bible says that "Who touched Me?" isn't a question that simply asks about a physical touch, but rather He is asking, "Who touched Me in faith?"  Just as "the temple sanctifies the gold" (Matthew 23:17), so matter is sanctified by the Incarnation of Christ, and the power of Christ works through even His garment.  It notes that to touch Christ's garment in faith is to touch Him.  In the Church, my study bible continues, we touch Christ through icons, oil, water, bread, wine, etc.  When done in faith, Christ's power is received.

Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.  And He said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well.  Go in peace."   My study bible comments that Jesus calls the woman forward both to take away her fear and trembling and also to strengthen Jairus for the forthcoming news of his daughter's death.  Let us note that Jesus draws out from her a public confession, and also to give consolation and praise to her publicly, as well as conferring a blessing of peace before all.

While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying to him, "Your daughter is dead.  Do not trouble the Teacher."  But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, "Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well."  When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl.  Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, "Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead.  But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Little girl, arise."  Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately.  And He commanded that she be given something to eat.  And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.  Again, what is important in this story?  It is the essential need for shoring up faith amid a crowd of people who may be gainsaying whatever it is that real faith will teach.  Note all the precautions Jesus takes for this:  He allows in only His own inner circle of Peter, James, and John, His closest disciples and those with the strongest faith.  He puts out all the mourners and others who ridicule Him, and keeps only the parents with Him.

In yesterday's reading, Jesus took the disciples to a faraway and strange place, in order to evidence a healing and exorcism of the strongest magnitude, against a legion of demons and among people who had abandoned their faith for material gain (the Jewish swineherders).  In today's reading, however, Jesus is back in home territory, Capernaum, the headquarters of His Galilean ministry and site of Peter's family home.  So the healings that take place before this multitude that greets Him as He returns "home" and in this city (rather than among the tombs of the forlorn man with the demons in yesterday's reading) give us something different.   The action initiated through the power of Christ is still astonishing.  It still shakes up the world of assumptions and what is understood among the people in the scenes we're given in today's reading.  The woman who comes from behind to simply touch Christ's garment amid the crowd that even the disciples can't keep track of does so against the customs of the society, against the religious rules that forbid the touch of blood, what is unclean.  But she does so in great faith, which is drawn out from where it is in secret and her hidden touch, and proclaimed and praised before all.  This is a learning and teaching experience for the home crowds.  It no doubt was astonishing and possibly disturbing to those among the religious establishment.  And yet, it is a ruler of the synagogue who desperately awaits Christ's attention to his dying daughter.  There remains, therefore, yet another deeply astonishing scenario ahead, midst the pause for the healing of the woman with the haemorrhage.  Everyone is certain that Jairus' daughter is dead.  Indeed, Christ's admonition that she is not dead, but sleeping is a phrase used in the Church for death -- indicating the spiritual reality of resurrection and judgment that awaits all who pass.  We're drawn, along with the townspeople, into a place where Christ can astonish and heal, and where we can receive the good news that the Incarnation and hence Christ's power can bring into our world.  Each episode is apt for its time and its place, each circumstance has a particular way to draw out Christ's power and to give us something that teaches us, something whereby God's love and nature may be revealed to us.  Everything, in some sense, depends upon the circumstances -- that within those circumstances Christ's power will astonish and surprise and teach us all, reveal God to us.  We are here to learn, and in this sense all are disciples, meaning, in the Greek, "learners" (mathetes/ μαθητής).  Let us think about our own circumstances.  How, through prayer or other forms of communion in faith, have you received Christ in times and periods of your life?  How has He come to you and what has been revealed about God through your faith?  Does the Holy Spirit reveal the things of God?  How do you come to understand compassion or love or sacrifice or grace?  What are the social restrictions that have been broken in that love in order to restore true health?  There is the insight we need to be true learners, disciples, and to know Him in the growth of our faith, even if others ridicule or seek to restrict that power in our lives.  When the crowd says "No," Jesus says, "Yes" to our faith, and He teaches us only that it is that faith that saves, and that it is only there we take our true peace.  For both women who need healing -- the woman with the twelve years' flow of blood, and the young woman of about twelve --  it means resurrection, new life, a rebirth made of and through faith.

What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.

Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned. 

Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. 

- Luke 8:26-39

Yesterday, we our reading began with the continuation of Jesus' talk to the disciples about the parable of the Sower:  "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."  Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

 Then they sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee.  And when He stepped out on the land, there met Him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time.  And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs.  When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?  I beg You, do not torment me!"  For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.  This particular Gospel story reads like an adventure worthy of Odysseus; except this isn't a myth.   In yesterday's reading, Jesus told the disciples to set out for the other side of the Lake, or the Sea of Galilee.  They've already come through a frightening storm, which was violent enough to send these experienced fishermen into absolute fear for their lives.  Here they sail to this country opposite Galilee, and meet a man so overcome by demons and for such a long time that he wore no clothes, and lived in the tombs among the dead.   Christ has wasted no time immediately commanding the unclean spirits to come out of the man, and the demons respond in fear, having recognized Him, something with which we're already familiar in Luke's Gospel.  But this is an extreme case; this poor man was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles, and has broken the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness. 

Jesus asked him, saying, "What is your name?"  And he said, "Legion," because many demons had entered him.  And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.  Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain.  So they begged Him that He would permit them to enter them.  And He permitted them.  In this story we're given the image of the occupying legion of demons, as a hostile military force who've taken this man hostage.  Fittingly, the language we have for angels is also military; we're given a picture of hostile forces in a battle for lives, minds, souls.  The demons beg to enter the swine, an animal considered unclean by the Jews.

Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned.  When those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.  Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.  And they were afraid.  They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.  Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.  And He got into the boat and returned.   This shocking sight of the herd of swine running violently down the steep place into the lake and drowning gives us a picture of the true nature of the demons, and how destructive they are.  My study bible comments that it shows us how human beings -- even this man in this place and under such circumstances -- are protected and loved by God, as such a fate did not happen to him.  There are many who understand this event as happening in Gentile territory, but it seems more likely that in fact these are apostate Jews raising swine for money, most likely to sell to Gentile populations.  We note the contrast between the frightening death of the swine and the now calm, clothed, and mentally fit many who was formerly tormented by the demons.  But this community to whom the swine belonged simply respond with great fear, asking Jesus to depart from them.  So Jesus does not stay with this community.

Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him.  But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you."  And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.   As we might think understandable, this healed man does not wish to stay in this and among these people who preferred the swine to his healing.  But Jesus has an interesting task for him; he's to return to his own house -- presumably not among this particular community -- and to tell the good news to those who know him.  He proclaimed the news of Jesus and the great things He had done for him throughout the whole city, becoming a type of evangelist preparing the way for the apostles who will go out to the world.

This story of the demon-possessed man who gave the name "Legion" due to so many demons is a powerful reminder of the possibilities of a world given over to a darkness that despises the light of Christ.  It's not simply a cautionary tale, but one also of great wonder and true healing.  It teaches us, first of all, that there is no situation or circumstance too great for Christ to address, to help, and to heal.  Seemingly, Christ has directed His disciples to this place precisely in order to find this man, so afflicted and oppressed, in order to set him free.  It is, in that sense, a story of a Liberator, Christ who comes into our world precisely in order to set us free from the things that oppress and afflict us.  He brings His greater power and authority over the demons in order to release us as captive to forces we might not always be able to control.  We note the chaos created by the demons; there is an entire breakdown of order in the life of this man.  He's so far out of control that he's been bound with chains, but breaks them and is driven out into the wilderness, and living in the tombs rather than among the living.  Moreover, the only people around him are those so hard-hearted -- and devoted simply to making money in any way they can regardless of the religious restrictions for Jews regarding swine -- they care less for his healing than the loss of their source of income.  We might find easy parallels there among homeless populations afflicted with addiction and mental illness and living on the street among others who care less for them than what money might be made from their afflictions.  The breakdown of this man's life into pure chaos is also something modern societies are familiar with, including the total isolation that results.  The story is a strange one, coming to the disciples in a place perhaps unknown to them across the sea -- but it presents us who live in modern societies with an unfortunately familiar picture in some aspects, and in this sense gives us a very compelling pertinent picture of our modern need for Christ.  Even in the picture of alienation and isolation of this man we find modern parallels we need to address with important considerations of what it is that really creates community.   We frequently overlook, in modern societies, the very roots of social rules that come from faith designed to give community in the first place -- and the results that seem to give us persistent problems which social programs fail to cure.  While the text reads like an adventure, our modern sensibilities encounter all-too-often scenaria of those left behind and forgotten, alienated from what would be considered "home" and without means to escape from what torments them.  When the demons ask, in the voice of the possessed man, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" we might just hear the voice of a wretched and forlorn person seemingly forgotten by the world, and given over to the hostility of affliction in all its forms (including prizing material gain over human life).  We clearly remain human beings who need help, and need to recall from whence that help comes.  We call upon the One who can restore order in chaos, who comes not just to help but to liberate us from affliction, and with the compassion that supersedes all things.  Let us consider what we see around ourselves in this light, and question our own values and concerns for healing and what it takes.  We may have to reconsider our priorities to do so, as those who've lost their swine in the story fail to do -- and remember the good news of the great things that God has done for those who've found healing from Christ.

Take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him

 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

- Luke 8:16-25

Yesterday we read that after a confrontation while dining in the home of a Pharisee, Jesus went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things he cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'  Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."

 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."  Jesus continues His talk regarding the interpretation of the parable of the Sower.  His encouragement is for living the life we're called to live, living our faith.  To take heed how you hear is to seek spiritual discernment, to be alert to the illumination and mysteries of the Kingdom, and to grow in the light.  This would include an ongoing sense of repentance, a willing to change in accordance with the discernment.  The warning is that for one who ceases to pay heed to the proper care and nurturing of their spiritual life, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  My study bible says that it is not Christ's will here to deny His mother and brothers.  What we are to understand from this passage, according to St. John Chrysostom, is that He is correcting both them and His hearers "to the right idea concerning Himself," that the family of His own Kingdom "is not by nature but by virtue."  (See also 11:27-8.)

 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"  My study bible explains that Christ deliberately permitted this windstorm to arise while He's sleeping, in order to perfect the faith of the disciples, and to rebuke their weaknesses.  In this way He prepares them to be unshaken by life's temptations.  In these senses of development of faith, this example parallels the teachings that have been given through the parable of the Sower, above.  My study bible adds that here their faith remains mixed with unbelief at this stage in their discipleship.  They showed faith when they came to Him, but unbelief when they said, "We are perishing."

In an interesting reading, we're given an example of the development of faith in action and in our lives that Christ's parable was about, given just before (see yesterday's reading, above).  In other words, the parable of the Sower gives us the understanding that our faith is about a fully lived life, discipleship is an ongoing, experientially challenging life mission.   We have our ups and we have our down, we have circumstances that draw out the best of what we have within us and also the worst.  And everything -- absolutely everything we live and experience -- becomes part and parcel of the life of discipleship, the struggle for our faith.  The disciples find themselves challenged by their natural fears of perishing in the storm.  But Christ is with them, although He is asleep.  In our own lives, as well, He may seem to be sleeping, to pay no heed to the severe dangers and fears we find ourselves going through.  But everything is about mission in the light of our faith.  Is He really sleeping, or are we going through a time of struggle in order to further develop our faith?  Do we forget about Him?  Do we panic?  Do we think of the goal or destiny, or even the command that is taking us along this route in our lives, the faith by which we'd been seeking to live up until the time of great panic and fear?  All of these become questions of the struggle for our spiritual lives, for the melding of that life of this world into the one of the Kingdom, so that we live both simultaneously, in and through one and the other.  And that is the depth of the struggle, to realize always that although He may seem to be sleeping, we are His and He is with us.  We are on mission and directed and guided by Him.  We call on the Lord for help, we await in faith, and we can be confident that no matter what it is with which life confronts us, whether that be loss or setback, terrible senses of failure, or great exaltation, even fear of death -- all of it is part of the mission should we choose to remember our Lord, and that we are indeed His.  Where is your mission today?  Where does it take you?  Are you being stretched past your flaws and fears?  Can you put your faith in Him when it seems lost?  What's the mystery into which you enter when you don't have all the answers?  Like the great windstorm, our faith lives in paradox, not seeming perfection -- and through absolutely all of it, He is there, even if He seems to be asleep to our pleas.  Let us remember that He has had the disciples set out for different territory with which they're unfamiliar, across the Lake (the Sea of Galilee).  Even when we don't know where we're going, our mission is always ongoing.