While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light

 

 "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them. 

 

- John 12:27–36 

 

Yesterday we read that there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the  Passover feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

 

  "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour."  My study bible refers us to the Synoptic Gospels which give us the story of Christ's agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.  In this statement, we can read of Jesus' troubled soul.  But nevertheless according to His divine nature, He willingly goes to His death -- which He calls His purpose at this hour.   My study bible calls it a mark of humanity to abhor death, hence Christ's troubled soul -- but He is without sin and completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's divine will. 

 

"Father, glorify Your name."   Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."   The Father's name is an extension of His Person, my study bible explains.  It says that the Son's death completes the purpose of the Father, and shows His love for all, thereby glorifying Him.   Christ effectively affirms to the Father, "Lead Me to the Cross."  My study bible calls this the Lord's divine response to the human prompting to avoid it.  The Father's response is a reference to the sign which Christ has performed throughout this Gospel, and also to His death and Resurrection to come.

Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake."  Although the Father spoke clearly, my study bible remarks that some people heard indistinct sounds like thunder because they lacked faith.  Those with a little faith heard the words but did not know the source, and believed it was an angel.   But the disciples knew the Father Himself had spoken; note that Jesus says it was "for your sake," speaking to the disciples.

"Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  "Lifted up" is a reference to Christ being hung on the Cross, as Jesus also used this phrase in John 3:14-15, 8:28.  This death will bring salvation to all peoples, and at the same time will render judgment on the faithless, and destroy once and for all the power of Satan, the ruler of this world. 

The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.   My study bible says that once again, here the light refers to Christ (see also John 1:4-9, 8:12).   It says that there are many layers of meaning to Christ's teaching here.  First, He will be completing His public ministry shortly.  Moreover, our own lives are quite limited.  We have simply have a short time to repent and believe in Christ before death.  And finally, the return of Christ, or His second coming, is but a little while when it is compared to eternity.

In today's reading, Jesus says, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."   This continues the theme of earlier statements He's made as He has walked this road toward Jerusalem and this moment in the Gospel.   When the disciples asked him about the man born blind, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"  Jesus replied, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.  I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."   As Jesus set Himself for the journey to Lazarus in Bethany, the disciples feared going into Judea, asking Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."   Each of these statements, including the one in today's reading, indicate a "light" that illumines one's path in life.  Specifically, this is a spiritual light of wisdom from Christ, and would also include the enlightenment or guidance of the Spirit in our lives, the light of our faith.  Let us note that each time Jesus has used this phrase, it has been a time of courting danger and conflict, and specifically a deathly threat of hostility from the religious leaders who oppose Him.  Jesus is not simply speaking in sweet and kind terms about some kind of charmed or enchanted life and an easy road free from cares.  If we but look at the setting, and the road that He is on, the path He is taking, it suggests a much deeper and powerful story of courage and decisive action.  Jesus, in effect, walks toward the Cross, negotiating a road for Himself of certain conflict with the powerful religious leaders, and in the name of the truth.  His statements about the light make it clear that He does not walk this road from simple human courage or conviction, but because His will is united with the Father, and that in all things, He is united and cooperates with the Father.  He is following a higher and greater plan, serving some greater purpose -- and His death will have a meaning and power that no other will have.  Through His being "lifted up" on the Cross, He will conquer death itself -- and hence, Satan -- for all of us.  There is a lighted path He is following because even as He goes into the deepest darkness, and incurs an implacable wall of refusal for His message, fueled by both greed and envy, He goes in the light of God's promise, a purpose, and a mission.  This is not a grand idea He dreamed up to give Himself power or fueled dreams of the ego.  It is, instead, a purpose given by God, lived in the light of God's spirit and truth.  It's not a conventional story of warfare, or heroic battles on a battlefield, storms at sea, or climbing mountains and the inherent dangers of this world's natural forces.  It is, instead, a journey set by the light of God, the same light that is Christ the Son, and that of the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  And this is the lighted path which He invites all of us on when He tells us to take up our own crosses and follow Him.  This world will always present to us its dangers, and while Christ has conquered death and Satan, these forces still present themselves as active in our world.  It is through His light that we have the power to walk also and join the very particular fight Christ engaged in this world, from the very beginning of His ministry in going to the desert and tempted for forty days, and right through to the end.  But the difference for us is that we now have His light in which to engage and fight the good fight of faith, as St. Paul has indicated to us:  "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses" - 1 Timothy 6:12.  We are not promised a simple or charmed life, but rather one in which we may also walk according to the light.  We still walk in a world which has darkness in it, and one in which the light shines in the darkness, even though the darkness does not comprehend the light.  But we are invited into what St. Paul terms that "good fight," and to follow in Christ's footsteps with our own cross.  In today's reading, Jesus tells us plainly:  "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out."  Let us understand these things on the terms that Jesus has set for us, as we are invited into His courage, humility before God, and greater purpose for which we live and find our own self-expression, even for our own talents and gifts.  We are invited into this judgment, and the casting out of the ruler of this world.  But absolute humility is necessary for this fight, and the light of the guidance of Christ.  Lent is particularly a time to consider this paradox or dilemma, and Holy Week shows it to us in its starkest terms.  But here we are, nevertheless, in the light where we can walk.  And for this light we pray to shine in our lives, even among the darkness, and so that we may all become sons of light.

The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified

 

 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

 

- John 12:20–26 

 

Yesterday we read that a great many of those among the ruling parties of the temple knew that Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of those from Jerusalem went away and believed in Jesus.  The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

 

 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.   But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."  My study bible comments that these Greeks were Gentiles who believed in the God of Abraham, who came to participate in the Passover feast.  That they are still called "Greeks" shows that they were not yet full converts to Judaism.  It says that as Jesus had taught His disciples not to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5, 15:24), the disciples approach Him before bringing these inquirers.  Glorified is a reference to Christ's death on the Cross.  My study bible adds that His obscure response indicates two things.  First, the answer that these Greeks (or rather, Greek-speakers) are seeking will not be found in words, but rather in the Cross.  And second, that the Cross will be the event that opens all manner of grace to the Gentiles.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."  The image of the grain of wheat dying in order to bear fruit gives a particular significance to Christ's death on the Cross:  that it will give life to the world (John 6:51).  My study bible explains a custom common to many Orthodox churches:  boiled wheat is sweetened and spiced, and served at memorial services for the departed faithful, in order to affirm God's promise that those who have died in Christ will rise again to life.

 

 Christ's powerful words in today's reading are probably the most profound in the Gospel, in terms of not just their significance and meaning. but the power of the events themselves that Christ describes here, the life that comes from His sacrifice on the Cross.  The grain of wheat is a powerful image:  a tiny grain, falling to the ground, broken.  It dies, but it does so to give life, and life abundantly.  As Jesus says, it produces much grain.  This is an unshakeable image.   All too often, we tend to think that our heroes are just that:  images to look up to, people who sacrificed for an entire group, leaders who stand head and shoulders above everyone else.  But Jesus does not stop with the powerful description of His own death and sacrifice, and its abundant life-giving effects.  It is of the utmost importance for us all to understand that Jesus does not stop there.  He goes on to say, "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me."   In other words, this gospel message is not just about the story of Jesus, the story of Christ's Passion, the story of His sacrifice and the abundant resurrectional life He offers to all of us through these events.  His command follows His statement about Himself with the illustration of the grain of wheat.  He asks us to follow.  We are the ones who must put into action our own willingness to give up the life of the "worldly" that is offered to us, and take up instead the life that Christ offers in His own example, that of following in love and dedication to God.  This is not only about Jesus, in some powerful sense.  It is rather that Jesus calls us to take up the same life.  His life may have led to the powerful images we have, to the depths of death and suffering, and transfiguring all of it so that we might have an abundance of life that wasn't possible without Christ's mission.  But Christ's mission into this world, the Incarnation and life of the Son as Jesus Christ, isn't only about Jesus.  We miss His point entirely if that is where we leave it.  Christ's mission is about finding disciples, those who are willing to take up our own cross and follow Him.  He says, "Where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."   We are not asked simply to worship, honor, and behold Christ as Messiah and Savior.  We are asked to live life as He did, to understand the point of sacrifice for the same purpose, in the same love, which produces the same fruits.  There is only one Christ, of that there is no doubt, and only one Son.  But He calls each of us to follow in the same dedication, and promises that we, also, will produce "much grain."  We are meant to participate in His life, the one He offers to us in the Eucharist.   Like Christ, we might not be able to see all of the fruits of our lives, or even live to see them, but nevertheless, we are promised the same kind of action and purpose, should we decide to take up our own crosses.  When we lose sight of the productiveness and creativity hidden in sacrifice, then we lose our way, and we enter into a losing battle based on selfishness, and what looks expeditious or opportunistic.  We lose the power hidden in our faith and the teachings of Jesus.  But no matter what the project, life asks of us sacrifices in the name of what is higher or better, and for the purpose of that which is greater.  If you raise a child, it asks sacrifice to do a good job.  If you need to complete a creative project, one must give up one's time and effort that could be put into something else.  A loving marriage asks mutual sacrifice of both persons.  In the end, one must weigh the greater goal against the temporal sacrifice.  When we lose sight of the meanings in suffering, and the transcendent values to be found there, then we lose our way with Christ.  The love in the sacrifice on the Cross cannot be forgone or unseen and still be Christian.  Our faith asks of us a particular effort, and that effort is simply to weigh in our lives everyday the options before us.  What is worthy of us, and what is not?  What are the higher goals?  Whom do we serve?  There is no loss in this sacrifice, only a choice to be made for what produces more fruit, more grain, and especially a higher and greater love.  Let us note that Jesus begins by putting all of this under the umbrella of glory:  "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."  We are invited into this fellowship to share in that glory, and there is where we should see our own crosses, our own sacrifices for the higher and greater meaning of our lives.

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!

 

 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:

"Hosanna!

'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'

The King of Israel!"

Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:

"Fear not, daughter of Zion;

Behold, your King is coming,

Sitting on a donkey's colt."

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"

 

- John 12:9–19 

 

On Saturday we read that when Martha had finished speaking with Jesus, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."   Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"   Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there has been a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.  But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.  The lectionary has skipped over John 11:45-57, in which the plot to put Jesus to death unfolded as a result of the raising of Lazarus, and also John 12:1-8, which gave us the story of Mary's anointing of Christ's feet, and the objections of Lazarus, plus the rebuke by Jesus to those who criticized Mary.  The latter took place at the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in Bethany, thus is the setting for the beginning of today's reading, which notes that a great many of the Jews knew that He was there.  In John's Gospel, we remember that the term "the Jews" is used as a political term, to denote the members of the ruling Council of the religious leadership in the temple.  Bethany is close to Jerusalem, and there had been those also from Jerusalem who had come to mourn Lazarus' death with Martha and Mary, so the story of the resurrection of Lazarus was very well-known.  In these verses, Lazarus sums up the effect of that seventh and final sign in this Gospel:  that the chief priests now plot to kill both Jesus and Lazarus because of the profound effect of this miracle  and the faith in Jesus it engendered.

 

 The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!"  Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."   Today's reading describes Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, celebrated as Palm Sunday, which most Churches of the West (and the Armenian Apostolic Church. a branch of the Oriental Orthodox) celebrated yesterday.  My study bible comments that by Christ's time, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah, who would delivers the Jews from Roman control, and reestablish David's kingdom.  By riding on a young donkey, Jesus expresses that He has not come to establish an earthly kingdom.  A donkey's colt is a sign of humility and peace (see Zechariah 9:9, from John quotes here).  This entrance into the Holy City is a declaration of the establishment of the Kingdom of God, my study bible adds.  It's also a promise of the final entrance by Christ into the heavenly Jerusalem, with all believers and His acceptance of the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).   The people's cry, "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  The King of Israel!" was associated with messianic expectation.  It was recited daily for six days during the Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom), and seven times on the seventh day as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"   See Psalm 118:25-26.

His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!"   John links the final sign given in the Gospel, the raising of Lazarus, directly to this event of Palm Sunday (Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and the people's reception of Him as Messiah).   Note that the people from Jerusalem who had come to mourn with Mary and Martha are mentioned here by John as those who bore witness, and therefore the people also met Him.  But the Pharisees respond with their own concern:  "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!" 

John's Gospel has expressed to us the growing separation within the Jewish population regarding Jesus and people's opinions about Jesus.  This hasn't simply been an easy "black-and-white" division between those who think Jesus is Messiah and those who don't.  There have been a variety of opinions shown to be held among the people regarding Jesus, which developed as His ministry expanded, and as the people become also gradually more aware of the growing hostility of the religious leaders to Christ.  We can see this expressed through the events of the various religious festivals in Jerusalem attended by Jesus, and the controversies that surround His teaching and the miracles such as healings that He performs, the objections of the religious leaders, and the opinions of the people.  But all of these events, these divisions, and the growing hostility of the religious leaders coupled with the responses of both the people and the leaders to Jesus' signs or miracles culminates here, at the beginning of what we call Holy Week.  After having seen the stupendous sign of raising Lazarus from the dead -- and of Lazarus' death, which came four days before this event, there was no doubt possible -- clear divisions are drawn.  The people welcome Jesus to Jerusalem as those who were with Mary and Martha who came from Jerusalem witnessed the raising of Lazarus, and in turn they witnessed to the people in Jerusalem.  As at the Feast of Tabernacles, the people wave palm branches to welcome the Messiah, and what they no doubt expect will be a revival of the kingdom of David and the good fortunes of Israel.  But the contradictory opinion of the religious leaders is now set in stone, so to speak.  That is, of those who oppose Jesus, which we're told includes the most influential among the Pharisees, although there are those Pharisees who follow Christ, such as Nicodemus (see John 3:1-21, 7:45-52).  This powerful single unifying event, the raising of Lazarus, marks the final separation of the people who believe Jesus is the Christ from those who implacably oppose Him, and His threat to their places of power and authority.  What that does for those of us who read or hear the Gospel is to give us an important picture of reality that is not sugar-coated or sanitized.  It allows us to observe human nature in response to the unexpected, even to the things of God, and in continuation of the Old Testament Scriptures that came before.  As with the people of the Old Testament, the people demand kings of a certain kind, they want a life of a certain kind, they reject the word of God, they reject those who bear that word into the world.  Elsewhere we read Jesus' lament over Jerusalem:   "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" (Matthew 23:37), and the parables we're given that speak of the repeated rejection of those who were sent by God, especially the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, given in Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19.  But in John's Gospel, we're given the more complete sense of the unfolding of the responses to Jesus, including the many misunderstandings, the confusion at the use of the language with which Jesus illustrates the concepts He gives, drawn from every day experience, but meant to illumine the mysteries He brings into the world to give to human beings.  All through these many conflicts, confusions, and misunderstandings, the Pharisees have stuck steadfastly with accusations of violating the Sabbath rule, with various other ways by which they've rejected Jesus (such as mistakenly claiming that no prophet ever came from Galilee in John 7:52), through vilifying His signs as being performed through the power of demons, and condemning and casting out the man blind from birth who received his sight (see this reading), and now, in today's reading, seeking also to put Lazarus to death as witness to Jesus' final sign.  Through all of these parts of the stories given in the text, we have also the responses of Christ's disciples, who most often really do not fully understand what is happening, and yet they continue in faith.  After many of Jesus' disciples deserted Him over His teaching on eating His body and drinking His blood, Jesus asked the Twelve whether they would leave also.  Peter responded, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  In today's reading, we're told of these events of this day that His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.   So the Gospel gives us the full panoply of responses to Christ.  They're not at all uniform; some understand better than others.  Often people begin in some faith but must continue in order to grow in that faith and come to fuller understanding.  The religious leadership among the Pharisees become more and more implacably bound against Christ to the point of deciding to destroy Him and plotting crucifixion.  The people are baffled, wearied, afraid to talk in front of the leaders, and they dispute among themselves.  There is nowhere we can find an absolute clear and pure response, except through faith, and that remains a faith that wavers, builds, shares doubts, even denials.  Nevertheless, the Gospel affirms Christ's identity for us right from the beginning, that He is the Logos, the Son.  Let us take into account the wisdom that can put on display for us all of the responses and opinions, and all of the confusion -- even the confusion and paradox of this day when the people are certain that Jesus is the Messiah who will reestablish David's kingdom and restore the worldly fortunes of the kingdom of Israel.  Let us remember that the Gospel gives us the fullness of the responses of the people, the fullness of the response of the religious leaders, the fullness of the truth of Christ.  Nothing is left out or merely alluded.  Nothing is made merely easy or simple.   There is no "clean up" of unfortunate facts and misunderstandings.  We are invited into this story for all that it is worth, and more -- for what we ourselves will find in it for ourselves.   And with all of that, we will say as well, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!"

Jesus wept

 

Resurrection of Lazarus, 12th century.  St. Katherine's Monastery, Sinai

 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."  

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"  

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there has been a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."  Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"  And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

 

- John 11:28–44 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were told that a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."   Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

 

  And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you."  As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him.  Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him.  Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there."   Once again, we note the differences in personalities distinctively set out for us in the Gospel between Mary and her sister Martha.  Martha has gone out to greet Jesus as He approaches their home in Bethany (see the reading above from yesterday); she is the sister more inclined to active service.  But Mary has sat in the proper tradition for mourning, inside the house, and awaits Christ's call, which Martha now relays to her, and to which she arose quickly and came to Him.   Note that the text indicates there are those from the ruling parties in Jerusalem ("the Jews," used as a political term in this Gospel to designate the religious leaders).  They have come to mourn with the sisters, indicating Lazarus and his sisters form a prominent family. 

Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."  Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.  And He said, "Where have you laid him?"  They said to Him, "Lord, come and see."  Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"   Mary approaches Jesus with the identical words used by Martha in verse 21, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."   My study bible remarks that while Jesus engaged Martha with words, here He engages Mary with deeds -- the raising of her brother from the dead, which follows in subsequent verses.  But first John's Gospel emphasizes that Jesus wept, and groaned in spirit, to show that He had fully taken on human nature and was subject to grief as any person would be.  My study bible comments that weeping is the natural response to the tragedy of death.  

Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb.  It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.  Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there has been a stench, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  Although Martha's faith had increased (see yesterday's reading, above), she still understood neither Christ's will nor His power.  The spices and oils used to anoint a dead body would only hold the stench of decomposition at bay for a short time, my study bible comments, and Lazarus has now been dead for four days.  In many icons of this seventh of seven miracles or signs in John's Gospel, bystanders are shown covering their noses (as we can see in the icon from St. Katherine's Monastery, above).  This illustrates both the reality of Lazarus' corrupted flesh and also the fact that many did not believe Christ could raise the dead.  

Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.  And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.  And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."   My study bible notes that in order to show His divine will was one with the Father's and that His human will was freely subject in every way to the Father's, Christ prays aloud for the sake of the people.  Let us not forget those who have come from Jerusalem are also present to witness what happens.  

Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"   My study bible comments that Christ calls Lazarus forth, not in the name of the Father, but rather by His own authority.  This shows the people that while Christ came from the Father, He fully possesses divine authority in Himself.  

And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.  Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."  Many patristic commenters on this passage view Lazarus bound in his graveclothes as an indication that he will need them again.  In other words, Lazarus' resurrection continues an earthly life which will again end in death.  The Savior's graveclothes, by contrast, would remain in the tomb (John 20:5-7).  Unlike that of Lazarus, the Resurrection of Christ transfigures human nature; He will never die again.  My study bible adds that this sign not only prepared the disciples to believe in Christ's Resurrection, but in the words of the Orthodox hymn for the day, it also "confirmed the universal resurrection," proving that Christ has the power to fulfill the promise given to Ezekiel that all the dead will one day rise (Ezekiel 37:1-13).  

Christ's resurrection of Lazarus is a type of prefiguration of His own Resurrection, but it is a purely human one, so to speak.  While the Resurrection will confer eternal life, as my study bible points out, Lazarus' resurrection will mean he will live out a natural human life and once more die a natural human death.  But nevertheless, this life in the tomb is illustrative of our faith and its effects upon us while we still live an earthly life.  That Lazarus walks out of the tomb "bound hand and foot with graveclothes" symbolizes for us the type of binding by death, which is the last weapon of the evil one, as the Church Fathers might put it.  Death is the "last enemy" in this understanding, which Jesus, as Liberator or Savior (for the titles have the same connotation from the Old Testament Scriptures) will destroy for us with His Resurrection.  Lazarus is bound hand and foot, but it is Christ, our Liberator, who will defeat the enemy who has symbolically bound Lazarus, and who gives the command, "Loose him, and let him go."  In the story of Lazarus, nothing is sanitized.  Death is clearly looked at openly, even to the point of bearing with the stench of decomposition, and Lazarus walks out of the tomb bound in his graveclothes.  There is no flinching away from the reality of this world here, for with the light of Christ we go forward even into the darkness.  But it is that light that shines so that we may see life where we could not expect it with eyes shaded in the darkness of a purely materialistic perception.  In the modern world, we tend to have death and illness put away from us, unlike in the ancient world.  Those who have longterm illness may be housed in places that specialize in dealing with their conditions.  The same is true for conditions which affect the mind, or the conditions of the elderly.  There are, of course, important reasons for this.  But it was not always so, as care was focused in the home.   As a result of this separation, it seems to me, many have difficulty seeing the vital life that is still in a diseased body, or of a person who may be dying.  I experienced this in the care of my own mother, who for the last years of her life had Alzheimer's disease/dementia.  For her it took the form mainly of losing speech; that is, of finding the words to express herself, although she was mentally alert.  But I found, as she lost her highly articulate capacity for self-expression, that more of her persona shone through, and especially aspects of herself as a child.  I do not mean that she was childish, only that the personality of the child she had been shone through to me.  As daughter became mother, I found how much I delighted in and loved that child.  I could always make her laugh; and as we are mother and daughter, I could still understand, and often finish her sentences for her.  Communication is essential with this disease, ironically enough; it is social life that delays deeper onset, and fortunately we could still give her that.  But if I had eyes that could only see her deterioration from the person she had been, I would not have been able to see the beautiful life still inside of her, the person who delighted in beauty until the day she died, who could be moved by a sunset, or the words of Scripture, or by prayer, or a beautiful garden.  She could still delight in a delicious meal, and I marveled how she held herself elegantly.  She needed and fully appreciated care, the steamy healing of a warm shower on her back, the relaxation of a backrub.  She remained loving to her friends, enjoyed going out for a meal or coffee and a sweet, and retained her interest in people, even strangers and small children.  All of these aspects of beauty and life she retained through her illness, and quite fortunately her death was peaceful.   My faith gave me the vision of these good things of life present and vital in her, and, seemingly miraculously, I and others who were her friends and loved her watched her grow in her faith, and deepen her appreciation of Christ.   Those of her loved ones who did not share this faith were seemingly unable to cope with her changed condition, could not accept her as she was and still see what goodness and life was there, had no patience for her physical deterioration, and seemingly could not bear to be present for her last days, even telling me that for them she had passed long before.  The story of Lazarus being released from the tomb puts me in mind of the gift of my faith to see life, to know that Resurrection is present in each moment because of the values and sight that Christ has given to us.  The love of Lazarus and his sisters speaks so loudly in today's reading.  Jesus' tears as He wept testifies to that circle of love among these friends.  That love is inseparable from what we know as life, and it gives us eyes to see with, as Christ illumines our way to know that there is life in the tomb, for He has liberated us all from death.  We must remember that He is the One who shone the light in the darkness, even if the darkness did not comprehend (John 1:4-5), and we are to follow Him.  Jesus did not weep out of mere sadness, but out of love, an affirmation of life.  Let us not forget.

If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him

 

 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."  When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."  

 

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."   Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.  Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."  Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."  Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."

 

- John 11:1-27 

 

As we begun yesterday's reading, the topic was still the events which took place at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10:21).  As a result of Jesus' responses to their questions, we read, there was a division again among the religious leaders because of His sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.  I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.   And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there. 

Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.  It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick."   Today we begin reading in John chapter 11, in which occurs the seventh sign of seven in John's Gospel.  That is, the raising or resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus' most astonishing sign.  It is the sign which will seal the decision of the Jewish authorities to put Jesus to death.  This event is usually celebrated on the Saturday before Palm Sunday (for most Churches, especially in the West, this day is tomorrow).  Bethany is on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem.  Lazarus is the same name as "Eleazar," which literally means "God helps." 

 

When Jesus heard that, He said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."   My study bible comments that this message is sent back to Mary and Martha to strengthen them so that when Lazarus dies, they may take confidence in Christ's words.  The Son of God being glorified must not be understood to be the cause of the death of Lazarus.  Rather, this indicates that Christ will be glorified as a result of Lazarus' death (which happened because of natural illness) and Lazarus' being raised from the dead.  Let us understand clearly the parallel with Jesus' sixth sign, which was performed at the Feast of Tabernacles, when He healed a man blind from birth.  On that occasion, Jesus' disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?   Jesus' response was to declare, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  Jesus' response to Mary and Martha shows a similar understanding in an occasion of great sorrow or loss.

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.  So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.  Then after this He said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again."  The disciples said to Him "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone you, and are You going there again?"  Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."   Another paradox:  Jesus delays going to Martha, Mary, and Lazarus in order to assure that Lazarus is dead long enough that the corruption of his body could set in.  This will assure that no one can doubt the miracle -- and the might of God would clearly be seen by all.  The disciples warn of yet another clear danger; the religious leaders have already sought to stone Him, and the town of Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters live is much closer to Jerusalem.  Indeed, there will be those there from Jerusalem who will witness the raising of Lazarus.  But Christ again refers to Himself as the light of this world.  He knows where He is going and why.

These things He said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up."   Then His disciples said, "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well."  However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.  Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe.  Nevertheless let us go to him."  Then Thomas, who is called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  Compare Christ's use of "sleeps" here to Acts 7:60; 1 Corinthians 11:30, 15:6.   My study bible calls Thomas' statement an unwitting prophecy of his own future martyrdom.  It notes that this is also an illustration of the path that all believers must take -- that we die daily to the world for the sake of following Christ (Luke 9:23-24).  

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.   My study bible comments that there existed at that time a rabbinical opinion that the soul lingered about the body for three days.  But after four days, resuscitation would be impossible.  This is another affirmation of the power of the sign which Jesus will do.

Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away.  And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.  As the disciples fears noted, the proximity of Bethany to Jerusalem means that many of those in the religious leadership have joined Martha and Mary in their mourning.  My study bible notes that mourning began on the day of a person's death.  Weeping and wailing would last three days; lamentation would last one week; and general mourning lasted thirty days.

Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.  Now Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You."  Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."   As in the episode in Luke 10:38-42, the two sisters Martha and Mary react differently to Christ's arrival.  Martha is the one who is inclined to active service, and she rushes out to meet Jesus.  But Mary remains in mourning until she is called by Christ.  Sitting, my study bible explains, was the traditional posture when mourning and receiving other mourners (Job 2:8-13, Ezekiel 8:14).   Here, Martha expresses her faith but also indicates a lack of understanding about Christ.  When she says, "if You had been here, my brother would not have died," she shows that she does not fully see that Christ is God, as this indicates she believes He needed to be present in order to heal (contrast this to John 4:46-54).   When she says, "whatever you ask of God, God will give You," she shows that she lacks understanding that Christ possesses full divine authority to act as He wills.  

Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."   Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."  Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life."  This is in order to correct Martha's misunderstanding.  My study bible suggests that He declares His divine authority to raise the dead at the last day, as well as here in this world.  The power of Christ's words is such that Martha is led immediately to her great confession of faith.   My study bible says that Do you believe this? is a question which is directed not just to Martha, but toward all of us.

It's interesting that in this section leading to the resurrection of Lazarus, Jesus' seventh and final sign given during His ministry in John's Gospel, there are several points that seem to be revisited here that have come up earlier in the Gospel with regard to Christ's power.   Once again, the paradoxical understanding of people meets the meanings which Jesus attempts to give to the world, and in particular, to enlighten people regarding Himself.  There is the perplexed use of "sleep" by Thomas, as well as Thomas' inadvertent prophecy of his own martyrdom.  After the Resurrection of Christ, to sleep takes on new meanings for Christians, in expectation of the general Resurrection and particularly within the understanding of the defeat of death by Christ.  Martha indicates that she believes her brother would not have died if Christ had been there, but already we have learned through the second sign given in the Gospel, the healing of the nobleman's son, that Jesus need not be immediately present to effect a healing.  There was also a "preview" of Jesus' knowledge from a distance in the meeting of Nathanael, which prompted an early confession of faith from Nathanael (see this reading).  Moreover, earlier in today's reading and commentary we noted the similar dynamic to the previous extraordinary healing and sign, that of the man blind from birth, in which the disciples express the understanding that someone must have sinned (either "this man" or "his parents") in order for the man to be born blind.  But Jesus responded, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him."  Again, in today's reading, the seeming tragedy of the deadly illness of Lazarus is corrected by Jesus, when He says, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."  It is a way of teaching us that the mourning of this world might be turned to joy through the power of God in some way in our lives.  This, in itself, is suggestive of the very power of resurrection, of life conquering death.  Finally, Jesus' words in today's reading regarding "the light of this world" reflect and expand upon this saying at the healing of the blind man.  Just after He taught the disciples that the man's blindness was so that the glory of God could be revealed through it, He said, "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."   Here in today's reading, He repeats the emphasis:  "Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him."   Jesus is the light, and this is because of His depth of unity with the Father, through whom His steps are guided.  He knows where He is going, even into the danger of the outrage and fear of the religious leaders, who will not be able to withstand the effects of Jesus' seventh sign in the Gospel.  They will most assuredly choose to put Him to death as a result.  But Jesus walks in the light, even as He proceeds into a gathering darkness.  Finally, in this understanding, we go back to the very beginning of the Gospel, which declares, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it" (John 1:4-5).  All of these things are reinforced for us, as they further unfold, so that they can reveal and further illumine the facets of meaning of Christ Himself, and all those things given to us in the Gospel story, in the word.  For we are called upon also to walk in this light, with Christ as our light in the world, even into the very dark corners we may find we inhabit at times.  Christ walks toward danger because He knows where He is going.  This is not an adventure of the sort you might read about in a comic book or even in a heroic epic mythology.  This is a spiritual journey into which Christ is sent, and sent by the Father, in order to bring the light to the darkness, although, as the Gospel teaches, the darkness did not comprehend it.  If we follow in His footsteps, we may find that we are not meant to convince all that is "dark" of the truth of this light, for even the very educated and enlightened religious leaders of Israel were capable of choosing blindness to Christ (while there were many who did not).  No, we may find that we are called to shine that light even where the darkness will not comprehend, but in faith and in accord with the purposes of the light which leads us through prayer and worship.  This seems a paradox to a materialistic mind, but we shouldn't forget all the facets of the truth of Christ's healing which are revealed to us:  He defies all material reality.  He needn't be present physically for a healing to happen.  And for the things we know of God, even time does not stop the presence of God, although we are also bound by time in this world.  So let us understand that to bear the light is not necessarily to solve every problem and correct every ailment or darkness.  Neither will we necessarily change the minds of those who would deliberately choose blindness, darkness.  But we shine the light we are given in order to glorify God, just as did Christ, and the rest is really not up to us.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:13-16).  Like Christ we are to be salt, to retain our "flavor" in faith to Him and the commandments we're given, even to the sacrifices we might be called to make.  But we shine the light He gives so that our Father may be glorified, even as Christ does.  We have confidence that this is so, even when, like Christ, we do not necessarily receive the "praise of men" for doing so, or when the darkness does not comprehend it.

 

 

Is it not written in your law, "I said, 'You are gods'"?

 

 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."  Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 

"I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."  Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  

And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.

 

- John 10:19-42 

 

In our present readings, Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem (John 7:1-10:21), and this is the continuing setting for the beginning of our reading today.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued in His dialogue with the religious leaders, after healing the man blind from birth (the sixth of seven signs given in John's Gospel).  He said, "Most assuredly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers."  Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.  Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  All whoever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door.  If anyone enters by Me he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.  The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.  As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.  And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.  Therefore My father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father." 

 Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.  And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad.  Why do you listen to Him?"  Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon.  Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"  My study bible comments that those who respond in faith are not merely impressed by the signs, but perceive the holiness of Christ's words.  In this statement, "These are not the words of one who has a demon," there is yet another acknowledgement, as runs throughout John's Gospel, of Christ as Logos, the Word, and His relation to all of Scripture, which is also understood to be the Word of God.  "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure" (John 3:34).

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.  And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.  Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt?  If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."   The Feast of Dedication took place approximately three months after the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1-10:21, the section we have just covered).  The Feast of Dedication is also known as "The Festival of Lights" and Hanukkah.   My study bible explains that it commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the Seleucid King Epiphanes desecrated it in 167 BC (see 1 Maccabees 1-4).  At this festival, Israel's past leaders were commemorated -- many of whom were themselves shepherds, a theme Christ has recently expanded upon regarding Himself (see yesterday's reading, above).   The term the Jews is used as a political term in John's Gospel, indicating the religious leaders, who continue to question Jesus.

Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.  The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch the out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand."  Christ repeats His assertions from the previous encounters with the religious leaders, that both what He told them and the works He had already done answered their question regarding His identity as Christ.  According to the Scriptures, only the Messiah could open the eyes of the blind, or perform these miracles that bear witness to Jesus' identity.  Also, only the Messiah could speak to the hearts of people as did Christ (John 7:46, 9:21).   Jesus uses the phrase "as I said to you," indicating that these are the same Pharisees whom He had addressed three months prior (John 10:1-5).  Once again (as in yesterday's reading, above), Jesus emphasizes that He is the good shepherd, whose sheep know His voice, and He knows them.

"I and My Father are one."  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.  Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father.  For which of those works do you stone Me?"  The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."   Jesus responds to the question regarding His identity by revealing Himself to be fully God.  My study bible explains that one (in the statement, "I and My Father are one") means one in nature or essence.  Christ is God before all ages (John 1:1), and remains God after the Incarnation and for all eternity.  The plural verb are indicates two distinct Persons, while confirming a continuous unity.  The religious rulers clearly recognize this as a claim of divinity and therefore accuse Him of blasphemy.  

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?  If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?  If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."  Jesus quotes from Psalm 82:6 ("I said, 'You are gods' ").  My study bible comments that people who receive God's grace in faith will partake of God's divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and can thereby rightly be called gods.   St. John Chrysostom writes that Christ is effectively saying, "If those who have received this honor by grace are not guilty for calling themselves gods, how can He who has this by nature deserve to be rebuked?" 

Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.  As Christ again affirms His divinity, they sought again to seize Him.  But because He goes to His Passion voluntarily and according to His own will (John 10:17-18), they cannot arrest Him until He is ready (John 7:30, 8:20; see also Luke 4:28-30).  

And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed.  Then many came to Him and said, "John performed no sign, but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true."  And many believed in Him there.  Jesus goes to the region on the other side of the Jordan river (see this map and the area marked "Bethany East of the Jordan"; see also John 1:28).  Because of the preparation of John the Baptist, and the witness of the works done by Christ, many believed in Him there. 

As today is the day on which we also commemorate the Annunciation, we can consider the event of the Annunciation also in light of today's reading.   The most explicit text we have on the Annunciation is Luke 1:26-38.   The archangel Gabriel greets Mary with the following words:  "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"  The command, Rejoice! (in Greek,
Χαῖρε/Chaῖré; also meaning "be joyful") has also been translated into English as "Hail!" and remains to this day a formal greeting in Greek.  Possibly the most interesting Greek word in the original text is κεχαριτωμένη/kecharitomeni.   This single word, used here as a title for Mary by Gabriel, means "full of grace."  It is also related to the archangel's greeting, "Rejoice!" as in fact, the deep root of both words (χαρ-) is the one meaning "grace" or "favor from God."  In Greek, χαρα means joy, and χαρις is grace; they are cognate (related) words sharing this same root.  According to Strong's definitions, this command to rejoice means "to delight in God's grace ('rejoice') – literally, to experience God's grace (favor), be conscious (glad) for His grace."  She is the one who is "highly-favored because receptive to God's grace" (also quoted from Strong's commentary, on the title Gabriel uses for Mary).  In today's reading, Jesus says of Psalm 86:2 that the statement "You are gods" was made to the people because the word of God came to them.   In the Annunciation, the word of God comes to Mary, and the great good news (literally the gospel, or εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion) in the Greek) is that Christ the Word will be born from her into this world.    For this, she carries another title in the Eastern world, Theotokos, or "God-bearer."   In our current place in John's Gospel, Jesus has taught that He is the good shepherd, that He and the Father are one, that He has been sanctified and sent into the world by the Father, that we who are His sheep hear His voice, and that He knows us by name.  His works testify also to His identity.  But as we celebrate the Annunciation to Mary, let us consider the joy of the word, the same joy in the blessings God gives to our lives, and what it is to receive both the word and the blessings of God.  The definition of the title given to Mary by the angel suggests that she is "highly-favored because receptive to God's grace" (my italics added).   In this sense, she herself is a stand-in for all of God's people, and thereby the Church has revered her as the greatest among the saints, encompassing both the New and the Old Testaments.   Mary is the one who was capable of receiving such grace, and shows us the example of what it is to bear the word (and literally to bear the Word!) into the world.  She is the one who heard first, and accepted this grace in her extraordinary capacity, the place of honor at being able to receive.  How do we receive the word?  How do we receive Him who is the Word?  Are we capable of receiving the grace at the voice of the Good Shepherd, as He calls us by name?  Do we know Him as we are known?