He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty

Harvest of life mosaic, detail.  4th century.  Santa Costanza, Rome, Italy

"Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

- Matthew 13:18-23

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus preached the parable of the Sower, the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."  Jesus gives the explanation of His parable of the Sower to the disciples.  Let us keep in mind that this is the first time He's preached in parables, and it's the first parable that has been given.  He has spent time alone with the disciples explaining why He's begun preaching in parables.  There are those who will "hear" and those who will not, as the crowds who listen to Him have grown large.  There will be those who hear and want to know more, but there will be many who also do not.   Here in His explanation of the parable Jesus speaks of how different people will receive the word, the "seed" He distributes as "sower."  His explanation is clear, but one thing we can note:  Jesus emphasizes persistence, and also the overcoming of obstacles to the fruitfulness of the word within ourselves.  The fertile good ground is the region of the heart.  Jesus speaks of the worldly as that which interferes with the root and flowering of the word:  tribulation and persecution, cares of this world and deceitfulness of riches.

Jesus' emphasis is on persistence, overcoming obstacles.  He knows that there will be many ways in which it will be made difficult for His word to be followed, to take root, to flower, to produce fruit.  He knows there will be many dangers to His ministry -- both in His lifetime and also throughout the centuries to follow.  This parable applies at both a community level -- even a universal level -- and also at an individual level.  Ultimately, He speaks of the ground of the heart common to each person.  We should, in fact, take heart in Jesus' assumption that His word is going to fall in places of struggle and even of hostility.  In the whole of the Gospel, Christ is quite pragmatic in terms of the warnings He gives to the disciples, and to all those who would follow, that this is not going to be an easy journey.  At the very least, in this first parable, He teaches us that there are pitfalls and traps awaiting the faithful.  We might hear the word with great joy, but what about when we face challenges to that faith?  What about when we struggle to make ends meet, or to keep up with the neighbors (or others)?  What about when something unjust happens to us?  Sometimes we might need to sacrifice materially in order to follow our faith -- and that will really take faith to do.  I have had the experience of friends questioning why I would not put material profit first in making decisions -- and it has been surprising to me that I can't sufficiently explain there are other things more important.  Jesus warns us that persecutions will come, and tribulations.  Nothing is left out of this parable for the person who seeks to be a follower of Christ.  But then, He's quite specific about what He's looking for in His followers.  He calls us to persist, and in our persistence, to bear fruit.  This is not an overnight sensation of elation in our faith that gives us all easy answers to every question.  This is something within which we'll struggle and meet our own obstacles.  There are things we'll need time to work out in prayer, hard decisions that are not simple.  But the reward is a particular kind of joy, a medicine for our souls, a kind of truth and fruit to bear which nothing else can replace.  His is the one thing necessary for that place in us that longs for real truth, a genuine need for security in God's love, especially when the transitory nature of so much of life lets us down.  Let us turn to prayer in our struggles, and to those who offer us the truth, and support our choice for what He offers us.  Christ's way is the one that shows us the long road for the long game -- for an outcome that transcends everything else.  Along the way, we learn patience, forbearance, kindness, joy, a peace that passes understanding -- and bear the fruits He wishes.  St. Paul affirms this in Galatians 5:22-23, and so does the full experience of the Church and her faithful.  Let us consider where our lives intersect with that experience and that challenge today, for His truth remains just so.

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand

Prophet Isaiah.  Copy of 14th cent. icon, Monastery of Dionysiou,  Mt Athos.  The scroll he is holding is open to Isaiah 6:1

 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.'

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

- Matthew 13:10-17

Yesterday we read that on the same day that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees (after He was accused of casting out demons by the power of demons - see readings beginning on Friday), He went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"  He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand."  My study bible explains that the mysteries of the kingdom are not merely obscure concepts or some religious truths that exist only for the elite.  Neither is the understanding of these parable a purely intellectual process.  As we can read, even the disciples find the message obscure and hard to understand.  Jesus taught the same message to all, my study bible says, but it is the simple and innocent who are open to its message.  Here, Jesus clearly indicates a kind of process ongoing, where those who are open to receive the treasures in His word are on a kind of journey where they will receive more.  But those whose hearts and minds are not open to the spiritual message of the Kingdom will be depleted of such treasure.

"And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'"   Jesus quotes from the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).  My study bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who reflects that Isaiah's prophecy doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise be faithful.  This is a familiar type of speech in Scripture which reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).  As the heart is far from God, God permits a self-chosen deafness and blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).

"But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."  Once again, Jesus emphasizes the blessedness of those for whom the realities of the spiritual life He offers are present and perceived.  He contrasts those disciples drawn to what He offers with the many prophets and righteous men who desired the same -- and neither saw nor heard what they do.

Throughout Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has couched His ministry in terms of healing.  His mighty "great works" done in various cities have been, for the most part, works of healing.  That would include physical healing as well as exorcisms, the casting out of demons causing affliction of various sorts.  He explicitly called Himself a Physician when referring to the spiritual ailments of sin, when He was criticized by the Pharisees for associating with tax collectors, notorious and scandalous for the Jews.  At that time Jesus said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Matthew 9:12-13; see this reading).   Jesus quoted from Hosea 6:6, also a passage related to the themes in today's readings, as the full passage reads: "For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings."  In today's reading from Matthew, Jesus connects this mysterious knowledge of God with healing, through the words of the Prophet Isaiah.   Jesus explains to His disciples His reason for speaking in parables, through the prophecy of Isaiah.  As the hearts of many are far away from God, so they will be left to their spiritual blindness and deafness, and therefore they will not be healed.  What He offers -- these mysteries and blessings of which Jesus speaks in today's reading -- is a healing balm of grace for all.  Spiritual suffering, this deafness and blindness, is something very real, something acute.  It is a spiritual ailment and depletion of what the soul needs.  Jesus speaks the words of the prophecy of Isaiah, which only serve to emphasize and frame His ministry within this paradigm or image of healing, with Christ as Physician.  Hosea's "knowledge of God" becomes Christ's words to His disciples regarding the mysteries and blessings of the kingdom of heaven, which are also couched in the Beatitudes of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount.  These mysteries and blessings are the very things for an ailing humanity.  They are the medicine that we need, and the Church herself must serve as hospital.  But there is a very important lesson here that must not be lost on any of us.  Those who truly don't desire this healing, whose spiritual eyes and ears are closed off through a "hardness of heart" which does not want to hear and see, are left to such a choice.   Christ speaks in parables in a sense similar to the understanding that God "makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (5:45).  While the explanation in private to His disciples is for those who have a true desire to understand, the parables nevertheless are given to all, so that this ministry is open to anyone who truly desires what God -- through Christ the Son Incarnate -- has to offer to a world deeply in need of healing on all levels.  So how about your spiritual eyes and ears?   What healing do you need today?  Is there a mystery, a blessing of God that you need to heal you spiritually, that your soul needs to know?  Seek it in prayer, read the Scripture, find those who offer sustenance and who also seek what you know is treasure.  Let us be truly grateful, even if the whole world does not care for what there is on offer.  The one who needs healing remains blessed simply to be aware of their true need.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The Sower, by Vincent van Gogh.  Arles, June 1888.  Kröller-Müller Museum, Netherlands

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

- Matthew 13:1-9

In our recent readings, Jesus has been giving His response to the Pharisees who accused Him of casting out demons by the power of demons (beginning with Friday's reading).  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught:  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying:  "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.  But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  My study bible explains here that in the Old Testament, metaphors or sowing and harvesting are common (Psalm 126:5; Jeremiah 31:27-30; Hosea 2:21-23; Joel 3:12-14).  This is because these were part of daily life of the people in an agrarian society.  Here, in this first parable, Jesus reveals Himself as the promised Messiah, who is the sower in the earth, as foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.

Over the course of our next couple of readings, Jesus will explain to His disciples the parable of the Sower, and also why He has begun to preach in parables.  But for today, we will ponder what we've just been given in the text.  Let's note that now great multitudes are gathered together to Him.  There are so many people that He now sits in a boat off the shore, while the people stand on the shore and listen.  At this point in His ministry, He is attracting a great deal of attention, and there are all kinds of people coming to listen.  Moreover, He is already being plotted against by the Pharisees, who have accused Him of working by the ruler of the demons to perform His great works, such as the casting out of demons, for which He is now known.  So there is this dual "track" regarding the reception of His ministry in Israel.  We also know that He has been generally rejected in various cities in which He has done great works (see this reading).  John the Baptist is in prison, and both Jesus and John have come in for criticism of their ministries -- for opposite reasons -- by the leadership.  But Jesus sees John as a holy man, the last of the great prophets, while He has directed John's disciples to tell John of the signs (prophesied as belonging to the time of the Messiah) that accompany His ministry.  The stage is set for Christ's beginning to speak in parables.  Parables are "word-pictures" in the description by study bible gives them.  They are most often given by Jesus as images of the Kingdom, ways in which the hearer may begin to grasp this working of the Kingdom among them.  In today's parable, the first parable Jesus begins with, the image of the Sower is given, and it is a clear image of Christ Himself, sowing His word.  This image was already suggested in Isaiah 55:10-13, as my study bible comments.  Do the crowds understand this, and put it together?  Do the religious leaders, the experts in the Scripture, understand what He is saying?  Can they accept it?  All of this is now left open to question, as the very act of teaching in parables gives us a sense that it is really up to the hearer to affirmatively receive the word He gives.  He is not going to force anyone to have faith in Him, nor even to understand Him.  He is sowing a word -- and whether or not there is fertile ground, or good conditions of the soil and the weather, He will not seek to control.  This implies a confidence in God the Father, a complete trust that Jesus has regarding His mission in the world.  It also gives us a deeply profound sense of respect for the will of human beings.  While it is not up to us to decide what grace does nor how God works in the world, there is a kind of door to our hearts that opens and closes.  We may be that fertile ground.  We may truly desire to hear the word, or ponder it within our hearts.  We may say -- at some depth of level within ourselves we can't even always grasp -- that we simply accept it, assent to it.  Jesus gives varying options in this parable regarding the conditions of the soil and the environment into which the seed falls; that is, He knows the dangers to His word.  This is once again an image of trust in God the Father.  Whatever happens in His ministry, Jesus allows and does not seek to control all of these conditions of the world, trusting that this is simply the way it has to go.  Who will accept?  Who will reject?  Where will the seed fall, and how will it fall?  Even the act of using a parable is a message to us that we also participate in this ministry with our own fertile or not-so-fertile ground.  Jesus' choice to use parables tell us that this mission of the Kingdom in the world is a drama, a story unfolding, in which we also participate -- even by the act of listening.  The parable calls on us to be interested, curious, to want more -- or not.  So much is left up to us.  How much do we want what He is offering?  Do we want to know what this is all about?  And what of all those difficult conditions that meet the seed:  the birds, the sun, and the thorns?  He can't be sure of the outcome, for in Luke's Gospel, He asks, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).  Let us consider the risks to His word, and the trust in the Father asked of Christ.  We, in turn, are asked to live our lives by His example.  

Whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother

Virgin and Child.  Mosaic, 1315-1321.  Holy Savior in Chora Church, Constantinople (Istanbul)

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

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

- Matthew 12:43-50

On Saturday, we read of Jesus' continuing encounter with the Pharisees, after their accusation that He cast out demons by the power of demons.  He said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  My study bible comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 105:34-39).  Therefore, we are taught to guard our hearts.  Without true repentance and the invitation of the Holy Spirit to dwell in the heart of a person, my study bible says, an expelled demon will return with others reoccupy its abode.  This serves to emphasize the need for vigilance in the inner life, and also constant prayer.  Our faith is not a one-time declaration, but an ongoing commitment, a practice of struggle for awareness, growth, and dynamic internal movement. 

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  My study bible suggests that Christ's relatives haven't yet understood His identity and mission.  Jesus points to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of My Father.  My study bible also reminds us that in Jewish usage (and for that matter, still today across the Middle and Near East), brother can indicate any number of relations.  In some examples from Scripture, Abram called his nephew Lot "brothers (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3), and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  The Church by tradition upholds that Jesus Himself had no blood brothers, for Mary had only one Son.  The brothers, therefore, who are mentioned here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by an earlier marriage), or cousins.  As further evidence of this, Jesus commits His mother to the care of His disciple at the Cross (John 19:25-27), an unthinkable gesture if Mary had other children to care for her.

Jesus began His present discourse to the Pharisees after they had accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, whom they refer to as the "ruler of the demons" (see Friday's reading).  Jesus' initial response was to teach that to blaspheme the Spirit -- in other words, their calling the work of the Spirit in Christ's ministry "evil" -- is to participate in a kind of sin that must be repented.  To criticize Him personally is one thing, but to call the holy work of the Spirit in the world "evil" is another.  Here in today's reading, He continues that train of thought, teaching that true spiritual commitment requires an ongoing awareness and vigilance about who we are and what we are, and especially paying attention to the heart and the words that come out of our mouths.  All of these things are connected.  Jesus teaches that "when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."   It is an illustration of a paradigm, an understanding that spiritual life is always in motion, and not stagnant.  We don't make a decision one day and say that we belong to Christ, and then fail to act on that decision every day, in the moments of our lives in which we elect to remember this and act on it -- or not.  In other words, there is a kind of vigilance that belongs to spiritual endeavor.  It is a matter of guarding the heart, of recognizing who we are and to whom we belong, and of exercising this discipline of commitment.  We're not "neutral" according to Jesus' illustration.  As a psychologist once put it to me, we're either going in one direction or the other.   Jesus speaks of a kind of continuum, a constant process toward something or away from it.  In the second part of today's reading, He teaches us what precisely it is He asks us to be going toward:  a union of love for God the Father by seeking to live God's will for us, and in turn we are also united toward others within that same "family."  This goal or end point gives us a full set of relations, a network based in faith, love, and trust of God.  And in Jesus' statement today, we can read that it transcends even our closest relationships based on other types of commonality, even blood family.  Let us note that Jesus is not rejecting family.  What He speaks about is a union of relationship within a spiritual bond to God who is love.  Within that bond, we have a definition of what true relationship is like, a goal toward which it goes, a definition and measuring stick of what constitutes love and goodness and health.  Let us consider Jesus' emphasis on a constant vigilance regarding our priorities, our commitment to what is good and true.  Where does God ask you to begin today?  How do you affirm this, even for a moment?  Do you have an old hurt that needs to be redressed under the protection of the Holy Spirit and prayer?  Take time to remember God, take time for prayer, even in the midst of your day.  You never know how you might help others, or what the power of that prayer will be for yourself.  Let us note once again this is an active process; when we take even a minute for prayer to seek Gods' will, so we participate as He asks.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things

Christ dividing the sheep from the goats. Mosaic. Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, 6th century

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

- Matthew 12:33-42

Yesterday we read that one was brought to Christ who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."   Jesus returns to the image of a tree, which He has used before in Matthew's Gospel (see 7:16-20).  It was also used by John the Baptist (3:10).  This metaphor or image encourages us to develop an internal integrity, so that the fruits we bear outwardly reflect that consistency of character.  Brood of vipers is also an image we've been given earlier, as it was John the Baptist's expression for the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism (see 3:7).  Brood means offspring; it is an expression, as used by both John and Jesus, indicating practices of deception and malice.  A viper, as a venomous snake, is an image of evil influence, and as used here, begetting poison and pain for human beings.  Jesus speaks of the heart to teach about human life, how our own depth of character and psychology works, linked to the soul.  My study bible explains that the heart in Scripture refers to the center of consciousness, the seat of the intellect and the will, the place from which spiritual life proceeds.  It says that when God's grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts.  But on the other hand, if malice and evil capture a person's heart, they become full of darkness and spiritual confusion.  Again, as with yesterday's reading, Jesus' teaching here ends with an affirmation of the importance of words and the true weight they carry, watching how we speak.  Even idle words measure and "say" something about us, and the warning about judgment is clear.  We should recall that this discussion follows the leadership's accusation that Christ casts out demons by the power of demons, and they therefore blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."  My study bible comments that after so many signs, the Pharisees show their wickedness by demanding yet another.  It points out that Jesus does not cater to anyone who demands a sign out of wicked intent.  His only sign for them will be His Passion and Resurrection.  And adulterous generation is the image used by the prophets when Israel was unfaithful to God (Jeremiah 2; Hosea 2:2-13).  The Gentiles of Ninevah repented at the preaching of Jonah (Jonah 3).  The queen of the South is the Queen of Sheba who came to Israel to hear the wisdom of Solomon and deeply honored that wisdom, a grace of God (1 Kings 10:1-13). 

Jesus has been speaking about the power of God at work in the world through His ministry, specifically the power of the Holy Spirit.  He compares Himself to Solomon, whose wisdom was honored by the Queen of Sheba.  Solomon's wisdom was a gift of God (1 Kings 3:6-14).  It was an answer to a prayer, when Solomon asked for the gift of discernment.  But Jesus says that a greater than Solomon is here, referring to Himself.  Even the Queen of the South revered the wisdom of Solomon, but the leadership treats Christ with disparaging words, claiming that the work of the Holy Spirit through His ministry is the work of demons (see yesterday's reading, above).  Even the Gentiles of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, when God sent Jonah to them.  But Christ's presence yields no repentance on the part of the Pharisees.  Once again, Jesus speaks of Himself and His ministry on no uncertain terms, even as the Pharisees have begun to plot to destroy Him.  He rebukes their demand for a sign, saying, in effect, that with or without a sign their rejection of Him and His ministry only speaks volumes about them.   As they reject Christ and the signs He has already done, so they reject the presence of God in their midst.  Jesus reminds us that all the choices that we make, whatever we do or say, it all begins in the heart.  The heart is the place where we choose what we will love, what we put first, and the rest follows.  Even our own idle words will be subject to judgment, so we must pay attention, take care what we are about and what we do.  Today we have at our fingertips the easy and potentially great impact of social media.  How simple is it to disparage someone, to speak hasty words in anger?  How much do we care for our own heart, to guard what is there, what we discern, what wisdom we ask for from God?    Do we take seriously our own practice and exercise of judgment, knowing that as we judge, so will we be judged (Matthew 7:1-2)?  How carefully do we choose our words?  Or do we let "idle words" mean nothing to us, even as we may be impacting others?  What is important in Christ's teaching is that He asks us to cultivate a kind of self-awareness that keeps us responsible.  What do we value and put first in our lives?  What is wisdom and where does it come from?  If we take our own internal state of being seriously, He seems to say, then our own words will also become more valued and measured.  Ultimately, it is the truth of Christ -- the truth of God -- that matters, as we seek to put that first.  It is the one standard by which we can measure all, but especially by which we should measure our own internal lives, our truth, our ways of reaching out to the world and to the ones we touch with our words, no matter who they are.  Above is a mosaic depicting judgment, in Christ's image found in Matthew 25:31-46. As Jesus warns of judgment -- and that even our idle words will require an accounting -- we should remember that this is a warning and not a final edict.  Even these men to whom He speaks have an option for repentance, as do we all.  Will we be like goats who are still known for their stubbornness, or will we choose the role of sheep who can willingly follow where the wisdom of the Shepherd would take us?  Let us remember that we always have these options alive and well within our hearts.  

If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you

Holy Spirit "as a dove" resting upon Christ, mosaic, Baptistery of Neon, 5th cent., Ravenna, Italy

 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

- Matthew 12:22-32

Yesterday we read that when Jesus knew that the Pharisees were plotting to destroy Him, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."

  Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."   Beelzebub was a name given by the Jews for the god Baal.  It is a sarcastic twist of the term used by the Philistines to honor the god they worshiped (2 Kings 1:2-16).  It means prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here, the Pharisees call this god the ruler of the demons.  My study bible says that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus.   In yesterday's reading, above, Matthew gives us an understanding of Jesus as the Servant of Isaiah's prophecy, the one who "will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets," neither a "bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench."   But we should not confuse this humble Servant with one who is powerless, for His mission is justice, and His end is victory.  But that justice and victory belongs to the power that is at work:  they are God's justice and victory, not worldly visions of what these things mean.  In today's reading, Jesus points to the power that is at work in Him, and the consequences for those who oppose that power.

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."   Here is a key regarding the language of judgement and justice in the New Testament.  My study bible says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit, blasphemy against pure goodness.  It explains that a sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven because the Jews did not know much about Christ.  But blasphemy against the Spirit is another matter.  The divine activity of the Spirit was already known from the Old Testament, and a challenge that claims the Spirit's work to be evil is a different kind of deception, which comes from a willful hardness of heart, as well as a refusal to accept the mercy of God.  My study bible also says that the Church Fathers are very clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is neither an "unforgivable sin" nor does Christ call the sin "unforgivable."  St. John Chrysostom writes that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Christ makes this declaration with the understanding that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and that they are beyond repentance by their own choice.

By juxtaposing yesterday's text, in which Jesus is declared to be the fulfillment of Isaiah's suffering Servant, with today's, we are given an image of holy power in contrast with worldly power.  Christ is taking us to a place where we are meant to understand that there is indeed a power at work in His ministry, but it is not a worldly power.  It is not the might of empire nor material manipulation.  It is the power of holiness, the power of the Holy Spirit by which the signs of His ministry manifest.  We should not mistake His "gentleness" for weakness, nor His humility for powerlessness.  And this is, indeed, where He asks us to go in our lives.  Our trust in Him is meant to help us to grow within the faith of Father, Son, and Spirit, and to rely on the power of holiness in our own lives.  He does not chase dreams of a powerful kingdom to rule.  Instead, He is following the will of the Father for His own ministry and His own work in the world, and so we are to do the same.  This does not mean that we reject out of hand any "worldly" position, although for many across the centuries it has meant just that.  The monks who later went out into the desert rejected all personal material goods, and devoted themselves to God in this way, having John the Baptist as an image of a holy human being.  And yet, even among the desert monks, there remained stories about those more holy than any of them, such as a man who daily worked in his profession in the midst of the city, a cobbler who prayed all day while he worked repairing shoes.  What we are to understand is not so much a contradiction or contrast between God's power and worldly things, as we are to understand that we place all things first in the hands of God, as we rest ourselves in the hands of God.  Whatever we have, and whatever we are, we place it within the context of our faith to guide us both into knowing who we are, and into knowing how we are to live in this world and to be stewards of all that comes to us -- the good and the bad.  Because Christ Himself is Son and therefore divine, it does not mean that He escapes the challenges of the religious establishment.  It does not mean He escapes from the violence and the evil of the world.  He is neither exempt nor far away from the machinations of the powerful.  He goes to the people, His ministry reaches everywhere, and He comes into direct conflict with those who, knowing better, call His ministry and His works by the power of the Spirit, evil.  If He is not exempt from such conflict, then how are we going to be exempt from such challenges in our own lives?  We must consider where He asks us to go.  As He trusts in the Father for His mission and His life, so should we follow by having the courage to take rest in our faith as well.  Jesus has the courage to speak the wisdom and truth of the words He is given to reply to such challenges.  What it seems to me that He is indicating above all else in today's reading is the power of words.   Because our words can reflect the truth of faith, our words have power.  And because our words may also flippantly deny the power of the holy, so such language should give us pause to consider what we might easily deny or all-too-easily cast aside.  Jesus speaks of judgment not necessarily as final destination, but as warning.  Are we willing to go forward in our faith?  Will we be stuck in the place where we refuse God?  We seem always to be in this place of acceptance or rejection:  either truth in the love of God, or denial that such love for us exists.  Which true for you?  Which will it be?  How will we follow where He leads us?  Sometimes the power of the world may overwhelm us and lead us away from the place in the heart we truly need, and it is so easy to forget to whom we really belong.  In whom do you place your trust?  Who will you follow?

My Servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

Christ the Humble in Heart

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen,
My beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust."

- Matthew 12:15-21

Yesterday we read that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."   Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust."    After His confrontation with the Pharisees, and their subsequent choice to plot against Him and to destroy Him, Jesus withdrew from this area.  Although He is quite popular in terms of His ministry and the healings that accompany it, He seeks to be hidden for the moment.  My study bible comments on His refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah.  This quotation shows that this reticence was foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4, Septuagint).  My study bible cites several reasons for secrecy, among which are the growing hostility of the Jewish religious leadership; the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and Christ's desire to evoke genuine faith which is not based only on the marvelous signs that accompany His ministry.  Isaiah's prophecy refers to My Servant, which my study bible says indicates first Christ, and by extension  all who follow Him.  Also foreseen by Isaiah in the final verse quoted above, Christ's eventual mission to the Gentiles.

The inclusion of this quotation from Isaiah at this point in Matthew's Gospel seems to confirm that the true Messiah would not be one who engages in open combat like a military conqueror, but rather one like Christ, who instead spends time withdrawn from conflict.  While He boldly engages the religious leadership when confronted, He does not seek it out.  At this juncture in His ministry, He seeks even to be hidden.   As explosive and popular as His ministry is -- for people all coming seeking healings or to see them performed -- He tries to dissuade those who receive or witness such healings from speaking about them publicly and making Him more well-known.  Of course, this is always a futile request, as the Gospels repeatedly make known to us.  In fact, in Mark's Gospel we're told that the more Jesus commanded people not to speak of the healing He'd done, the more widely they proclaimed it (Mark 7:36).  This ministry simply cannot be kept hidden.  Nevertheless, Jesus fulfills His role as the Servant of Isaiah, one who, in His own words from Tuesday's reading, is gentle (or meek) and lowly of heart.  But in today's reading that characterization goes further, and we are introduced to the humility of Jesus.  That is, nothing in this ministry is done out of selfishness in the sense that He seeks fame or renown.  Everything about Christ speaks rather of His devotion to God the Father, His joy at fulfilling the Father's will.  His ministry invites us into a life of the Kingdom, in which joy and peace do not come as a result of personal gain, but rather as part of fulfillment within God's energies and grace at work in the world.  If we look at Christ's ministry, and His desire to withdraw for this time, we understand that He is on a mission, and it is going according to the will of the Father, not a worldly plan.   There will later arrive the time for Him to go to Jerusalem.  It's important to know that both His withdrawal and His extraordinary courage comes out of this same humility and devotion to serving the Father's will.  The same will follow for the apostles and disciples who come afterward through the history of the Church.  So when we seek to follow Christ, we should understand that we, too, wish to also follow that will in our own lives, and to pray that we can accept it and understand it, and make the changes we need to make, seeking the true image God has for us.  In every way, Christ the Son, as the human Jesus, shows us the way through His humility to the Father, His willingness to sacrifice a worldly notion of ambition for the understanding of God -- which is prophesied by Isaiah.  Let us put that faith to work in our own lives that Jesus displays for us in His, and trust to the love of God in the same way as best we are able.  Like the apostles, perhaps we, too, should pray, "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).

Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?

Jesus heals a man with a withered hand, Ilyas Basim Khuri Bazzi Rahib (Egyptian Coptic, active ca. 1684), from ms. W.592, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore MD

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

- Matthew 12:1-14

Yesterday we read after His rebuke to the cities where He had done great works, and yet not found faith,  Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"   My study bible points out the rigidity of the Pharisees in what is called legalism.   Their constant and zealous resort to the rules built up around the Law gave second place to mercy.  In this particular case, my study bible says that the Law allowed plucking a few heads of grain in a neighbor's field (Deuteronomy 23:25), but the Pharisees here call that "reaping" and therefore declare it to be unlawful on the Sabbath.  We're already aware that they are being harsh and overly-critical of both Jesus and John the Baptist (see Monday's reading).  In today's reading, their particular kind of judgment, and Jesus' response to it, is on display.

But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?"  Jesus boldly argues, providing Old Testament examples of blameless "violations" of the Sabbath, and so demonstrates that the law is not absolute over human need nor over service to God.  David and his men ate the showbread (1 Samuel 21:4-6), which my study bible tells us prefigures the Eucharist.  In the Old Testament, this is forbidden to anyone except the priests, but in Christ it is given to all the faithful.

"Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  As divine Son, Christ is the Lord of the Old Testament, and therefore the Author of the Law and Lord over all of it.  As Lord, my study bible comments, He gives the teaching that mercy takes precedence over regulations, ordinances, and ritualistic observances.

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.  Here, Jesus takes His teachings yet another step forward, and boldly in dialogue with the Pharisees.  He strikes up an even more stark question than that of the few heads of grain plucked and eaten on the Sabbath.  This time, in the synagogue, there is a man with a withered hand, and the confrontation comes over healing.  Note that the Pharisees deliberately ask Jesus about the man with the withered hand, that they might accuse Him, asking, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"  Which will it be?  Mercy for the healing of the man, or the rigidity of the way they interpret the Sabbath rule?  Even the lives of animals, valued property to their owners, might be saved in exception provided to the rule.  But "of how much more value is a man than a sheep?" Jesus asks them.

Jesus advocates for an understanding of God's law as mercy, and sets out an example in which it is human healing that forms an example for all.  That is, the healing of the man's withered hand becomes the image of what the Law is really for, and what its aim is all about.  If God does not intervene in human affairs, including via the mission in the life of Moses, in order to heal humanity, then how are we to understand God and God's purposes for us?  The alternative is a severe legalism, that misses both the nature of God and God's purposes at work in the world.  Jesus' confrontation over the issue of healing on the Sabbath dives right into the divide between Himself and the leadership, and they respond with rage at how decisively He responds to their challenge.  They decide to plot to destroy Him.  In the past couple of readings, Jesus has made it clear that He has much to offer through His ministry.  He brings with Him the kingdom of heaven; through faith we may enter in and participate in this Kingdom.  Even great mysteries open themselves to those who accept and participate in this faith, to know the love and grace of God.  But even in the cities where His great works of healing have happened, there is rejection of His ministry.  The leadership posit themselves against Him, as they did with John the Baptist -- calling the Baptist too ascetic, and Christ too liberal, too joyful, too indulgent to sinners such as tax collectors.  But above all, Jesus returns to the one image which repeats itself:  He is a physician, the healer of humanity.  In chapter 9, Jesus replied to the criticisms:  "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick" (9:12).   He has come into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17).  Moreover, His saving mission is to give His life for the life of the world (John 6:51).  It is in this context that Jesus pronounces that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath, and moreover, that therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.  Within that teaching is an important perspective that is consistently taught by Christ, that it is up to us to take the initiative -- even while others fail to do so -- of helping to heal the world, to do good, to practice love and mercy, to be a neighbor, a healer.  Let us remember that the smallest act of kindness may indicate participation in such a mission of healing, and that even in the context of His ministry, healing takes on many forms and many dimensions of life.  How do we know what healing really looks like, and what it really needs?  How do we get past our self-centered perspective?  How we learn what love and healing are is a matter of constant growth in our faith, and then sharing that love with others.  It is a participation in God's love and efforts to heal within ourselves first.  Let us open to His truth, His healing, and learn God's love and mercy so that we, too, may participate in this healing ministry.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest

Christ the True Vine, 2004, icon commissioned by Orthodox Recovering Addicts, Moscow (link)

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

- Matthew 11:25-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His defense of John the Baptist:   "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by all her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  My study bible cites Theophylact's commentary, that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world, not out of malice toward human beings, but rather because of their own unworthiness in trusting their fallen wisdom and judgment, rather than God.  Moreover, it is out of love that God withholds this revelation from those who would scorn it, so that they do not receive a greater condemnation.   To understand such mysteries, we have to know that they are not obscure intellectual concepts, but rather the presence of the Kingdom of God, which my study bible says cannot be defined.  One must accept this Kingdom in the heart in order to grasp the mystery.  This mystery of the Kingdom is revealed through the Son.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study bible comments that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  Generally speaking, yoke can be understood as a sign of hardship, burdens, and responsibilities (1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-11, Sirach 40:1).  But in Christ, the yoke is easy, as the power of God works in each person.  Moreover, it says, there is a reward to this which is infinitely greater than any effort which human beings put forth.  Gentle here in the Greek is somewhat akin to "meek," but it denotes a strength under control, or having the capacity for power but using it without undue harshness.  Lowly in heart denotes humility that comes from putting God first before self.

In today's reading, Jesus puts two things together that might not normally be seen to go together.  There is first of all knowledge and understanding of His disciples, who are simple people, and not the highly educated or those who form part of the formal religious establishment and its schools.  This is a gift of great wisdom and knowledge that has been given to His followers, whom He refers to as "babes," while the "wise and prudent" are those in exalted offices of authority and social status.  This power of knowledge and understanding is coupled with the authority of Christ the Son, to whom God has granted the authority to reveal God to those to whom He will.   So this wisdom and understanding, knowledge of great mysteries, has behind it the greatest power in the universe, that of God.   But Jesus qualifies the power of God, and His personal power, by teaching that He does not exercise it with harshness.  He rather encourages all those who labor and are heavy laden to come to Him.  In chapter 23, when Jesus criticizes the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, He says that they "bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers" (23:4).  But about Himself He says that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  Rather than being a harsh and punitive taskmaster, He offers rest to the same people about whom it was said earlier that they were "weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd" (9:36).  In today's reading, Christ champions those who do have faith, after He has harshly criticized the cities in which He is rejected, despite having done "great works" there of healing.  Those who are the "wise and prudent" have rejected His ministry, in which the "babes" have received wisdom through faith.  He speaks of the hidden power of Creator behind these mysteries, and His own connection to the Father through which all things have been given to Him, including the power of revelation and of the Kingdom hidden to those who cannot receive it.  But the powerful statements in today's reading remain His characterization of that supreme power and authority, as offering a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light, and rest to the heavy laden and those who labor.  It should be remembered, in this context, that the definitions of the Greek word for "evil" or "evil one" (as in the prayer given by Christ, in which we pray to God to "deliver us from evil" or from "the evil one" -- see 6:13), include a sense of toil and tedious hardship.  In this sense, we must also see Christ's characterization of His power as that which is contrasted with what is evil and seeks to lay heavy (and unjust) burdens upon human beings, a harsh power which imposes toil and unnecessary agony.   Moreover, this yoke is rewarding, and the labor for the kingdom a way of sharing in His ministry.  His exercise of His power and authority invites trust, and there we really get to the root of the message.  It all comes down to this question of trust, and where we will place our trust.  We may compare the "wisdom of this age" with the "wisdom among those who are mature" (1 Corinthians 2:6-8).  But Christ's ultimate qualifier of what He offers, in which we may put our trust, is Himself.  That is, the One who is gentle and lowly of heart, in whom we find rest for our souls.  It is He in whom we choose to rest (John 15:9).

But to what shall I liken this generation?

Last Judgment, late 15th cent, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

 "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:

 'We played the flute for you,
And you did not dance;
We mourned to you,
And you did not lament.'

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by all her children."

Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

- Matthew 11:16-24

On Saturday we read that, as the John's disciples departed after their question for Jesus, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John:  "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see?  A man clothed in soft garments?  Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he of whom it is written:  'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.'  Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  And from the days of  John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

 "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:   'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by all her children."  Jesus' scenario of the children pictures a game that was played among Jewish children at the time.  They would divide into two groups.  One group would either pretend to play musical instruments (as for those who dance) or singing mourning songs (as for those who lament or wail).  The other group would respond in the opposite or antithetical way than expected.  My study bible says that Jesus draws a parallel to the Jewish leaders, who responded with criticism of John's ministry that he was too ascetic, and to Christ's that He was too liberal in mercy and joy.

Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."  My study bible comments that it is a far greater sin to have seen Christ's works and rejected Him than never to have known Him at all.  Jesus chastises the towns which have been witness to His works, or miracles, and failed to have faith.

This is a turning point in Christ's ministry, which we can discern from the events described in today's and other recent readings.  First of all, He has just sent out the Twelve on their first mission, extending the power of His ministry through them and the work that they will do, giving them power to preach and to heal.  Second, John is in prison, and John's disciples have just come from him to Jesus, asking if He is the Coming One, or if they should look for another (see this reading).   Jesus responded to John's disciples by saying that they should tell John about the works He has done, which are signs prophesied to accompany the Messiah -- indicating that He is, indeed, the One whom they have awaited.  Each of those things are both unifying and expanding of Jesus' ministry.  But Jesus then turns to address the apparently fickle crowds under influence of the leadership in Jerusalem.  What He describes is unfair and unjust criticism, deliberately drummed up to savage both the ministries of John and Jesus.  On the one hand it is easy to criticize John for his asceticism, his depth of commitment to radical poverty like the prophets before him, for whom only service to God mattered above all else in life.  But Jesus who sits and feasts even with known sinners (as in this reading) is in for the opposite treatment:  He is far too liberal, as my study bible puts it, in joy and mercy.  Moreover, Jesus lists all the towns in Galilee where He has performed miraculous works of healing, and where He has been rejected in response.  He compares them unfavorably to the Gentile areas of Tyre and Sidon, and even to Sodom, and suggests that in the judgment each will be judged more harshly than these.  The pivot point is Christ Himself, and the power of God at work in Him and with Him, even the kingdom of heaven which accompanies Him and which He seeks to spread in the world through His ministry.  Each of the "mighty works" that He's done is evidence of this presence of God, and yet faith has not followed.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus will be challenged by the authorities to "prove" that He is the Christ, by producing miracles on demand.  While Jesus' many miracles are attributed to the faith of the one who is healed, or possibly the friends or relatives of the healed person, this does not necessarily result in the faith of those who witness such healings.  And in this we see the wisdom of Jesus, who knows psychologically the true state of human hearts better than anyone else.  He could come into the world and perform every miracle conceivable.  He could do things simply to "prove" He is who He says He is.  But none of that would bring real faith.  Like the demanding religious leaders, it would only encourage what was already the disposition of the heart, whether that was selfishness or a true righteousness.   What He asks of us is a true response to the presence of this Kingdom, whatever form that takes.  Do we respond with love and trust, with reverence?  Is God's love about our entitlement, our demands?  Is it meant to feed selfishness, or to encourage our growth and healing?  Are we disposed to do the work of repentance/change of mind?  Do we even know that there are things we need to work on within ourselves to dwell as fully as possible within His strength and love, and to become more like Him?  His mercy is for the ones who know they have need of a Physician, a healer of body, soul, and spirit.  His joy is for those who truly need it, or rather, who know and deeply feel they need it, and come to terms with a true desire for it.  Let us continue along with Christ's ministry, and understand that everything else really depends upon faith.  That is, trust in Christ.  It all comes down to what we put first.