But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched --
"where

'Their worm does not die,
And the fire is not quenched.'

"And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched --
"where

'Their worm does not die,
And the fire is not quenched.'

"And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire --
"where

'Their worm does not die,
And the fire is not quenched.'

 "For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

 - Mark 9:42-50

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.  Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

 "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea."   Jesus continues His discussion with the disciples (from yesterday's reading, above) regarding treatment and care for the little ones among them.  My study bible says that little ones include all who have childlike humility and simplicity, all who are poor in spirit.

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"  My study bible says that the reference to physical mutilation serves as an illustration of decisive action to avoid sin (it is not an advocacy of literal amputation!).  It notes, also, that this can refer to harmful relationships that must be severed for the salvation of all parties (see Luke 14:26, 1 Corinthians 5:5).  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 66:24, giving us a sense of just how essential this teaching against harm to the little ones is to our faith.  This is the deepest possible advocacy of care for those who are the most humble, least powerful, and who rely most strongly upon leadership for help, care, and guidance.

 "For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."  My study bible says that being seasoned with fire means being tested to see if one's faith and works are genuine (see 1 Corithians 3:11-15).  In saying every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt, Jesus is quoting Leviticus 2:13, in which salt stands for the remembrance of God's covenant with God's people. 

If we think about Jesus' words regarding cutting off a hand or foot, or plucking out an eye, it might remind us of medical care before our current state of medical resources.  Once upon a time, this might have been a much more widely understood metaphor in terms of the need to cut off a hand or a foot, or to lose an eye, to prevent disease from spreading to the rest of the body.  Once upon a time -- and this was true in the not-very-distant past as well -- surgical removal of limbs was the final and frequent remedy to stop the spread of infection to the rest of the body.  So we listen to Jesus' remarks in the context of medical care:  better to remove hand or foot or eye than have it infect the whole body.  But what could He mean by the hand or foot or eye that causes us to sin?  This also works as metaphor in other ways.  Regarding His very scathing warning here of abuse toward the little ones who believe in Him (causing them to stumble), we can understand that a hand can reach out to grab what doesn't belong to the more powerful, and take it from a "little one."  A foot can travel where it doesn't belong, in order to abuse power, to cause abuse through violence, or harm in trespassing in other ways, violating proper boundaries that belong in place in order to avoid scandalizing and causing hurt.  An eye can set itself on things to don't belong to is, it can be greedy, or envious, or covetous.  It, too, can gaze beyond proper boundaries with improper lust for what is not righteous nor appropriate to oneself.  In each of these ways, we can understand Jesus' admonition to take swift, even emergency "medical" action to stop oneself in a pattern of sin, lest we harm those less powerful, and less we do damage to our fellow believers.  This is especially true in the cast of the "little ones," those who are humble in the Church, who have no high station, who depend upon and rely upon good leadership for their souls and their hearts -- and also to guide their minds in faith in ways that are appropriate and good for all of us.  Right now, in over 150 countries around the world, we are fighting an epidemic of a virus.  As many of our leaders are wont to say, this is nobody's fault.  Blame and vitriol and hate are enough to go around, and more than enough to go around.  These help no one.  Fear and panic, which such things encourage, also help no one.  As Christians we look to good leadership to stand us in good stead -- especially spiritually, but also otherwise -- through this crisis.  That is, through this time of need, our Church is still a place that guides and cares for the body, soul, and spirit of its faithful.  If we take Jesus' words to heart, this must be particularly done with concern toward the little ones, all those who look for good leadership at this time.  We take the precautions we need to, we help the efforts of our countries as best we can, we watch out for one another.  Especially damaging, or so it seems to me, is the vitriol and hatred that continues to fuel political fighting, false rumors, and the spread of panic.  Let us focus on our common understanding that we remain in our period of Lent.  That means that as Christians it is a time for inward focus, for prayer, for discipline, and this goes hand in hand with the discipline that is asked of us as citizens.  We have time to read Scripture, and other kinds of literature that are helpful and strengthening to us on all levels of our existence.  In some sense, it is a very convenient, and also thought-provoking, juxtaposition of the time for us as faithful.  We do our duty to God, and thereby we also do our duty to country, even "for the life of the world" (John 6:33).  Throughout the two thousand year history of our faith, the faithful have faced persecutions, famines, plagues, wars, genocide, and hosts of other pests and threats to our truth and the wisdom of the word of God.  Let us continue as we understand our time in Lent:  we have a duty to our faith -- and that includes our duty to one another.  Let us go and do as we know what remains essential, and true, and a blessing to the world, to all of us.

Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me

Christ and St. Ignatius, detail of fresco, 1321-22.  Gračanica Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Kosovo

 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.

Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."

Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."

- Mark 9:30-41

On Saturday we read that, coming down from the Mount of Transfiguration with James, John, and Peter, when He came to the disciples in the town, Jesus saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And he asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"  Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."  Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him"  And he said, "From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it:  "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.  And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

 Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it.  For He taught His disciples and said to them, "The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him.  And after He is killed, He will rise the third day."  But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.  This is the second time that Jesus has predicted His death and Resurrection to the disciples (see 8:31).  My study bible comments that by doing so, Jesus shows He is going to His Passion freely, and not being taken against His will.   Let us also note carefully the bewilderment of the disciples.  They did not understand, but also they were afraid to ask Him.

Then He came to Capernaum.  And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?"  But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest.  And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."  Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them.  And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."  Clearly Jesus' teaching that He will rise on the third day (above) has given ideas to the disciples about the imminent manifestation of the Kingdom as a worldly kingdom, fitting the popular expectations about the Messiah.  So, they have been disputing among themselves which one would be the greatest in that material, earthly kingdom they imagine is coming.  This is a disappointing response to Jesus' warning of His suffering that is to come.  Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach the essential nature of what constitutes greatness within His Kingdom and His community of the Church:  humility and service.  My study bible says that pointing to a little child as the model of true discipleship, Jesus emphasizes the virtues required for entrance into the kingdom of heaven:  humility, dependence, lowliness, simplicity, obedience, and a willingness to love and to be loved.  Frequently, St. Ignatius of Antioch is depicted in icons as this child.  In various legends of saints, he is the boy who gave the loaves and fishes in John 6:9.  Jesus' teaching emphasizes the power of the communion of the Church, as He speaks of receiving one of these little children in My name -- and connecting that child not only to Himself, but also to the Father who sent Him.

Now John answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us."  But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him, for no one who works a miracle in My name can soon afterward speak evil of Me.  For he who is not against us is on our side.  For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."  My study bible comments here that Theophylact sees John's comment as regret, in response to his conscience having been pricked by what Christ has just taught about the first and the last.  But St. Ambrose offers a different understanding, that John expects full obedience to accompany the blessings of ministering in Christ's name.  Either way, my study bible comments, Christ's response shows those acting in good faith are not excluded, even if they are not contemporaneously numbered among the disciples.  Theophan writes, "See how divine grace is at work even in those who are not His disciples."  See also Numbers 11:24-30.  On those who use the name of Christ without good faith, see Luke 11:23, Acts 19:13-16.   The final verse emphasizes the teaching about receiving the little child.  These disciples, also, upon being received by others, convey a blessing upon them for their good will, because they belong to Christ.

Today's readings emphasize the communion of Christ, the link between all those who live, act, work, and minister in His name.  Jesus' teachings, while most clearly about the need for humility and service, emphasize also our communion, the special link that exists between all those who work or act bearing the name or image of Christ.  Let us first of all be clear on an understanding of "the name" especially in times when the authority of emperors or kings was well-understood in a certain respect.  All those things that bore the name of the king or his house (or family) bore the presence of that king or that emperor.  To deface a public work depicting the monarch was to insult and do damage to the monarch, and great penalties could result.  The name of the monarch also bore the same presence:  the signature of such a person was full representation of that person, whether the monarch was physically present or not.  (This is linked to present-day protocols of respect regarding the flag of a country, for it stands for and represents the country itself.)  So it is here in a similar sense with Jesus' name.  All those who belong to Christ convey Christ Himself into the world.  So much so, that even should we receive a little child in His name, we must understand that we receive Him, but also moreover, even the Father who sent Him.  That is as great a personage as is possible indeed.  The power of God lies in all things having to do truly with the name of Jesus.  Therefore in Jesus' teaching today we not only understand that to receive even a little child in His name is to receive Christ, and even to receive the Father who sent Him, but also the receiving of anyone bearing Christ's name conveys a blessing on the receiver, even one who so much as offers a cup of water.  What Jesus is saying, therefore, we can conclude, teaches us that each good thing we do for one another within the body of Christ, within this communion, includes Christ Himself -- and therefore it is as if we have served Christ Himself and will receive the proper reward for doing so.  These powerful words and concepts convey to us the strength that lies in true ministry, because they give us a sense of the divine power of holiness -- unseen by so many, and yet at work in our world and in what we do in our lives.  There is no telling how truly powerful a good work can be, a kind word or gesture, even the smallest thing we give of ourselves.  Moreover, that gesture need not be to one who has a powerful profile or position in this world, for even to receive a little child in His name is as if we receive Him, as if we receive even the Father who sent Him.  The power in this communion is great indeed.  If we understood the power of holiness that is at work even in this world, how much more seriously would we take these maxims of our faith, these teachings of Christ?  How much more solemnly would we accept the need to be conscious of the ways in which we treat one another, or the ways in which we might so easily dismiss one another?  How much more would we cherish our capacity to do even the smallest good for another, or commit the smallest act of charity?  This understanding of these teachings of Christ refines, hones, and gives body to our understanding of grace.  It gives shape to a consciousness of blessing and what that means, and how blessings are conveyed.  If each of us has the power to convey such blessings through our faith in Christ, through our choices in His name, then that indeed makes the power of His communion all the more great.  Let us be aware of our choices -- both those we make, and those we fail to make, and what we lose by not understanding the power of His name.

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief

 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And he asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"  Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."  Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him"  And he said, "From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it:  "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.  And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."

- Mark 9:14-29

Yesterday we read that after six days (following Peter's confession) Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.  Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."

 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And he asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"   Jesus and the disciples who form His closest circle (Peter, James, and John) return to the town from the Mount of Transfiguration (see yesterday's reading above).  Jesus returns to find some scribes disputing with His other disciples.   Christ's first action is to question the scribes, intervening for His disciples.

Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."   The issue here once again is faith and its impact and effect.  My study bible comments that this statement is meant as a rebuke to the man for his lack of faith, but later on, in private there will also be a rebuke to the disciples.  In effect, the center of this dispute becomes the issue of faith itself, as Jesus defends His disciples publicly from blame, including from this man and the scribes.

Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him"  And he said, "From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"   This man takes Jesus' teaching seriously, despite his little faith, and in effect, becomes a type of model of faith himself.  His prayer, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" effectively becomes a model for each of us. 

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it:  "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.   As the people came running, Jesus immediately heals in response to the faith statement of the father.  That is, his recognition of his own lack of faith, and his prayer for faith.   It is another suggestion of the importance of shoring up faith, before those whose antagonism or demands of proof arrive to further harm the father's faltering faith.

And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."  While the father of the boy and the crowd were rebuked for their faith publicly, Jesus rebukes His disciples privately.  My study bible says that this teaches us we ought first to correct people in private (see Matthew 18:15-17). 

Throughout the Gospels, we are given stories about faith and its effectiveness, or lack of it.  In all the healing miracles of Jesus, we are taught about faith, and Jesus has spoken about faith.  In some of the most significant stories, Jesus takes extra effort to shore up faith in those who fear for their family members, such as the story of Jairus and his daughter, in which Jesus put outside the people who ridiculed Him after He said, "The child is not dead, but sleeping" (5:40).  The mystery of faith is such that we cannot pinpoint precisely how our faith will work or not work.  We can't quantitatively measure faith by some universal yardstick.  But the Gospels tell us that so much depends upon faith, and that faith is our real connection to Creator.  The world expects God to act autonomously and absolutely, and maybe this is true in the sense of the entirety of the creation.  But, in effect, you and I as human beings are created out of love, and because our God is also love, God wants us as more than merely creations.  God wants us to be with God, and this is as true while we live in this world as it is of any other world beyond this one we might imagine.   We see this desire for connection, and for synergy -- working together -- at play in Christ's ministry.  Christ goes to great lengths always to express concern about our faith and the levels of our faith.  He takes away those whom He tries to help from those who would do damage to that faith.  He puts outside those who ridicule.  He is careful, in today's reading, to step between the scribes (and the crowds) and His disciples.  He takes great care, on several occasions to assure those whom He tries to help that it is their belief that makes all the difference.  God is great and with autonomous power, but we do not see that power displayed without some sort of assent, some sort of assertion, a connection in faith on the part of the human beings for whom that power responds to their desire.  When the woman with the blood flow was healed -- in the midst of Jesus' walk toward the house of Jairus -- it was her faith that Jesus praised, putting that faith above all else, even if she broke the religious law to touch Him and to be in the crowd (in this reading).  So today we are asked to think carefully about faith.  We are wont to dismiss its power.  There is a danger that we can think about faith or belief in magical terms, as if we simply need to convince ourselves that something will happen, and then it will.  But this is a false reading of our Gospel, and it is a false understanding of the faith of Christ.  What Jesus asks us for is trust, that through all things we have confidence in God, we have confidence in Christ.  Whatever we go through in life, it is not as though our prayers are meant to be a smorgasbord of orders for what we desire, although it is good to be entirely honest and heartfelt in prayer.  Rather, we trust our prayers to God, we seek God's will, and we shore up that faith that whatever we go through, if we can do it within the energy of our faith, we will come out the other side better, improved, more deeply shaped and formed in God's image.  Ultimately, faith is placing a deeper and deeper trust in and reliance on God.  We don't know the outcome of all circumstances.  We don't know what obstacles will express themselves in our lives, and we can't control the happiness or unhappiness that others may bring to us.  But what we do know is that we have the means and the power to shore up our faith, and that we are taught and told to do so by Christ.  We do know that He is present, that God knows our calls to God, and our needs before we ask (Matthew 6:8).  God knows the demands of all the world, and what we think we need (Matthew 6:32, Luke 12:30).  But what we are asked is for faith, so that God may always make a connection with us, and respond to our deepest hope, creating in us an image in God's likeness, growing us in our strength and in our capabilities, building us up as citizens in God's kingdom, helping us to bear the fruit God asks of us in God's desire to make of us His true children.  Let us ask ourselves today what we are doing to shore up our own faith.  Are we shutting off things in media we don't need to hear?  Are we staying away from whatever it is that would make us feel hopeless?  Are we countering negativity with the serious and positive realism that Christ always asks and always shows?  Are we making best use of this time?  Are we being pragmatic in accepting the challenges that God brings, and meeting them in faith?  Let us consider all the ways in which our faith can be improved, and serve us better in so doing in our lives.  Let us remember all the forms of prayer available and not leave out whatever is possible - no matter how far away our churches may be right now.  Let us seek out those sources of true hope that remain with us and are offered even more greatly now every day through media and connections the Church uses in this time of our quarantine crisis.  For God's love is ever-present, and God wants us to reach out for it with all of our hearts and minds and souls and strength.  In the sense of what is by now historical traditional Lenten practice, Jesus offers the disciples a great discipline combination for faith:  prayer and fasting.  Let us hear and understand the power and purpose of this time, and put our lives into order through the discipline He teaches. 

He was transfigured before them

Transfiguration, early 15th cent., Theophanes the Greek (1340-1410), from Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Pereslavl-Zalessky. Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.

Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."

- Mark 9:2-13

Yesterday we read that  Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.   Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.  After six days would indicate the seventh day after the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, and that He will suffer as Messiah, that He will be killed and die.  Seven is a number that indicates fullness, completeness, perfection in this sense.  This Transfiguration is a revelation of God, or theophany.  It is also called Metamorphosis in Greek.  Some icons portray the extremely white quality of Jesus' clothing with a tinge of blue, indicating that it is a color such as no launderer on earth can whiten them, meaning a heavenly brilliance, beyond white.  Symbolically, Moses stands for the Law and Elijah the Prophets.   Peter's suggestion to build tabernacles comes from his mind that associates the Feast of Tabernacles (or Feast of the Coming Kingdom) with what is happening, the manifestation of the Kingdom.  In the overshadowing cloud we see also the reminder of the time when Israel dwelt in tabernacles, and God's glory was present before them in a brilliant cloud.  The voice of the Father, the revelation that Christ is the Son, and the brilliant cloud reveal the Holy Trinity.

Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."   It was prophesied that Elijah would return before the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 4:56).  Jesus makes clear that the return of Elijah was fulfilled in John the Baptist, one clothed like Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), but returned in spirit (Matthew 17:10-13).

Let us note that in Jesus' sayings to the disciples, and in their experience, everything to them comes both new and strange.  Our text tells us that they were questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  Think of what things they've been told:  that Jesus will die, that He will even rise from the dead.  Could these things even have any meaning to them?  In yesterday's reading, we read that they were told that each one must take up his cross.  How can they possibly be hearing these sayings, these words, at the time that they are given?  If we think about it, the image of the cross must have been terrifying indeed, known only as the worst instrument of human suffering, the Roman method of crucifixion.  Jesus' sayings, now familiar to us, were nothing of the sort to the original disciples.  And we can see in the text that they can make nothing of His saying about rising from the dead.  Some commentaries say that the Transfiguration is given as an experience to these disciples who form Jesus' closest group of faithful in order for them to remember this incident throughout the terrible and frightening experiences which are coming.  In this way, they will know that whatever unfolds through the future will have not been unforeseen but deliberate, that Christ will not be sent unwillingly to His death.  They will come to understand the truth about the fullness of His divine identity, they will be able to make sense of the events that come, including Resurrection.  They will be able to lead their brothers and sisters through what comes to pass, because their own faith will be strong enough to do so.  Let us consider our own faith at this time.  Some of us might be tempted to think that God has abandoned us, and that we are desolate.  We may be stuck for answers to a questioning and doubting public.  We may be dismayed by what we see happening around ourselves, even the role of the Church restricted through social measures of the state.  In some places, clergy is being restricted from visiting the sick in hospital, a heartbreaking and dismaying event for all concerned.  The Eucharist is restricted from us (except that it is given on our behalf by our priests).  What can this mean?  What is this new set of circumstances?  How are we to deal with them?  Perhaps the most crucial thing that we can remember is this experience of the Transfiguration that is being given to the disciples in today's reading.  For it is in this experience of the Transfiguration that memory will be instilled in them for the times to come, and the terrifying persecutions that are on their way.  So we might be similar, and it is time for each one of us to make a habitual practice to shore up our faith, especially in remembering the times when the certain and real experience of the presence of God and the effect of our prayers and faith has been made known to us, and real.  Are there times in your life when you have understood the answer to a prayer?  Have you understood a message of reflection and intuition that tells you a way to go in life, and that upon looking back one can discern was indeed beneficial, and a fateful and good way to turn?  Is there an experience that you have had when God's presence was certain to you?  It is a time when we remember all those things, and like Mary did at the Annunciation, we keep all these things and ponder them in our hearts (Luke 2:19).  It is a time to recall and ponder and nurture ourselves with the things of beauty in our faith, and the things that have stood us in good stead not only in our own lives, but throughout the centuries of the Church.  Let us remind ourselves of God's love, and the times when we have experienced it.  It is a time -- in each Lent -- for nurturing and shoring up our strength in faith, in prayer, in the contemplation not only of what God wants from us, but of God's love for us.  Let us not be afraid.  It is a time for courage and discipline, and for understanding that we, too, are like the disciples.  We are on a journey through our own difficult times, and times of questioning, of not understanding, and of keeping faith.  Let us move forward with Him on the road of His faith, and follow Him.  In the icon above is depicted the Transfiguration, with its blue-tinged light.  As we await the light of the Resurrection, and even experience the sunlight that heralds the spring, let us remember that all His light is always given to us, and will chase away the fears of what we don't yet know or understand.  Let us remember His light that transfigures everything:  even the dreaded Roman cross into an instrument of eternal life.

Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me

 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

- Mark 8:27-9:1

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Jesus, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"  Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  It seems to me to be significant that this region is still one of mixed Gentile and Jewish population, with lots of Greek and Roman history and influence.  Let us note also that this scene takes place on the road, for our journey of faith with Christ is also on a road, as Jesus says He is "the way, the truth, and the life" (the word translated as "way" meaning road in Greek; see John 14:6).  My study bible says that "who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, as this is the question that in effect defines Christianity.  

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  After Peter's confession, Jesus starts to reveal to the disciples the real nature of His messiahship, the mystery of His Passion.  My study bible says that it was expected that the Messiah would reign forever, so the idea that Christ would die was perplexing to Peter and remained scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  Peter unwitting speaks for Satan, it says, since the devil does not want Christ to fulfill His mission and save mankind through suffering and death -- and that mission is ongoing in the world.

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."  We should remember that for Jesus' immediate listeners, the cross was a dreaded instrument of Roman punishment.  So the shocking nature of what He has to say should sink down into us, as well as preparing the disciples and all His followers for what is to come.  Through Christ's Passion, the cross becomes a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  My study bible says that we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  To accept this suffering, it says, is not a punishment, nor an end in itself, but rather it is a means to overcome the fallen world for the sake of the Kingdom, and to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24). 

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  My study bible says that Christ's question, "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?" emphasizes the total foolishness of accumulating worldly wealth or power, for none of this can redeem a fallen soul, nor benefit someone in the life to come. 

And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."   In the events that follow (verses 2-13), the reference to those who will witness the Transfiguration can be clearly seen in Jesus' words here.  But it equally applies to those in each generation for whom the experience of the presence of God's kingdom is a part of their lives.

In today's reading, Jesus emphasizes sacrifice as part and parcel of the calling to be a Christian.  Taking up one's cross is not advocated, as my study bible says, for the sake of sacrifice alone, in and of itself.  It is a false understanding to assume that any sacrifice in general is nominally "good" -- as we can sacrifice for all the wrong things as well, and convince ourselves that we are somehow virtuous in so doing.  No, this is a sacrifice referenced within a very particular context, and that context is Christ's own Passion which He will undergo, setting the example for all of us.  Christ's sacrifice is for a very particular and important reason, a thread running through everything in His life and ministry.  We read it in John's Gospel:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:16-17).   And we read it here:  "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" (John 15:13).  Jesus has a mission, and He gives true form to an understanding of heroism.  Sacrifice is not about patting oneself on the back, or self-aggrandizement, or a virtue in and of itself.  Sacrifice is about the willingness to forgo and forbear for the sake of something grander, bigger, and essentially good for all.  Therefore, the sacrifice Jesus makes comes from love -- not love of false or bad things, not love of power for its own sake, not love of what is bad for others.  But rather, love for what is good for all, and what serves God's loving purposes in the world.  It is for this that we sacrifice.   It is for the sake of life in the terms in which Christ comes to define abundant life.  In Lent we are asked to make sacrifices so that we prepare and hone our skills and abilities for good choices, for forgoing a temporary comfort in order to keep in mind the things that are more important and to focus on those goals for ourselves.  We make choices in order to discipline ourselves for a focus on the Kingdom and the things to which we really need to pay attention.  We focus especially on what love calls us to.  We ask humility so that we may more fully focus on the things that make for active love.  If we look more closely at the things that St. Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit, we can see how they are linked to the service of love:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).   Each of these virtues enables us to better serve a Kingdom of active love, and they enforce the understanding of how and why and within what embrace we understand the notion of sacrifice and taking up our cross.    So, for today, let us consider what it means to forego the things of this world in order to more fully develop the things of the Kingdom in this world.  How do we express our love for Christ through an active love of struggle in taking up the cross?  Sometimes everything depends upon our willingness to be at His service, and we will find that when we make this choice, all things are added unto us (Matthew 6:33).  Right now, we are all asked to make sacrifices in order to protect one another from the contagion of virus.  This is yet another way to show love for one another.  Let us consider how we may grow more deeply in our faith, especially at this time, for God gives us opportunities even in times of difficulty.  It is the cross, added to any aspect of life, that magnifies and makes possible new things we hadn't considered, and asks us to come up with ways to live life in His light that reflect that light back into the world.  We do not know how all things may work together for good at this time, but there is one sure way for us to find out.  We might become stronger and better for it.  There is one sure thing that is always worth our sacrifice.

Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

- Mark 8:11-26

Yesterday we read that in those days of Christ's ministry, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  My study bible tells us that a sign from heaven indicates a spectacular display of power, some overwhelming "proof" of Christ's divine identity.  It says that the time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, the but these men are hypocrites, who have not recognized the signs which have already been performed because their hearts were hardened.  They ignored the works which were already happening all around them.  Christ seeks faith, not hardened hearts which demand to be convinced against their own willful denial.

And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it that you do not understand?"   My study bible tells us that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12), and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, my study bible reminds us, "leaven" is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33), and negatively, as Jesus uses it here.  In both cases, leaven is a symbol of a force which is powerful enough (and frequently subtle enough as well) to permeate and to affect everything around it (see 1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  Let us note also that even the the disciples are susceptible to a lack of understanding, and possibly to the "leaven of the Pharisees."

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  My study bible says that the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), and so, therefore, Jesus leads the blind man out of the town in order to heal him -- so that the people would not scoff at the miracle, and in so doing, bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  It is very interesting that the text tells us the blind man was healed in stages.  My study bible says this indicates that the man  had only a small amount of faith, for healing occurs according to one's faith (6:5-6).  But even this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  My study bible adds that Christ's command not to return to the town symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we have been forgiven.

Faith:  how do we think about faith today?  Over the course of the past several days and weeks, the world has watched a pandemic unfold.  We have various ways in which we can approach it, measures we can take, means to combat the virus.  And, of course, there are terrible and sad calculations of harm, loss, suffering, and death which have already resulted.  But let us for today consider the impact of our faith throughout this period.  First of all, it is the time of Lent, and Lent is always and at once a time of internal emphasis, a time of withdrawal for prayer and contemplation, but cutting back on the things which take up our time and energy and interest in order to focus more fully on the things of God.  It is a time for consideration of our own behaviors:  what we can do better, how we can more potently develop our own discipline and discernment.  It is a time to consider what our responsibility is in terms of our own behavior, and how we can improve.  This is also called repentance, for repentance indicates simply change, and change for the better.  It is a time to consider how we might shape up, and put into action the things to which we're called by God, and within the space of dialogue in our prayer time, both in corporate worship (such as it is in these days, possibly virtually and online) and in the private place where our Father in the secret place sees in secret (Matthew 6:6).  It is a time for the cultivation of both prudence and discernment.  It is a time when we watch what we say, what we watch, and the things to which we're willing to pay attention.  Most of all, we must try to cultivate our faith, if we pay any attention at all to the things discussed and which Jesus' actions and words teach in today's reading.  For today is a reading that particularly emphasizes the connection between the existence of our faith (and its quality), and the positive outcomes that we so desire.  For those without faith, life looks increasingly dire.  Material outcomes are always dismaying.  Potentials which are contained in what remains possible are highly likely to be distorted to the point of non-existence.  Hope is not something which a lack of faith puts much stock in.  And where is God's love and guidance to be found except in faith?  It is faith that encourages us to always keep trying, through all things, to not give up hope, to seek God's positive will and possibilities even in the midst of what is bleak, and to carry on with our proper discipline even when others seem to discourage all possible hope.  For our Lenten practices, let us be even more diligent in putting into place our discipline at this time, especially that of regular prayer.  St. John Chrysostom, in his famous Homilies on the Statues, given in a period of Lent in the fifth century, reminds us that at this time we fast from all kinds of things, and not simply food.  We fast from all the things that are unhelpful to faith and therefore to our mental discipline and courage at this time.  He said, "For let not the mouth only fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies."  He meant that we fast from envy, from spreading gossip, from going places where we should not be going, from grasping and avarice, and all the things we need to put a watch on for ourselves.  At this time, let us consider that, in addition to gossip, we should fast from dire prediction of woe or the fainthearted feeling that this will not pass.  Already there is good news in many places of the rates of epidemic infection dying down, new hospitalizations reduced, and possible helpful drugs tested.  Above all, let us remember that in our reading today, not even Jesus could do any good work where there was not faith present.  Even Christ takes away the blind man from the town in order to shore up the faith necessary for his healing.  Let us remember, perhaps especially, His warning to the disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.  This is the leaven that demands proof for faith, that demands to be convinced even as it offers endless rejections.   This is the leaven of the hard-heartedness that does not rejoice at healing, at possibilities for well-being, and quite possibly seeks failure in order to defeat hope and enact secret agendas that benefit from calamity.  Let us not, also, harden our hearts.  Let us pay attention and be vigilant!

I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat

 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

- Mark 8:1-10

Yesterday we read that, after a confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees,  Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.  Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.  Once again, we are to understand that by now in His ministry, great multitudes follow Jesus.  This particular crowd of people has continued with Him for three days, so that they are out of whatever food they may have brought with them.   We also see expressed Jesus compassion for them.  This is yet another distinct feeding in the wilderness from the previous (see this reading).  My study bible notes the symbolic meanings hidden in this particular incident that differ from the previous:  In the first instance, there were five loaves; here there are seven.  Five symbolizes the Law; seven symbolizes completeness and here, it says, indicates spiritual perfection.  So, in the first instance, Christ revealed Himself as fulfilling the Law, and here He shows that it is He who grants spiritual perfection, an act of grace.  Telling us symbolically of the significance of this second feeding in the wilderness is the detail that the crowds have been with Him three days, the number of days He will rest in the tomb before Resurrection.   My study bible adds that participation in His perfection can only come through being united to Christ's death (see Romans 6:3-5).  The number 4,000 is an expanded version of four, which frequently symbolizes human identity and the world, here transforming what that will mean:  the four points of the Cross most notably as union of Trinity and human being in the person of Jesus.

Jesus' second feeding in the wilderness shows signs that this is a new thing that has happened in the world.  It is beyond simply Christ's fulfillment of the Law.  Something new is here, something is expanded, like the new wineskins necessary to hold the new wine (Mark 2:22).   The three days "germination" of these crowds being with Him in faith give us a portrayal of the three days Christ Himself will be in the tomb and with those in Hades before Resurrection.  As we have noted in the previous reading, Jesus has now been traveling in Gentile regions, so these crowds are possibly Jews mixed with Gentiles who follow.  His ministry has apparently taken surprising turns -- even surprising to Jesus, such as the Syro-Phoenician woman in yesterday's reading, in that place where He thought He could remain hidden in a house, and therefore withdrawn from ministry for a time.  All of these things can be taken as signs of Resurrection, signs of our spring and of Easter, these little glimmers of something new blossoming that is unexpected.  It is like the time we are in now, as we await Easter, when we begin to see the blooming of buds and bulbs underground springing up daffodils, purple crocus, lilies of every kind.  As we see signs of spring, and we are amid a worldwide quarantine, effectively asking us all to remain "underground" for this time, let us consider the signs God brings us of eventual Resurrection and Easter.  The bulbs give their flowers, emerging from underground, especially lilies which portend of Resurrection.  We, as Christians, must remember our surprising Lord and His ministry.  Who can feed those in the wilderness?  Who can multiply what we have?  Who gives us hope?  Who defies everything, every odd, every certainty of this world, even death?  Our Lord does that, and His surprising, expanding ministry full of new signs of new things.  Let us remember that this is what our prayers are for, to draw upon this surprising quality of our Lord and our faith -- this renewal and new things that will defy every odd and surprise us.  In the Revelation, the Lord says, "Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:5).  In the tense of the original Greek, the literal meaning of that statement is, "I am always making all things new."  This tells us something crucial, that is reflected in today's reading:  that the new is something that typifies Christ's ministry, wherever it may be.  Just as the events in the Gospels reflect the need for an expanding "wineskin" to contain all the new things that are happening and growing, so it remains true where Christ is present in our lives, and in our world.  In our own every day experience in the Church, the saints of all measure, personality, place, and origin confirm the ever-expanding nature of what we understand to be God's work in the world, and our own personal experience in prayer and personal change may also confirm the surprising reality of God's bringing newness to us as well.  Let us consider what Christ's expanding ministry fulfills for us.  How do we become fed?  What are the surprising things that feed you in your own "wilderness" today?  As we are all in some sense isolated right now through quarantine, what can you find within that place you go to pray and experience your faith today?  Are there surprising signs of spring and new growth blooming?

Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it

 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

- Mark 7:24-37

On Saturday we read that the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Jesus, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:  'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'  For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."  He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- ' (that is, a gift to God), then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."  When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"  When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So he said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"   And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.   As Jesus has recently been under attack by the Pharisees and scribes (see Saturday's reading, above), He withdraws to the Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon, north of Galilee (see this map).  The text makes note for us that Jesus could not be hidden.  It is another important understanding and effect of His ministry, and the working of the Holy Spirit, and God's presence.  This is a story which teaches us, among other things, about the importance of persistence in our faith.  Jesus has not come to this region to preach; as a human being, He wishes to withdraw from the conflicts in Israel, and has no intention to carry on preaching in this Gentile region, as the text makes evident by telling us that He wanted no one to know that He was there.   But God's work and divine will draw this Gentile woman to Him, and she persistently endures even the obstacles Jesus names (such as that He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, as reported in Matthew's version; see Matthew 15:24).  Her persistence wins her favor, and expresses her faith.  In particular, Jesus responds to her resilience in dialogue with Him, which she does in a sense that also conveys her complete humility.

Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."  My study bible makes note of the fact that Jesus sighed.  It says that this is a sign of divine compassion for the sufferings of our fallen human nature.  Again, also, we note that despite Jesus' best efforts to avoid more conflict with the authorities, word of what He does spreads despite Himself:  the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.   My study bible says that Christ's example shows that we mustn't seek acclaim or praise when we do good to others.  However, Theophylact upholds those who disobey Him in this circumstance, and sees them as a good example, as we should proclaim those who have done good to us even if they do not want us to.  Indeed, it is one sign of gratitude.

Let us consider Jesus' work in today's reading.  He goes even where He has not intended, in order to escape from the beginnings of conflict with the authorities who begin to pursue Him, and yet, the ministry follows and is everywhere.  Even this foreign woman demands His help, and reveals her true faith.  The Decapolis is another region with many Gentiles, a place whose name means "Ten Cities" in Greek.  It was a region of much influence of Greek and Roman culture, mixed with the Jews.  And there, too, His fame spreads despite His best efforts.  "Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it."   Jesus' ministry spread despite Himself, His healing spreads far and wide, despite Himself.  It's important, I think, that we understand this aspect of ministry, because without it, there is an important reality we don't come to know.  It is not only true that He is here for everyone, that He has been sent into the world not simply into the best of circumstances, but into the worst, and through all things.  He is sent to be with us.  But faith isn't for the nominal few who form some elite or elect group.  What today's readings show us is that Christ faith is that which gathers "the least of these," those who are outside, those for whom every other avenue of help might not be possible or available.  And this is one aspect of our particular faith that we cannot forget.  Jesus defines family, in an earlier reading, by saying, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."   This does not mean that He rejects His own family, nor family on worldly terms.  But it does define something essential for our understanding of our faith that surpasses and transcends all things.  It means that there is essentially no one left out of possibilities of belonging.  It is simply faith that is the power to bind together, and to heal.  It means truly that Jesus is present even in the places where we think people are left out of the nominal "group."  God expands this ministry beyond even where Jesus' human expectations go; but the chosen are those beyond even Jesus' human understanding of the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  Or perhaps we could more truly say that those belonging to this House are far and away beyond all boundaries we expect or imagine.  Jesus reminds us that no matter how great our understanding of what and where our nominal group is, there are always outsiders, and God is always present to them too.  The only requirement is faith.  Every boundary is to be opened in the realm of faith, hope, and belonging in this House;  every expectation of limits to God's love and grace befuddled and astonished.  All are gathered to this House.  The psalm tells us, "Though my mother and father forsake me, the Lord will take me up" (Psalm 27:10). Let our eyes and ears be opened, and our mouths be full of praise.  God's hope will not be stopped.