Have you never read, "Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise"?

 

 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.  

 

But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read,

'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants

You have perfected praise'?"  

Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.

Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.

And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

 

- Matthew 21:12-22 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"  So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!"  And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

 

Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.   Those who bought and sold in the temple were trading in live animals which would be used in the Passover sacrifices.  The money changers were trading Roman coins for Jewish coins.  It was considered that Roman coins, which bore the image of Caesar, were defiling in the temple.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 56:7, Jeremiah 7:11.   According to my study Bible, the cleansing of the temple also points to the necessity that the Church be kept free from earthly pursuits.  As each person is considered to be a temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19), it is also a sign that our hearts and minds must be cleansed of earthly matters.

But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" they were indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these are saying?"  And Jesus said to them, "Yes.  Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?"  Then He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and He lodged there.  Psalm 8:3 of the Septuagint declares, "From the mouths of babies and nursing infants You prepared praise because of Your enemies, that You may destroy the enemy and avenger."  (When we read quotations in the New Testament, it is the Septuagint being quoted; in most versions of the New Testament this is from Psalm 8:2.)  In the Palm Sunday Vespers of the Orthodox Church, it is declared, "Keep the feast with the children, and holding branches in your hands, sing 'Hosanna'."  My study Bible comments that many liturgical hymns of this day emphasize the perfect praise of the children, which unlike that of the adults, was innocent, fitting, unashamed, and from hearts of pure love.  So we are called to glorify Christ in the same spirit (see Matthew 18:1-4).  In contrast, my study Bible notes, the adults' praise carried earthly expectations and agendas which, when left unfulfilled, led them to rebel against Jesus just five days later (Matthew 27:20-23). 

 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.  And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again."  Immediately the fig tree withered away.  My study Bible notes that the fig tree is a symbol of prosperity and peace.  In this case, it withers because it is fruitless.  This is a prophetic act by Jesus, directed toward those who reject Him, since after three years of Christ's preaching, teaching, and healing, both the leaders and the crowds were destitute of spiritual fruit.  He curses the tree also to warn those in every generation of what will befall anyone who fails to listen to His message. 

And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?"  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done.  And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."  My study Bible comments that while it is not recorded that an apostle literally moved a mountain, in Patristic tradition it is clear that they had this authority if the need had arisen (there were certain saints who made crevices appear in mountains).  Moreover, not everything accomplished by the apostles has written down.  Beyond the literal meaning, however, this promise is also an illustration of the power of faith and prayer in all areas of our lives.  Theophan writes, "Whatever we ask, without hesitation and believing in God's power, we shall receive" when we ask for things which are spiritually profitable.

Today's reading, taken altogether, seems to emphasize the power of God as it works in our lives.  There are things God would teach us to do, and how to live, and we have the choice to seek out this will, the way of God, or to pay lip service to that will, and do otherwise.  There are varying degrees to which a person is aware of the things of God and rejects them outright.  There is also the soul within which we have the capacity to be receptive to these things.  So often, Jesus' repeated iteration is of the words of Isaiah:  "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."  These words are directly connected to healing in the prophecy of Isaiah from which Jesus draws.   Isaiah is told, "Go, and tell this people, 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.'   Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return and be healed" (Isaiah 6:9-10).  These words are also found echoed by the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and in the Epistles of St. Paul (Jeremiah 5:21, Ezekiel 12:2, Acts 28:27, Romans 11:8).  In Christ's cleansing of the temple, He's taking decisive action against practices which seem to violate the commands and intent of God for this house of worship and prayer, which He says has been made into a "den of thieves."  Earlier Jesus has already quoted from Isaiah regarding the religious leadership:  "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men" (see Isaiah 29:13, Matthew 15:8).  The withering of the fig tree illustrates a principle regarding spiritual fruitlessness, the result of dullness of hearing and seeing in a spiritual sense, a lack of perception of spiritual matters, and specifically in the teachings that He has offered through the course of His mission and ministry.  It is an illustration of the power of God in the sense that to understand this importance and yet to continue to ignore and abuse such a gift through one's own life is to court the results of fruitlessness and whatever that means in our own lives.  Whether we realize it or not, the fruits of faith are borne out not simply in forms of piousness but also of creativity and ingenuity in many ways; to truly study history with a sense of insight into the origins of principles of law such as mercy and rehabilitation, or the development of forms of beauty in architecture and art which seek to elevate our sight to the origins of beauty, truth, and goodness, owe a great deal to Christ and His ministry.  People may decisively seek to scorn such ideas, but there can be no rational doubt of the impact on the world of the story of the Crucifixion of this most innocent Man and His goodness and love and giving of Himself.  Finally, we come to Christ's discussion of faith with the disciples, in which He chooses to emphasize what faith can do in a positive sense.  Surely we are meant to understand that the faith Jesus has preached all along isn't a kind of magic in which we are capable of selfishly manifesting anything we desire through prayer, but rather the result of the pursuit of the will of God, the process of repentance as growth which is always continuing in that life of discipleship, and the growing dependency upon and trust in God along the way of this process.  It is in this way that prayer becomes truly effective, because it is honed and aligned within the will of God for us, and the result of a prayerfully lived life in this pursuit of God's love and desire for God.  Surely what we are to take from today's reading in the contrast between the fruitless materialism couched in hypocrisy that Jesus criticizes, the symbolic withering of the promises in the fig tree, and Jesus' words about faith and prayer is simply the power of God and our own alignment with that power through a prayerful life of serious discipleship.  This power is always present and on offer to us:  we may ignore it all we wish, but we risk the consequences of spiritual fruitlessness, emptiness, and a materialist life devoid of the meaning that God would give to our lives lived in this world.  This touches ironically on the very meaning of sacrifice and sacrament:  that we live in a world given to us by God as are our very lives, but in the practice of faith we give that world back to God so that God may teach us how to live prayerfully in communion within our world as good stewards.  This is not about rationalizing what we do, but sincerely seeking God's will in developing a prayerful life where spiritual eyes and ears are opened -- or at the very least, we have that aim in our hearts and are willing to open ourselves to where it would guide us.  Without this, even the must beautiful services and practices, those enshrined in religious literature, will lose their meaning in hearts that have grown dull or calloused, where the truth of our inner being is hidden and does not wrestle with God (Genesis 32:22-32), or against the spiritual darkness we don't wish to perceive or acknowledge (Ephesians 6:12).  On this eve of Christ's final week of earthly life, He lays bare the questions that are posed to us all, which we will each answer in our way, and which will have a lasting effect according to the choices made in this week by the religious leadership.  There will be times in our lives when we are called to make such choices and decisions; let us pray that we are aware of the stakes, and that we prefer the fruits of the Spirit to all else.  Sometimes when we seek to gain, we lose what is most precious (Matthew 16:26), in the long game of history and of our lives.   The children shout "Hosannah" because their hearts are flooded with joy in the encounter with Jesus.  Let our hearts remain open to that joy and find it in our own prayerful encounters with Him, and endure in it, even in the midst of the world.

 

Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! Hosanna in the highest!

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"Tell the daughter of Zion,

'Behold, your King is coming to you,

Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:

"Hosanna to the Son of David!

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

Hosanna in the highest!"

And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."

 

- Matthew 21:1-11 

 

On Saturday we read that, as Jesus and the disciples went out of Jericho on the road toward Jerusalem, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

 

 Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them."  All this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "Tell the daughter of Zion, 'Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"  Today's reading describes the events of what is called Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  This day is celebrated by the Church on Palm Sunday.  By Christ's time, my study Bible explains, Jewish nationalism had led to the expectation of a political Messiah to deliver them from Roman control and to reestablish David's kingdom.  In humility, Christ shows that He hasn't come to establish an earthly kingdom.  He does not ride on a horse nor in a chariot, but on a donkey, which is a sign of humility and peace, as in Zechariah 9:9, which is quoted here by Matthew.  My study Bible teaches that this entrance into the Holy City declares the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  It is also a promise of Christ's final entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem with all believers and of His accepting the New Jerusalem as His pure Bride (Revelation 21:2).   Let us note that in contrast to the other Gospels, Matthew reports both a colt and a donkey.  In Patristic commentary, the two animals are viewed as representing the faithful Jews and Gentiles who are brought together in the Kingdom.  In the Palm Sunday Vespers of the Orthodox Church, it is sung, "Your riding on a foal prefigured how the untamed and uninstructed Gentiles would pass from unbelief to faith."

So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  The people who spread their clothes on the road do so before Jesus as paying reverence to a King.  My study Bible says that it is spiritually interpreted as our need to lay down our flesh, even our very lives, for Christ.  As His faithful, we seek His will in all that we do.

 

Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:  "Hosanna to the Son of David!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Hosanna in the highest!"  And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?"  So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."  The cry of the people comes from Psalm 118:25-26, which was associated with messianic expectation.  At the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), also understood as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, it was recited daily for six days and seven times on the seventh day, as branches were waved.  Hosanna means, "Save, we pray!"

The story of Palm Sunday, or Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, is really almost a sadly strange, paradoxical story.  This is because we all know that this is the start of a week in which Christ will meet His death by crucifixion, the method of punishment by the Roman state reserved for the worst criminals.  Even as He is welcomed by the people into Jerusalem, and hailed as what they expect will be a worldly king, the Messiah who will deliver them from Roman rule, the religious leaders had already begun to plot against Him and will continue to do so this week.  It is they who will, instead, deliver Him to the Romans with an accusation that demands His death as penalty.  There are many themes and ironies here.  Possibly first and foremost, as Christians, our concern is with the misunderstanding of the role of the Messiah.  Christ did not come into the world to be a worldly or earthly Messiah which the people are expecting.  His Kingdom is something entirely different from what they believe will manifest.  His will not be the restored kingdom of Israel of King David, but it will be a kingdom, nevertheless, that exists among us and within us.  He has taught us to pray to Our Father in heaven, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  At Pentecost He will send the Holy Spirit, and Christ's disciples will go out to all the world.  But for now, we witness the people who receive Him into Jerusalem, and we can read in the words of my study Bible that the Church understands this image of the Triumphal Entry as one that is fulfilled in the heavenly Jerusalem and at the same time announces the fullness of His earthly ministry and its manifestation in the Kingdom of God in the Church, the living Body of Christ.  The people, both ironically and correctly, cry out the verses of the Feast of Tabernacles, commemorating the time when the Israelites dwelt in tents (or tabernacles) and God was present to them and dwelt among them, for Christ has brought a kingdom into the world which we understand as believers and in which we also participate in His life, sacrifice, and Resurrection through the Church and through our prayer lives as believers in communion with Him.  But for today, as we are in the midst of a world seemingly ever more complex, permeated with problems, in need of a Reconciler like Christ, we remain suspended in this place where He has come into the world, His Kingdom has been declared, and yet we await His ultimate return and reconciliation in what is to come.  And as we await in faith, and it is now Advent and we anticipate the season and commemoration of Christ's birth into the world as incarnate human being, we have a chance today to contemplate what it means spiritually for each one of us to think of Christ riding triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey, and especially the emphasis on the peacefulness of a donkey's colt.  For this is how Christ rides into our hearts, not as conqueror with weapons that simply strike down anything that gets in His way or compels obedience through force and domination or slavery, but as the Lord God who is love, and it is through love that we really become citizens of this His kingdom.  For it is His love that really conquers us, it is His love that compels us to love Him, and it is His love that makes of us the type of citizens of this Kingdom that He seeks.  It is love that transforms and has patience with our failings and nevertheless meets us at every turn to teach, to shape us, to guide us into the fullness of what is possible in us through Him.  It is love that asks our cooperation and synergy in order to manifest this process of transformation.  When we think about the Triumphal Entry, we need to think about the Christ who enters into our hearts, who will come in and live with us and dine with us and be with us, making us His disciples just like the Twelve.  Let us contemplate what it is that is happening here, both the misunderstandings and wrong expectations, and the true fulfillment of His promise, which takes place first in us and among us (Luke 17:21, Revelation 3:20).  He is truly the Son of David the psalmist, prophet, deliverer, and good shepherd who so loved God; He is truly the one who comes in the name of the LORD.  He is the One for whom we lay down our lives, even in the deepest spiritual sense, as He makes us into His own through love and grace and mercy.

 

 

Lord, that our eyes may be opened

 

 Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

 

- Matthew 20:29-34 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."    Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him.  And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!"  So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Lord, that our eyes may be opened."  So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes.  And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.  My study Bible remarks that the two blind men greet Jesus as Lord, which is the common title for God, and Son of David, which is a title deeply associated with the Messiah.  It notes that even though Jesus knows what we want before we ask, He calls us to ask freely so that we might learn of His mercy.  Additionally, there is a spiritual interpretation to this miracle in the patristic literature of the Church.  In that perspective, the blind men symbolize future generations who would come to faith only by hearing, without the benefit of seeing Christ in person (see John 20:29).  Those who tried to silence the blind men represent oppressive persecutors and tyrants who, in every generation, try to silence the Church.  Nonetheless, under persecution, the Church all the more confesses Jesus Christ.

Traditionally, blindness in Scripture often represents sin in a certain perspective.  That is, sin as ignorance of the things of God, as blindness to understanding or receiving the things of God in the heart.  It symbolizes a lack of insight, an inability to perceive.  In chapter 13 of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus begun preaching in parables.  Quoting from Isaiah, He explained His use of parables to His disciples, using metaphors of seeing and  hearing:  "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.'  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it" (Matthew 13:13-17, Isaiah 6:9-10).  St. Paul uses the same quotation in Acts 28:23-29.  We also note that Jesus is passing out of Jericho in today's reading.  In Scripture, Jericho was also a town symbolic of sin; in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the man who is later helped by the Samaritan is attacked by robbers and left for dead in this same road between Jerusalem and Jericho (see Luke 10:25-37).  So, we can read this story also as a parable, and understand that the gift of Christ -- and especially through the Holy Spirit which will be given to the world -- is a gift of sight to those who truly desire it.  Let us note how these blind men pray, with humility and faith.  They ask for mercy; they understand that they ask for a gift, not an entitlement.  They understand that Christ's mercy is a gift of compassion; they recognize the Giver in their prayer, and the immense goodness of God who gives life and meaning to the world.  As my study Bible has pointed out, they call Him Lord, a title for God, in recognition of the real majesty of the Person standing in front of them.  And they call Him Son of David, a title for the Messiah.  Their prayer for mercy is the prayer of a heart which has come to recognize the true weight and value of God in one's life, to understand and depend upon God's love and how precious that is to life.  And the gift of their sight opens them up to a life in front of them, to that road leading to Jerusalem on which Jesus travels, and they can now travel with Him.  The gift of sight, then, is the gift of life, and this is how we should understand the precious gift of spiritual sight, which gives meaning to the rest of our lives and guides us in what we will do.  The psalmist declares, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psalm 119:105).  Christ the Word is the lamp to our feet and the light to our path, and the gift of sight enables these men to follow that lamp and that light on the path to Jerusalem with Him.  Let us pray for our eyes to be opened, as they did, for Christ illumines our whole world, and makes our path straight so we can see our best way forward.

 

 

And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many

 

 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Matthew 20:17-28 

 

 In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught a parable, in response to a question from Peter regarding the reward for discipleship:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also to into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

 

  Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."   My study Bible comments that Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion was meant to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events that they would face.  Theophan comments that it is as if Christ were saying, "Think on all these [words and miracles], so that when you see me hanging on the Cross, you will not imagine that I am suffering because I am powerless to do otherwise."  This is the third time He has taught the disciples that He will suffer, die, and rise again on the third day.  This is also the first time He has declared openly that "we are going up to Jerusalem."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father." This is yet again another request from among the disciples regarding being one of the great ones in Christ's Kingdom.  In last Thursday's reading, the disciples asked Him, "Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  In Wednesday's reading this week, Peter asked, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"   Directly following Christ's third prophecy that He will suffer, die, and rise again, there is this request from James and John Zebedee.  Matthew reports that it is their mother who makes the request, but Christ answers with a plural you in the Greek text (in "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"), which reveals the brothers' involvement, as in Mark 10:35.   It is as if in hearing Christ's repeated warnings about what is to come, all the disciples seem to grasp is that He will come into His kingdom, and they want to know their places in that kingdom.  My study Bible says that this quest for temporal power and glory is unfitting for a disciple, and that it shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  It also notes that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  The Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Christ's prophecy of James and John participating in this same cup and baptism is a prediction of the life of persecution and martyrdom they both would lead after Pentecost.  James would be the first apostle to be martyred (Acts 12:2), and John endured a long life of persecution, giving the Church one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  My study Bible also says that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give doesn't mean that He lacks authority.  Instead, it means that these are not His to give arbitrarily.  They will be given by Him to those for whom God has prepared them.  In regard to those sitting as equals on the right and left hand of Christ in the Kingdom, St. John Chrysostom teaches that no one could possibly occupy such a position.  As to the highest places of honor that can be given to human beings, the icons of the Church universally depict the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women -- Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (greatest born of women -- Matthew 11:11) holding those places.  As Jesus has just declared His intent to go to Jerusalem, it is easy to imagine the expectation of the disciples that there He will claim what they think will be a worldly kingdom.  The text in this way makes clear to us that at this stage, they simply cannot fathom the reality of what is to come.

And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."    Jesus makes it clear that His Kingdom will not be like the kingdoms of the world; and that to think only of places of greatness is out of place for His disciples -- especially in the context of the mysteries of His Passion, Crucifixion, and Resurrection that He's just revealed.  My study Bible points out that He corrects their thinking by comparing them to the power-hungry Gentiles, whom they themselves considered an abomination, and then contrasting them to Himself, who serves us even though He is Lord of all.  For many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

Jesus teaches us here about what it means to be great, what greatness is and does.  He makes Himself the example, that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.  It is an important lesson which builds on the things He has already taught them regarding how to use power within His Kingdom, and in His Church.   They must be humble and serve the littlest ones; acts of abuse of power, habits which lead to offenses against those in their charge must be decisively dealt with and cut away from their lives (see this reading).   The pursuit of and love of wealth for its own sake can be prohibitive to anyone desiring to be a part of His Kingdom (see this reading).  And the ultimate lesson is here, regarding service to all.  Everything leads back to the ultimate good, the ultimate truth, and the ultimate beauty and value -- and that is a life lived in service to God and God's kingdom lived through our own lives in this world.  Jesus will go to the Cross for our salvation, but it is ultimately up to us to accept and value the gift of His Kingdom, and to choose also to participate in His life as He has offered it to us.  This is not a question of sacrifice or even service for its own sake or as some sort of pious virtue we can hold up in front of others.  Jesus will have His own choice words for the hypocrites who supposedly served God and were the custodians for the people and their spiritual heritage of His time -- which serves as another warning to we who call ourselves His followers about how we live our faith and how nominal custodians and guardians of that faith conduct themselves and use that power to do so.  Jesus' service is not sentimentality nor pity; but it is a gift to the world that conquers death and evil through its sacrifice, that plants the seeds of love, and ultimately seeks to secure God's will "on earth as it is in heaven."  That is, to bring the real values of goodness, truth, and beauty into this world and to secure them as posterity for all by living them in our lives, and to teach others to do so.  This is the only real way to serve the "little ones," and it requires humility to do so, for no matter how much we know, regardless of what wisdom we might possess or authority we might merit in our lives, there will always be the One to whom we humble ourselves, more to learn, and more to examine in our own hearts in Christ's light.  There is always more to real love than what we think we know and understand, for God is always beyond us and Christ always calls us forward.  This requires self-emptying, the willingness to learn more, to change, to be corrected, and in so doing to serve all.  Christ's teaching here is for us to escape the confines of the prison of a type of self-centeredness that has us focus on our image in the eyes of others and instead to focus on the image that God gives us of ourselves.  Ultimately, to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and neighbor as ourselves, becomes a focus on living the fullness of such a relationship, securing God's kingdom in this world through that living relationship that teaches us what love is, where our real boundaries must be, and not to look away from what is evil but to seek God's will for how to deal with it.  This is how we serve all, and Christ will give the fullest example we have, His once-and-for-all sacrifice for all, in which we may participate in our own lives.  Let us consider the truth of Christ's teaching, the power of removing the mask the world might seek for our image of "greatness," and serving by instead asking God to bring us to the fullness of what our "greatness "might really look like.  For this is what He did, even to the point of His death on the Cross, so that He might point the way to what is truly worth serving.

 

 

So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen

 

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also to into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

 

- Matthew 20:1-16 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at the and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

 "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also to into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.  But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."  My study Bible explains that in this parable, the vineyard is life in this world.  The day refers both to the span of a single person's life and also to the whole of human history.  The laborers are all the people in every nation.  Each hour can refer to times in a person's life, whether that be infancy, or youth, adulthood, maturity, or old age.  There is also a second meaning in the span of history:  it can refer to those who were called during the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and finally Christ.  My study Bible says that God's generosity provides equal reward for both early and late comers.  Jesus teaches that the former should not be proud of their long service nor resent those called at the eleventh hour (and we remember He teaches this parable in response to Peter's statement that the disciples have left all and followed Him, wondering about their reward -- see yesterday's reading, above).  To the latecomers, Christ teaches that it is possible even in a short time or at the end of one's life to recover and inherit everything.  My study Bible adds that in the early Church, this message applied specifically to the Jews (the first-called) and the Gentiles (those called later).  In our time, we can think of it as applied to those raised in the Church and those who find the Church later in life, both of whom receive an equal reward.  The beautiful and renowned paschal sermon of St. John Chrysostom is based on this parable, in which he applied it to the preparations of each person in approaching the paschal Eucharist.  

What does it mean to us that all receive the same benefit, the same reward?  That it makes no difference when you came to this work or this labor, it makes no difference that others come earlier or even later.  It makes no difference how long one has labored, nor even how short.  What does this tell us about the rewards of discipleship, the rewards of the kingdom of heaven?  For one thing (and this is quite obvious from the surface meanings of the parable), we are to understand that the kingdom of heaven is nothing like an earthly kingdom.  There is no rational measure of lengths of time, no adding up or subtracting of hours of labor or time spent working on something.  There is just a fullness of the participation in the kingdom, which comes equally to those who were first and those who were last to enter.  Let us keep in mind that the whole discussion over the past week of readings began with the disciples desiring to know who would be greatest in the kingdom of heaven (see last Thursday's reading).  In terms of discipleship, Jesus' parable indicates that the hierarchies of the world make no sense in this kingdom of God.  This begins right from the start with His response to the question regarding who would be greatest, when He began by speaking in terms of power:  "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me."  To speak of the "little ones" in the Church is to dignify each with equal consideration, while those who are greatest are the humble.  He will also famously teach (again in response to a question about greatness from the disciples), "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:11-12).  Today's parable, and each of Christ's statements I've quoted, affirm that hierarchies in His kingdom are nothing like the hierarchies and measures of the world.  It is the same as when we consider the abundant love and mercy of God.  Jesus encourages us to think in these same terms as we seek to participate in this Kingdom, when He teaches, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you" (Luke 6:38).  Pressed down, shaken together, and running over are all images not of equal measure, but of tremendous generosity, much more than would be allotted through careful precise measure.  In short, we can assume that the depths and breadths and heights of this Kingdom are far greater and deeper and higher than we can imagine in a worldly sense:  our rewards greater than our effort, our sins forgiven beyond parsimonious measure, even a small time of participation rewarded with "life abundantly" (John 10:10).  We are reminded of the exchange in the final chapter of John's Gospel, in which Peter is repeated told by Christ what is his mission as disciple (see John 21:15-19).  But then Peter asks Jesus about John ("the disciple whom Jesus loved"), saying, "But Lord, what about this man?"  Jesus said to him, "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me."  Each has his own work of discipleship, each reward is the same, each is called in the specific way the Lord calls.  In today's reading, Jesus says, "So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."  To participate in this Kingdom, there is only our understanding through Christ, of the immeasurable love of God, the deep desire to save, and the depth of relatedness for each one who serves.  For the lives we have, for the service God asks of us, for the love we can experience through this participation, let us drop every other consideration and on this day be truly thankful for God's blessing.

 

 

Who then can be saved?

 

 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at the and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.  And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

- Matthew 19:23-30 

 

Yesterday we read that little children were brought to Jesus that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.  Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at the and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."  There have been various interpretations of Christ's image of a camel going through the eye of a needle suggested throughout the history of the Church.  For example, that the word was not camel, but actually "rope" (it sounds similar in Aramaic); or that the eye of a needle was the name of a city gate through which a camel could barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of all of its baggage, which symbolizes wealth.  In the Talmud there is also the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  My study Bible explains that whatever the phrase refers to, it displays the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  This is evidenced by the disciples' response, "Who then can be saved?"  But with God's grace, even what is impossible to human beings can come to pass.

Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?"  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."  My study Bible refers to commentary by St. Ambrose of Milan, writing about a similar passage in Luke 22:30.  He wrote, "Christ judges by discerning the heart, and not by examining deeds.  So also the apostles are being shaped to exercise spiritual judgment concerning faith, and in rebuking error with virtue."  The apostles will judge not with earthly judgment, but by the witness of their own lives.  Since God's kingdom begins with the Resurrection of Christ, my study Bible adds, the authority of judgment has already been given to the apostles and their successors in the journey of the Church on earth (see also Matthew 16:19, John 20:23).  

"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."  My study Bible comments here that Christ is not commanding believers to divorce spouses and abandon children.  Again, we cite St. John Chrysostom, who teaches that this refers to keeping faith under persecution, even if it means losing one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut off ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  Believers are promised a hundredfold of houses and relatives not in an earthly sense, my study Bible says, but in a spiritual sense; that is, the fathers and mothers of the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.

Jesus' teachings seem to be harder than ever, when we look at the world which has grown so immeasurably greater in terms of the material things we're offered in life.  Since the medium I use to communicate my blog is the internet, we can simply look at technology alone and start to understand how much more we are offered in terms of consumer goods than anything that Christ and His contemporaries could possibly imagine.  Well, perhaps our Lord would have the capacity to know this, but He was born into and preached for quite a different world than the one we live in.  It is doubtful that even the wealthiest people in the world at the time that Christ lived could have dreamt of what in the West we might consider standard features of dwellings we live in today (for example, indoor plumbing).   So, when Christ speaks of the difficulties for a wealthy person to enter the kingdom of heaven, He is not talking about the abundance of things we have today which we can purchase -- or which a wealthy person can purchase.  He's actually speaking of people who live a life of less wealth than even people of fairly modest means in the West today; that is, people, for example, who could not dream of walking into a supermarket and finding fruits and vegetables from far beyond the place they lived, let alone the assortment of manufactured goods -- even the least expensive goods -- that are widely available to us today.  Nevertheless, the disciples are still stunned at this message; they still "get it."  When they ask, "Who then can be saved?" it is clear that the disciples, although they do not come from wealthy backgrounds, understand the difficulties posed in Jesus' statement.  All of these factors, and especially our modern highly consumerist-oriented society, point more than ever to the difficulties about which Jesus speaks in His highly illustrative phrase about a camel going through the eye of a needle.  This isn't simply about people with high incomes, but about anyone for whom attachment to possessions becomes the main understanding of identity.  That is, it is Christ who must give identity, before whatever it is we consume:  whether that includes the latest skateboard, the best pair of shoes, the most impressive house, or whatever else we rely on to define ourselves, the importance of Christ's teaching is that the more we depend upon possessions to define us, the harder it will be to dwell within the kingdom of heaven.  Instead, we can orient ourselves to use whatever wealth we have for God's purposes, in the context of a prayerful life and reliance upon God to show us how to use what we have, and to live righteous lives.  

 

 

If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me

 

 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.  

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?"  Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

 

- Matthew 19:13-22 

 

Yesterday we read that, following Jesus' teaching on mutual correction and forgiveness (in response to the disciples' question as to who would be greatest in His kingdom), He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."   

Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."  And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.  My study Bible cites the commentary of Theophan, who remarks that the disciples rebuked the mothers for bringing little children to Christ both because their manner was "unruly" and because they thought children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."  But Christ rejects this thinking, and sets the little children as an example of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore children are invited (even as an example to adults) to participate in the Kingdom through prayer, worship, baptism, chrismation, and Communion.  Theophan also writes:  "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.  He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity."

Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"  So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God."  My study Bible notes that this man doesn't come to test Jesus, but rather to seek advice from a person he considers to be no more than a good Teacher.  Christ's response, it says, does not deny that He is God, but rather is designed to lead the rich man to this knowledge.

 

"But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."  He said to Him, "Which ones?"  Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"  The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.  What do I still lack?" Formal observance of commandments is not sufficient to make one righteous before God, my study Bible says.  But this man had an earnest desire for eternal life, and sensed that he still lacked something.  Therefore he continues to press Jesus for the answer.

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  My study Bible says that to be perfect, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.  It says that nothing is gained unless this sacrifice is given freely.  The specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  As wealth had such a grip on this rich man, his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  St. John Chrysostom comments on this passage that giving away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  to follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling.

Today's reading reminds us of Christ's teaching in Matthew 16:25:  "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it."  The instructions to the rich young man, whom Mark tells us that Jesus loved (Mark 10:21), constitute an active, embodied way to carry out this teaching.  Jesus is instructing the young man to give away one life (his life of great possessions) for another (the life of following Christ as a disciple).  It is important to note the discussion of this teaching by St. John Chrysostom in his commentary:  first, that these instructions are specific to the spiritual needs of this young man, whose attachment to these possessions is extraordinary; and second, that this first command to sell and give away possessions was the beginning of a life as disciple, and the more difficult challenges would be ahead of him.  Those future difficult challenges no doubt would be those that shaped the construction of the "new life" and new persona to be revealed as disciple, in the same way that we see the character of the disciples -- particularly Peter -- shaped in the Gospels through experience and exposure of the things that need to be challenged and changed.  (See, for example, the story of Peter's denial of Christ:  Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75).  It seems highly likely that this man's "great possessions" had a direct link to his identity, as he is at once young, "very rich," and a ruler (Luke 18:18, 23).  If he were a young man of great wealth, and a ruler, then it is likely his possessions constitute a family inheritance, linked to position as possibly a ruler among those in the temple.  Therefore to give away his possessions is almost quite literally to exchange identity within the broader structure of society, in exchange for an ongoing shaping of new life and identity as a follower of Christ.  We also don't know what would have been in store for this young man whom Jesus loved, as the disciples of Christ in the Gospels are those who would go on to be leaders or "rulers" in the Church, the bishops and pillars who would go out in the world and establish the Church, such as St. Paul, for example, who says of himself that he was born a Roman citizen, educated at the feet of Gamaliel, and was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee (Acts 22:3, 28; 23:6).  There are other devoted and courageous followers of Christ who were also Council members and men of great wealth such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.  Each will go on, as recorded in the Gospels and the history of the Church, to exchange their old lives for a new one in Christ, corresponding to a necessary shift in identity, all requiring heroic courage and sacrifice to do so.  As we will read in the next reading, Jesus will use an expression regarding this process that also indicates such great possession can be thought of in terms of baggage and burden, and in a metaphorical context perhaps a great many of us can relate to this understanding of our lives, where we carry so much that might need to be given up, given away, and "sacrificed" in this sense in order to acquire a new identity in service to Christ, our old habits, talents, the particular shape of character given over in exchange to new expression and new life.  Not everyone's life need be such a radical, abrupt shift as that which we witness in the Gospels and the rest of the Bible, but each life may undergo this process of discipleship even in a lifelong, gradual manner, of discarding old burdens no longer necessary or useful in a life devoted to the expression of the love of Christ, or transformed within shaping that new life and new expression of discipleship in a life lived according to His commands.  This young ruler may have become one administering the great possessions of the Church and overseeing many followers, his talents and identity transfigured in Christ -- again, as St. Paul was transformed and transfigured from persecutor of the Church as a Pharisee into the great apostle to the Gentiles he became, and teacher to all he remains through his epistles.  To exchange one life for another may require courage and faith, but such sacrifice eventually becomes filled in exchange for the new life.  We might begin by pursuing one path we thought important, but the influence of our faith in Christ will take us down quite another.  The courage is in not knowing the outcome of that exchange, but we note that Christ promises this rich young ruler treasure in heaven in exchange for his earthly possessions.  We simply do not know what that eventual form of his life as a disciple would have taken, but we do know that Christ loved him, and that he went away sorrowful.  We also know what was to come in Jerusalem within a generation, his possessions and identity as ruler likely to have been swept away in the fury of the terrible siege and destruction of the city and the life of its aristocracy.  So Christ will call us toward something, but to go there we exchange something of the old, likely precious to us, even though we will be better off for the exchange.  Speaking for myself, I can testify that a seeming promise of great possessions was taken from me when I was young, but a life of seeking Christ in exchange has provided back, over time, other wealth.  The loss taught me a kind of detachment that would not have happened without it, and asked me to gain values I would not have found otherwise, and I continue in that journey.  Let us truly be thankful for all that we have, especially through our gracious Lord who loves us, who offered us His life, and offers us our life in Him.  In this understanding, Christ's teaching about the little children applies to all of us:  we begin a new life in Him each as a little child, and turn to Him to teach us who we are and what it is we need to be about.  This beginning can even be a new start each day, each time we pray.

Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."  

 

His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it." 

 

- Matthew 19:1-12 

 

On Saturday we read that, after Jesus had given a formula for mutual correction and reconciliation in the Church, Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?  Up to seven times?"  Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.  But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant!  I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.  So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

 

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.  The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"  And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"  He said to them, "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.  And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." My study Bible explains that the basis of the test by these Pharisees is Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, my study Bible says, does not override the original principle of permanent monogamous marriage as revealed in Genesis 1 and 2.  With authority, Christ adds His own prohibition against divorce ("So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate"; "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery").  Additionally, my study Bible remarks that the permissible reasons for divorce in the ancient Church were expanded to include threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion.  Clearly, although the original intent of marriage as eternal remains, and is therefore a sacrament in the Church, the marriage bond is one that can be destroyed by sin.  In all cases, however, the spiritual tragedy of such a situation must be acknowledged.  

 

 His disciples said to Him, "If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry."  But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given:  For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.  He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."  My study Bible comments here that Christ steers the disciples toward understanding the holiness of virginity, not as a rejection of marriage, but rather as a special calling for those to whom it has been given.  Eunuchs were men who had been castrated, whether by birth defect, disease, or mutilation, and were often employed to guard women of nobility.  Indeed, in empires of the past, eunuchs employed as such a class grew to wield great power.  But Jesus uses this term figuratively for those who freely choose lifelong celibacy for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, devoting themselves to the love of God.  This is a consecrated virginity which isn't to be confused with any form of self-mutilation, which was condemned by the Church at the First Ecumenical Council (AD 325). 

 

What is the value of marriage?   In terms of the Scriptures, the very first relationship established in the Bible between human beings is that of marriage.  It comes second only to the relationship between God and human beings and other creatures.  We should remember that marriage in a Biblical context is a relationship that is mediated by God (hence it is a sacrament in the Church).  It is not simply a union between human beings alone.  In Malachi 2:13-16, the prophet reports that God laments over the abandonment or forsaking of wives; God holds the husband accountable.  My study Bible comments on that passage that, among other things, it shows that marriage brings companionship; that is, an intimate relationship and partnership between spouses.   As such we can look at marriage as the true building block and foundation of community, of society.  Possibly we should say of the kind of society that we want to have.  This is because in a good marriage we have a model and foundation for the types of relationships we wish to spread in the society.  If we keep in mind that it is the Lord also who is a part of this marriage, who mediates marriage and whose reality of love we wish to permeate and grow within the marriage, then we must come to understand that it is the quality of the relationship that makes the great difference here.  We know what abuse causes; we understand that sin of various kinds can destroy a marriage relationship, and that this has been recognized historically by the Church.  But we also must come to see that love itself requires certain standards and norms.  Love is not simply blind devotion, and neither is it the acceptance of lies or falsehoods, abusive ideologies, or power hierarchies.  It is a mutual communion with God as part of that communion, and service to God as part of devotion.  That is, an understanding that we grow in learning this love, in understanding what is good for us and for other human beings.  Neither is marriage a kind of dumping ground for rage, anger, envy, and other kinds of harmful activities directed either at one another, other members of the family, or outward at other people.  For all of these things remain in the context of a marriage as sacrament, marriage as part of covenant with God, where the Lord is present, even as we have recently read Jesus say, "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them" (Matthew 18:20).  A truly good marriage is on the firm ground of Christ's teaching that all the Law and the Prophets hang on the two commandments to love God, and neighbor as oneself (Matthew 22:36-40).  We begin with the understanding that God is love (1 John 4:8), and therefore if God is the true foundation for marriage, then it is the practice and action of living love, of growing and learning in love, that forms the basis for the society we want, this basic first relationship found in marriage.  From there, we hope that the fruits of marriage, in fact, expand this living love, filling the need to grow in understanding of how to put love into action.  If we begin only with the basic idea that marriage is just two people forming relationship -- without the presence of God as we understand God as love -- then the purpose of marriage no longer holds that important place of separating abuse from love, harm from blessing.  It is within the context of loving communion, the foundation of God who is love, that marriage forms a basis for the whole world, for true community.  Let us consider the mystery of this sacrament.