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

 

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

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

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

 

- Mark 8:27-9:1 

 

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

 

 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"   Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  Here Jesus is once again in nominally Gentile territory; that is, places where there were populations of Jews but the towns established with strong Gentile presence and influence (as we can tell from the name of the region).  He and the disciples are once again traveling in the region east of the Sea of Galilee.  My study Bible comments that "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, because it is the question that will define Christianity.  It says that Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality, as it names Jesus as the one and only Christ.  In Matthew's Gospel, Peter adds, "the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16).  This excludes all compromise with other religious systems,  my study Bible explains.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (Matthew 16:17; 1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One" and is equivalent to the Hebrew title, "Messiah."  My study Bible also asks us to note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself which were popular at the time.  This is done in order to identify these incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

 

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

 

 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."   The cross was the dreaded instrument of Roman punishment; but it is also a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  That is, as my study Bible puts it, we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  In this sense, any suffering which we encounter in our lives can be given over to the Cross to be seen in its light as to how we approach our suffering.  Accepting suffering, then, becomes neither a punishment nor an end in itself.  Instead, as my study Bible puts it, it becomes rather a means to overcome the fallen world for the sake of the Kingdom and to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24).  

 

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."  My study Bible comments that the central paradox of Christian living is that in grasping for temporal things, we lose the eternal; but in sacrificing everything in this world (that is, in giving up our lives to Christ and His gospel), we gain eternal riches that are unimaginable (1 Corinthians 2:9). 

 

 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."   My study Bible tells us that this question emphasizes the utter foolishness of accumulating worldly wealth or power, for none of this can redeem man's fallen soul, nor benefit a person in the life to come.  That is, we focus our goal on the cross and Christ's gospel, and it is to this  end that our lives -- and all that is a part of our lives --  are dedicated.

And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."   This is a reference to those who would witness the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13, our next reading), as well as to those in every generation who will experience the presence of God's kingdom.  

How do we take up our cross?  How do we give up all that is in our lives to Christ, and to the goals which Christ would prepare for us?  It is an even more profound question for us to begin to ask how our own suffering can become transfigured in the light of the Cross of Christ, as part of His mission in the world.  These are important and central questions to what it means to be a Christian believer.  In a certain sense, all suffering that we undergo in life can be used as an occasion for witnessing, for testimony to our faith.  We should remember, also, in this context, that the word "martyr" is actually the Greek word that means "witness."  It is the root of the noun that means "testimony" and the verb that means to "give testimony" or to "witness."  So we must consider how we live our lives in the light of the Cross, and how that life itself, the way we choose to live, becomes witnessing for the gospel.  When we undergo any kind of suffering in the world, enduring that suffering in the ways that our faith would teach us, dedicating ourselves to prayer and to seeking God's way through it, becomes a form of witnessing and participation in Christ's Cross through our own cross we bear in life.  We may recall that St. Paul also prayed for some firm of infirmity to pass from himself, but was told by God, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."   St. Paul's response:  "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (see 2 Corinthians 12:8-9).  Sometimes, also, we will suffer directly as a result of our faith, as the result of "witnessing" according to the teachings of Christ and our faith in Christ and what Christ would ask us to choose and to do in our lives.  We may stand up for values that are important to us via our faith, and this results in types of suffering, such as shunning by others, even family members.  But in this context we recall His words, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26), or Christ's teaching from the Sermon on the Mount:  "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:10-11).  Each occasion in our lives becomes an opportunity for witnessing and testimony, because every occasion is a choice for an offering to live our lives through the light of the Cross, through God's guidance and teaching to help us find our way.  Thus, we may glorify Christ and the Kingdom through our choices.  When we suffer, the great genius of God's gifts to us is that we are offered a choice to participate in the Cross with Christ through our own cross -- or we may choose to see ourselves as merely a pawn of fate, a victim of the world without recourse, without choice, and without meaning.  The illness of a parent becomes such an occasion, for example, when one may choose to either prayerfully address such a circumstance or to abandon it to fatalistic thinking, or too much faith in material means, or simply a tragic error of suffering in a meaningless life.  But Christ calls us to something much, much greater than that.  He asks us to step up, and to join Him at the Cross, each in our own way.  Why?  Because our own soul is worth so much more than even what the whole world would or could offer us instead.  He offers us our souls, and a Kingdom that has no end.

 

  

Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation

 

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

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

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

 

- Mark 8:11-26 

 

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

 Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."   My study Bible explains that a sign from heaven means a spectacular display of power.  The time of the Messiah among the Jews was expected to be accompanied by signs, but the Pharisees have not recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened; they ignored the works happening all around them.  Let us note also that Jesus refuses to give a special sign on demand as proof of His authority for His ministry; His life is an expression of the Father's will, and His identity as Son.

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

 

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

As we continually read in the Gospels, faith is an indispensable condition for Christ's healing.   Without it, there is seemingly no "connection" to Christ; there is no conduit for His healing power to work within a person.  It is as if we ourselves need to give permission, to say our own "Yes" to the acceptance of this power of God, in order for God to be able to work in us.  This condition is often tied to our freedom of will with which God has endowed us.  God loves us more than we can imagine, for love is the very nature of God (1 John 4:8).  Like the father of the Prodigal Son in the parable found at Luke 15:11-32, God awaits our return with great desire; so much so, that in the parable describing this love, the elderly man runs to meet his son from afar off, an act considered undignified -- even inappropriate -- in the culture in which Christ first told this parable.  But this is the love of God and God's desire for us simply to return that love.  But God, like the father in the parable, will not force us to return God's love.  God does not compel us to love God.  Thus, this is what we call our free will, and accept that this is part of God's freedom established for us.  So, one may consider the act of faith to be a consent to the working of God within us.  Somehow, for Christ to be able to perform miracles, faith must be present first.  It makes sense in the context of today's reading, in which Christ will not provide miracles on demand for those who challenge Him to prove His identity and divinity, the authority that comes from God for His ministry.  Just as God does not force or compel us to love God, God also does not force faith -- this communion through which we have relationship with God -- upon anyone.  Faith must come from a willing "yes" somewhere within us to God's love and action, to God's mercy and grace.  It simply does not work without our consent.  Sometimes, it seems to me, we are unaware of the depths within our own spirits, which may long for God and God's presence even when our conscious minds would shut God out.  Nonetheless, there are depths to us through which work love and faith, our own ties to the Mystery of God.  See, for example, Jesus' exclamation at the confession of Peter that He is the Christ:  "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).  I would submit that it is doubtful that in Peter's confession of faith, Peter was consciously aware of having had a revelation or communication from the Father; nevertheless Christ tells us that it is so.  Clearly, there was a depth in Peter that responded to God the Father with an affirmative reception to this communication or revelation.  And so it might be with each one of us, where the depths within us accept faith in some mysterious way unknown and misunderstood even by us in a conscious sense.  But nonetheless, our acceptance is there accompanying faith.  So it works with the healing miracles and other signs performed by Christ:  there must be some level of faith present for God's power to be at work, not a challenge for a proof.  As my study Bible points out about this healing of the blind man, even a little faith will do to start.  We could consider it just a crack in the opening of the door at which Christ always knocks ("Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" - Revelation 3:20).  The Holy Spirit can get through our own walls in surprising ways; all it takes is a chink in the armor with which we surround ourselves.  The importance of faith is made very clear in the fact that, as in other circumstances (such as with those who ridicule at the healing of Jairus' daughter -- see Mark 5:40), Jesus seeks to separate the newly-healed man with his restored sight from the townspeople who scoff.  For those of us who come to faith all of these centuries later, these lessons still remain.  Let us not surround ourselves needlessly with people who scoff at our faith, or who would challenge the things we know through some mysterious process at work in our lives.  We are made of much more than simply conscious memory, "facts" at hand, efforts at proofs of things which exist far beyond our capacity to know in some objective or scientifically measured way.  We nonetheless have parts to ourselves with which God may communicate, and we may receive the things of God, knowing their mysterious effect in our lives, the capacity to heal, a guidance we can't explain in a conventional sense.  Let us be aware of how precious that faith really is, and make every effort to protect it just as Jesus does, following His instructions just as He guides the formerly blind.

How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?

 

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

 

- Mark 8:1-10 

 

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

 

  In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the way; for some of them have come from afar."  Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?"  He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.  And He took the seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.  They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set them also before them.  So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments.  Now those who had eaten were about four thousand.  And He sent them away, immediately got into the boat with His disciples, and came to the region of Dalmanutha.  We have already read that Jesus fed a multitude of five thousand men (and more women and children) in this reading from Thursday of last week.  This is a second feeding of a multitude which should not be confused with the first.  They are two distinct miracles in the Gospels.  My study Bible comments that there is a significance in the variance of the number of loaves.  In the first feeding miracle, there were five loaves, which symbolizes the Law (for the Five Books, the Penteteuch or Torah).  But here there are seven.  Seven is a number which symbolizes completeness; here it signifies spiritual perfection.  So therefore, in the first instance, Christ reveals Himself as fulfilling the Law, while here He shows that it is He who grants spiritual perfection.  My study Bible asks us to note also that these crowds had been with Christ for three days, the same number of days that He would rest in the tomb.  Participation in His perfection can only come through being united to Christ's death (see Romans 6:3-5). 

 

 There are some other things we need to note about today's reading in addition to the ideas which my study Bible offers.   Mark's Gospel has just reported to us two significant events of Jesus' ministry which took place in what is Gentile territory.   In yesterday's reading (see above), we read about the Syro-Phoenician woman who begged Christ to cast the demon from her daughter, and then in the Decapolis, he healed a deaf and mute man, "opening" his ears, and "loosing" his tongue.   In today's reading, we can presume that this event takes place in what is nominally Gentile territory; that is, it is likely a region still on the east side of the Sea of Galilee.  (We're told in the end of the reading that Jesus and the disciples sailed to Dalmanutha, likely just opposite to the place where this feeding took place, in lower Galilee, and so closer to home territory for Jesus.)  In light of the Gentile influence which would be present (even if those who follow Him are Jews), we can look at the number four thousand and see its correlation with the wider world.  The number four signifies the four points of the compass, the four directions; magnified by one thousand, it tells us of the great multitudes of the world.  While Jesus is sent first to the Jews, also instructing the disciples to do the same (Matthew 10:6, 15:24), and "salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22), the text seems to open up the ways that Christ (or rather, His word and gospel) will eventually go out to the whole world.  The number seven in the amount of the loaves, in this respect, is significant, as my study Bible says it signifies spiritual perfection, as contrasted to the five loaves representing the Law in the feeding in Jewish territory.  "Spiritual perfection" would indicate that regardless of where the gospel message goes, Christ's spiritual teaching will bring all to perfection, whether that be those who begin with the understanding, for example, of the Hellenistic world of the philosophers and pagan myths of the Greeks and Greek-speakers, or out to the world beyond.  In whatever place, beginning with any spiritual tradition, it is Christ who will bring understanding and spiritual perfection out of the cultural concepts and practices which people already know.  While the Jews already have Jewish spiritual history, and know and understand the Lord through their Scripture, whatever is true or good or beautiful in other traditions will be brought to spiritual perfection through Christ's message and teachings as the gospel is carried to the world.  He has said that He has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17), and most certainly He is the One about whom they testify (John 1:45), but Christ is also the Lord of all -- God of gods, King of kings, Lord of lords (Deuteronomy 10:17; 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14, 19:16).  Let us note that for these people also, Christ says, "I have compassion on the multitude," just as He had compassion on the previous five thousand who had followed Him into the wilderness from His home territory in Thursday's reading of last week.   The whole world needs His compassion, and this has never been more true, and will always remain so.  In the Psalms we read the people's question, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?"  (Psalm 78:19).  In today's reading, we learn that what Jesus offers is food for the world (John 6:51), for all in their own wilderness.

 

 

He could not be hidden

 

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

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

 

- Mark 7:24-37 

 

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

 

 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet.  The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.  After His conflict with the scribes and Pharisees in Saturday's reading (see above), Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon, a Gentile region.  For this reason the text tells us that He wanted no one to know it.  But it also illuminates for us the reality that Christ could not be hidden.  We might speculate that this shows what it is that Christ is both human and divine; it is His divine nature that cannot remain hidden.  Jesus' response, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs" is thrown into relief by a detail of Matthew's report of this (Matthew 15:21-28), in which Jesus comments, "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 15:24).  These are the children to whom Jesus refers.  But, as in Matthew's version of this story, this woman is extremely persistent, and will not be put off by Jesus' remarks, so she responds, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."   She is at once humble, accepting what Christ has said, and persistent in her faith and her love for her daughter.  For this expression of both humility and faith her daughter is healed.  

 

 Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and who had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on them.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."   My study Bible comments that Jesus' sigh is a sign of divine compassion for the sufferings of our fallen human nature. 

 

Immediately his ears were opened, and this impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly.  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."   There are visceral implications here of the repressive nature of evil, and the signs of Christ's action of liberation, of freeing.  This man's ears and tongue were in a sense "locked" and "closed."  Jesus commands them to be opened and loosed.   My study Bible comments that Christ's admonition to tell no one shows that we must not seek acclaim or praise when we do good to others.  But interestingly, Theophylact upholds those who disobey Christ in this situation as a good example, that we should proclaim those who have done good to us even if they do not want us to.  It is, of course, one more example of Christ's desire to remain hidden, and yet He cannot do so.

In both of today's stories, we witness an interesting contradistinction of Christ's humanity and His divinity.  In His humanity, He wishes to be hidden; He has just had an open conflict with the Pharisees and scribes who came from Jerusalem, the center of the religious authority.  He withdraws to the Gentile area of Tyre and Sidon, but He cannot be hidden.  Later He returns roundabout toward Galilee, and He's in the Decapolis (meaning "ten cities" in Greek), which is a Greek-speaking region in which both Roman and Greek culture are mixed with a Jewish population as well.  We can look closely at the oppression that exists among these Gentile peoples in today's reading:  the young daughter of the Greek-speaking Syro-Phoenician woman is oppressed by a demon.  The woman falls at Jesus' feet and repeatedly begs Him for healing because of this oppression of her daughter.  In the Decapolis there is a man who is both deaf and also unable to speak (having an "impediment in his speech").  In the Greek word describing this impediment, the root meaning includes that of "laborious toil," something imposed which makes speech terribly difficult for him.  "Laborious toil" is also a key component of the meanings of the Greek word for evil, or "the evil one."  The language used in today's text for healing by Christ describes liberation:  His act of healing "opens" the man's ears, and His tongue is "loosed," just as the demon has "gone out" from the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman.  While the malice and envy (also archetypal hallmarks of evil) of the Pharisees and scribes forces Jesus to withdraw and seek to remain hidden for a time, His divine nature remains powerfully liberating for those with faith, and there is no impediment that stands in the way of this powerful healing work that is part and parcel of Jesus and His ministry in the world.  Nothing stops this force for liberation, for healing, for salvation.  Its action is always at work.  It's as if we can parse out this text to tell us that while human nature will find ways to sin under the influence of the evil one, the powerful force of God to liberate and heal is always at work in our world through Christ and His ministry, through the redeeming influence of the Holy Spirit and all the forces of God at work for us.  The powerful implement by which this transforming power remains available and at work is faith; it is something in us that, through even the powerful impediments that seek to block our good and suppress our connection to God, we may find our thread, our way in life, through faith which brings us back and into communion with Christ, whose action is to liberate.  As we take a closer look at these stories, we may also think back upon our own lives, and how Christ's faith has worked in our lives.  It does not necessarily preserve us from encounters with evil or temptations to fall into traps of fear, or even the malice and envy of others, but it does work through faith to help us through what seeks to oppress and to oppose God's power in our lives.  We are not spared the difficulties of the world, just as the we have read of the disciples going through difficulties such as windstorms and terrifying experiences.  But it is our faith that keeps us tied to Christ, and the work of the Spirit and all the power of holiness in those with whom we pray, that great cloud of witnesses described by St. Paul (Hebrews 12:1).  We can look back at our lives and see the ways that the thread of faith leads us through difficulties, and remember the unstoppable nature of God which works through all things, even the impediments.

This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me

 

 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

'This people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far from Me.

And in vain they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

"For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."  He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- ' (that is, a gift to God), "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."

When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"  When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So he said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."

 

- Mark 7:1-23 

 Yesterday we read that when evening came, the boat with the disciples was in the middle of the sea; and Jesus was alone on the land (as He had gone to the mountain alone to pray).  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up to the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.

 

Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem.  Now when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with unwashed hands, they found fault.  For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands in a special way, holding the tradition of the elders.  When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.  And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.  Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"  He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:  'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'  For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men -- the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do."  He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'  But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban" -- ' (that is, a gift to God), "then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.  And many such things you do."  My study Bible says that the issue here is not the observation of Jewish customs or traditions, which Jesus certainly does not prohibit (Matthew 5:17-19, 23:23).  The issue here is when human tradition is set in contradiction to the tradition of God.  The tradition of the elders is a body of interpretations of the Law, which fir the Pharisees and the scribes was as authoritative as the Law, and frequently superseded it.  According to that tradition, offerings (called Corban) could be promised to God in a way that property or earnings would still be used for oneself but not for anybody else, including parents.  My study Bible adds that secondary traditions such as this obscure the primary tradition of the Law, which is contained in God's commandments.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 29:13.

When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear Me, everyone, and understand:  There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!"  When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.  So he said to them, "Are you thus without understanding also?  Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?"  And He said, "What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.  All these evil things come from within and defile a man."  My study Bible comments that food cannot defile a person because it is created by God and is therefore pure.  Evil things are not from God, and those things are what defile a person.

In all things, Jesus suggests that our loyalty is to God, first, last, and always.  This is not just some abstract notion, but given with an understanding that we find God's commandments in the Scriptures.  For Christians, we have the Scriptures of Old and New Testaments, and the Old Testament Scriptures -- for us -- are read in the light of Christ, the Lord who was Incarnate in Jesus.  For us, Jesus, as He said of Himself, is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17).  Moreover, He also said of Himself that anyone who has seen Christ has seen the Father (John 14:9).  Through the Revelation, we know Christ as "the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last" (Revelation 22:13).  From this we conclude that Christ speaks through all of the Scriptures, and that He, as authority in our lives and our world, is all in all.  What does that mean for us in terms of today's reading?  It means that Christ has already pointed out for us what discernment means.  We know the Scriptures and we know His words.  Are there traditions we're asked to keep -- be they nominally "religious" or otherwise -- that are stand in contradiction to the spirit or the word of His teachings?  We know what He has taught us.  We have, for instance, the Beatitudes that teach us His notion of what a truly blessed life is in Matthew 5:1-12.  For that matter, we have the context of the Sermon on the Mount (which began with the Beatitudes), in Matthew 5 - 7.  We have the Sermon on the Plain given in Luke's Gospel (Luke 6:20-49).  These are Christ's sermons, as reported to us by the Evangelists.  Moreover, all of Christ's teachings are here in the Gospels, and we have the Epistles as well which explain to us so much about the teachings, and give us advice as given to the early Churches about how to live a Christ-centered life following His commands.  As St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, we have one Christ to follow:  "Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (1 Corinthians 1:13).  So if we come up against questions in our lives about practices that are nominally good, we have a place to go against which to test them, found in the Scriptures.  And, as one who comes from a Church with an ancient root, one may profess that the traditions of the Church must also be abiding in these teachings of Christ, including what we understand through St. Paul and other teachers of the Church throughout time.  The Church has also given us saints whose lives express the image of what it is to be dedicated to Christ.  In all of these ways and more, we can measure for ourselves what it means to put God first in our lives, and we know the standard whereby everything else from among all the things we can choose must be measured.  Possibly the most important lesson we learn today, in a world filled with a dizzying array of choices for all of us, from all kinds of sources, is that we have a standard by which we are to measure what we do, what customs we hold, what practices -- secular or otherwise -- we choose to honor in life.  Perhaps the best place to start is in prayer, for it is in being centered upon Christ that we know we are to find our answers to the questions posed to us in life.  But let us not simply honor Him "with our lips," but by understanding the love with which He guides us in life.

 

 

Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid

 

 Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up to the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.

 

- Mark 6:47-56 

 

Yesterday we read that the returning apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught on their first mission as those sent out by Him.   And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

 

  Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land.  Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them.  Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by.  And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled.  But immediately He talked with them and said to them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  Then He went up to the boat to them, and the wind ceased. This is the second time that Jesus permits His disciples to be caught in a storm (see also this reading).   The first time He was with them, asleep in the stern of the boat.  Here, He is on the mountain praying (see yesterday's reading, above), and so has left them alone.  My study Bible comments that in this way, Christ strengthens their faith that He will always be with them in the midst of the storms of life.  It is I is literally translated "I Am," which is the divine Name of God (see John 8:58).  Christ reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  

And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.  For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  My study Bible comments here that knowing Christ is a matter of the heart, not simply the intellect.  When our hearts are illumined by faith in God, they are open to receive His presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, the heart is called "the seat of knowledge."

When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there.  And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment.  And as many as touched Him were made well.  Christ permits miracles through touch, my study Bible says, to show that His very body is life-giving (see also the healing of the woman with the flow of blood, Mark 5:25-29, part of this reading).

There are times when we feel abandoned by God, even though we believe and have experiences that tell us that God has acted in our lives in the past.  In today's reading, the disciples themselves, we're told, have hearts that are hardened; that is, they fail to understand the miraculous feeding of the five thousand (see yesterday's reading, above).  Even with the memory of our faith, there are times when we still feel abandoned by God to circumstances, even circumstances that seem too overwhelming for us to bear or to overcome.  But today's passage reassures us now that twice the disciples have been seemingly (literally) "lost at sea," but nevertheless in the midst of their time of fear and abandonment, Christ is there.  Although Jesus stayed behind on purpose, going up to the mountain alone to pray, He is still somehow aware of their distress, and He responds as well.  It is a reminder that God knows about us and cares about us, although God is seemingly an impossible distance away, impossibly far away for God to be aware of ourselves and our own tiny problems compared to a universe of cares and "a sea of troubles," to borrow one expression from Shakespeare's Hamlet Soliloquy.  Indeed, Hamlet, in the midst of his indecision regarding his troubles might be a good example for us, of one who acts on emotion, suspicion, overthinking, impulsive at the wrong time -- he is anything but dependent upon faith.   But today's passage suggests patience amidst the storm; it seems to tell us to hold on, despite our horrible feelings of doom and fear, not to act impulsively or impatiently, not to panic.  Making this particular story more complex, and also one more relatable to us in the modern world, the event of the disciples straining at rowing on the sea takes place about the fourth watch of the night, which corresponds to approximately three o'clock in the morning.  (A "watch" was a three-hour period; the first watch began at 6:00 PM or sunset, the second at 9:00 PM, the third at midnight, and the fourth at 3:00 AM.)  So to add another dimension to our story, it is like a troublesome, burdensome problem that keeps us awake with strain or fear in the middle of the night.  Christ's ghostly appearance is another sign of such times, when things are heightened and magnified as prospects of gloom, which take on a different character in the light of day after we've slept.  But to be able at last to encounter our Lord is to encounter the reassuring presence of love.  For even when we cannot access the confidence we find in our faith, experience teaches us that there will be a time when Christ unexpectedly brings His confidence to us, a reassuring presence, and one that invites us to abide with Him, even when we're in the middle of troubles.  Indeed, Jesus' first word to the disciples is translated here as "Be of good cheer," but in the Greek it more literally means "Take courage."  And this is, so often, what we really need.  We must remember that Christ calls us to endurance; that means, often, that what we will need is patience (Matthew 24:13, Luke 21:19).  Sometimes we'll find peace in a church service, or when we can get alone to pray following His example, or when we finally enable ourselves to take a deep breath or a walk in nature somewhere.  A talk with a faithful friend or loved one can also pull us out of ourselves and remind us that we're not alone in our faith or our prayers.  But even when things are admittedly difficult, and we struggle, we can still be reminded in the midst of those times, "Be of good cheer!  [Take courage!]  It is I; do not be afraid."  There is a way to go through whatever it is that faces us, and in the long haul, that is found in the one thing necessary to see us through, our faith and the presence of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd

 

 Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  

 

When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

 

- Mark 6:30-46 

 

Yesterday we read that the disciples, having been sent out on their first apostolic mission, cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.  Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

 

  Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught.  And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.  So they departed to a deserted place in the boat by themselves.  But the multitudes saw them departing and many knew Him and ran there on foot from all the cities.  They arrived before them and came together to Him.  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd.  So He began to teach them many things.  My study Bible comments that Christ gives rest to His disciples in order to show those engaged in preaching and teaching that they must not labor continuously, but must also take rest.  Let us note that these multitudes ran there on foot from all the cities.  Jesus is so well-known that it is not possible for He and the apostles to withdraw, as the crowds arrived before them and came together to Him.  They are like sheep not having a shepherd.  In His compassion for them, He began to teach them many things.  When we are lost and truly in need of guidance and direction, it is Christ's word and teachings we truly need most, and He fills this first need.  Moved with compassion is an expression used frequently of Jesus (Mark 1:41, Matthew 20:34, Luke 7:13), which shows that His power and authority are extended to those who suffer

When the day was now far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, "This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late.  Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat."  But He answered and said to them, "You give them something to eat."  And they said to Him, "Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"  But He said to them, "How many loaves do you have?  Go and see."  And when they found out they said, "Five, and two fish."  Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.  And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them; and the two fish He divided among them all.  So they all ate and were filled.  And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish.  Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.  This miracle is of such significance that it is repeated by all four Evangelists.  It shows Jesus feeding a great multitude of His people as He fed the Israelites in the desert (see Exodus 16).  It answers the question of rebellious Israel, as noted in the words of the Psalmist:  "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?" (Psalm 78:19).  My study Bible tells us that the Church Fathers see in this miraculous feeding an image of the Eucharist, an idea which is made clear in John 6.  Mark 8:1-10 reports another miracle in which Jesus feeds four thousand people with seven loaves and a few small fish.  These are two distinct miracles, as Jesus specific names each in Mark 8:19-20.   My study Bible also reports a spiritual interpretation of this miracle given in patristic commentary, in which the five loaves indicate the five books of the Law (Genesis through Deuteronomy), which are broken open in Christ and thereby feed the universe.  The two fish represent the Gospel Book and the Epistle Book, the teaching of the fishermen.  The gathering up of the twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish shows that the teachings which the faithful are unable to grasp are nonetheless held in the consciousness of the Church; spiritually, these "twelve baskets" will be taken out to the world for all time through the twelve apostles.   My study Bible also notes that this feeding shows we should not eat without first giving thanks to God.  The terminology (He blessed and broke the bread) points to the Last Supper (Matthew 26:26), and it leads us to a eucharistic understanding of this miracle.  My study Bible comments that just as the disciples distribute the bread to the people, so also Christ feeds the Eucharist to His flock through the hands of His bishops and presbyters.  

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away.  And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.  Once again, Jesus sets the example for rest and renewal:  in solitude He departed to the mountain to pray.  It is a significant "punctuation" to the effort and breakthrough of this new miracle or sign, and it teaches us that at every significant milestone in His ministry He returns to His communion with God the Father.

How does Jesus feed people?  Aside from the physical miraculous feeding in today's reading, what we notice is that He initially answers people's needs -- via His being "moved with compassion" -- with teaching.  For what is it they lack?  They are "like sheep not having a shepherd."  What they need is the guidance of a shepherd, and so, for our sakes, Jesus becomes the Good Shepherd, for this is also what we need in our lives.  There is a common saying, variously attributed to many diverse sources, that tells us something like this:  "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime."  Perhaps it is highly appropriate that it involves a theme of fish, for today's reading.  But we can understand the principle:  it is one thing to give charity in the form of worldly goods, another to give a person a teaching so that one is able to provide for oneself.  We know the psychological difference, also, between being capable of caring for oneself and being dependent upon others.  One state can be very frightening and uncertain, and the other gives confidence and a sense of strength and capability for the future, aside from many other differences and benefits to the person who has been taught.  While we never want to minimize the importance of charity, the sharing of what we have with others (and its importance for the sharer as well as the recipient), it also seems that we quite often minimize the importance of teaching and guidance in favor of distribution of material goods.  We place a great deal of emphasis on the material, and we, of course, understand that this is the nature of the miracle feeding in the wilderness, but we tend to minimize the gift of spiritual guidance, which is the first "food" with which Jesus addresses the needs of this crowd.  For while material substance may come and go, economic variables go up and down, we are always and constantly in need of guidance, and especially spiritual guidance.  For we are always like sheep not having a shepherd, and it is particularly in times of material need that we also greatly and deeply need spiritual sustenance.  In a world that tends to emphasize very much material prosperity and material progress, we often succumb to a delusion that says that this is all we need; that we are capable of realizing all of our dreams if only prosperity, in a material sense, were available to everyone.  But this is the farthest thing from the truth.  I personally am the descendant of genocide survivors, who were lucky simply to be alive, and totally impoverished in their survival.  But there was one form of real wealth they had, and that was their faith that taught them who they were, which they did not lose.  It sustained them through excruciating violent circumstances, poverty, uncertainty, and refugee status.  It also enabled them to rebuild their lives on a pattern that was good and nourishing, to feed, clothe, educate their children, and to build their churches in community.  This is the lesson I take from observing my own ancestors, and that is what I understand from today's lesson in Christ's teaching to these people what they needed as lost sheep.  For regardless of material prosperity -- and if you listen to the professional psychological community, possibly and truly because of such prosperity -- it does not prevent us from psychological and spiritual trouble, from becoming lost sheep who don't know what to do with ourselves and how to best use our wealth for spiritually healthy lives.  While we can observe the terrible problems of poverty in our societies (particularly on children), the terrible problems of great wealth (particularly on children) often take place behind closed doors.  Great wealth itself -- even personal success -- can also be a source of terrible stumbling.  While Christ's feeding of the multitude in the wilderness is an image of charity, we are to remember that He first feeds them with their deepest need, and these are a multitude which has sought Him out and became hungry because they wished so deeply to remain with this Good Shepherd they needed so badly.  We don't know what was to become of all of them when Jesus was persecuted, and when the Church began to be persecuted as well.  But we know how Christ first fed them, and many of us with some self-knowledge and understanding can recognize what it is to feel that we are sheep without a shepherd, and know of our own need of Him, all the time -- in good times and bad.

 

I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter

 

 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.  Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

 

- Mark 6:13-29 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus came to His own country of Nazareth in Galilee, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff --- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.   

 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.   Jesus has sent out the twelve disciples on their first apostolic mission.  This King Herod was the son of the one who slew the infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  Commonly he is called Herod Antipas, and he was tetrarch of Galilee.  Although he was technically a governor, my study Bible says, he was popularly called king. 

And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  Herod now believes that Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead, thinking powers are at work in him.  Therefore, my study Bible says, he fears John more dead than alive.   Some suggest that Jesus is Elijah, as the prophet Elijah was expected to return and work signs before the coming of the Lord (Malachi 4:5).  The Prophet is interpreted by some as a reference to the Messiah, the One foretold by Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), but others interpret it to mean that a new prophet had arisen.

For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.  These verses, in which we're told the story of the death of John the Baptist, are given parenthetically by Mark, in order to explain why Herod believed that John the Baptist was returned from the dead.  John's objection to Herod's marriage to Herodias was based on the fact that her previous husband, Herod's brother, was still living, as a violation of Jewish law.  While the dynasty of Herod the Great ruled for Rome, they at least sought to observe an appearance of Jewish heritage.  My study Bible asks us to note that Herod feared John while he was living; he knew that John was a just and holy man.  Herod, as ruler of Galilee for Rome, had wealth and many soldiers, and yet he feared John who lived in poverty and was clothed in camel's hair (Mark 1:6).  My study Bible suggests that this is a testament both to the power of personal holiness and integrity, and also to the people's perception of John, for he was held in the highest esteem (Mark 11:32).  

 

 The story of the death of John the Baptist gives us a kind of preview of the death of Jesus, in the sense that it shows a ruthless material world on display in which power and the desire for power rules all.  In the death of John the Baptist we see the meeting of the holy within a world ruled by those like the family of Herod.  It should be noted that even in a world dominated by clashing powers and kingdoms, and expanding empire and military might, the dynasty of Herod had a particular reputation for cruelty, tyranny, and brutality.  Herod the Great (the father of the Herod -- known as Herod Antipas -- in today's reading) is known not only for the story of the murder of the children of Bethlehem, but also exiled one wife and son in favor of another woman who could secure his royal position, and later executed several members of his own family, including his second wife.  In the story of John the Baptist's death we're given a story of vindictiveness and cruelty; Herodias' desire is to punish John for criticizing her marriage to Herod Antipas.  At least her husband has somewhat of a consciousness of awe of John's righteousness and holiness, but she seizes the occasion of a rash promise made to her daughter to secure her own vengeance and punishment on an enemy who is already imprisoned.  Using her daughter, manipulating Herod, and having John's head presented to this dinner party of nobles, high officers, and chief men of Galilee, is a visceral way to display ruthless power -- even a kind of image of cannibalism of anyone who gets in the way of ambition.  And as a historical figure, she was clearly an ambitious woman.  Unfortunately her own scheming resulted in disastrous defeat and exile for herself and Herod Antipas, in which they lost a war fomented through territorial disputes engendered by their marriage.  Eventually accused by a nephew of plotting against Caligula, Herod Antipas and Herodias were exiled to Spain, where they died at an unknown date.  For all their plotting and cruelty, only disaster and more death and destruction resulted.  But such is the world into which John the Baptist, last and greatest of the Jewish prophets and forerunner to Christ was born.  This was the world into which John brought his message of baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming of the Lord.  My study Bible comments that as part of God's plan of salvation, John's martyrdom allowed the coming of the Messiah to be announced to the souls in Hades, for John was the forerunner of Christ there as well as on earth.  The story of the beheading of John the Baptist enforces for us the viewpoint of the Scriptures on our world, that Christ enters as Physician and Savior to heal a world in which evil permeates, made worse through the sinful and selfish choices of human beings.  It should be understood that the practices of the Herodian court were scandalous to the common people and also to the pious religious leaders such as the Pharisees in their own time.  But in a modern context, we can look at this story and see the hallmarks of ambition, envy, and ruthlessness unchecked by any understanding of religious faith or God's call in our lives.  The vicious behavior of Herodias is a model for us of the end result of frustrated entitlement and greed taken to its conclusion of extreme rage, magnified through lack of restriction and unchecked by social barriers in its expression.  When we look at this story, we might be able to understand some of the stranger results of extreme ambition we occasionally read about in newspapers, a reminder of the dangers of life without the mediating effects of religious faith in a God who calls us to righteousness and compassion.  This lurid and cruel story may be taken as an extreme expression of what we might call "lawlessness" in religious terms, but nevertheless functions as a cautionary tale in circumstances where ambition for power is all, and selfishness is the only standard, even among family members.  For the world still needs our faith, and the chaos of life outside its mediating influence is still far too close at hand.  In this context, Christ's preaching of repentance and humility remain necessary as ever.