I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world

 

 Another parable He put forth to them, saying:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." Another parable He spoke to them:  "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation  of the world."

 

- Matthew 13:31-35 

 

In yesterday's reading, we read another parable given by Jesus, after He first taught the parable of the Sower:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.  But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.  So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have tares?  He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.'  The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'  But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

 

 Another parable He put forth to them, saying:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." Another parable He spoke to them:  "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."  My study Bible comments that the mustard seed and the leaven represent the disciples who, according to Theophylact, began as just a few men, but "soon encompassed the whole earth."  It notes also that these symbols of the mustard seed and the leaven stand for faith entering a person's soul, which causes an inward growth of virtue.  This soul will become godlike and can receive even angels (birds of the air).

All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:  "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation  of the world."  This quotation by Jesus is from Psalm 78:2, and illustrates once again how He fulfills prophesies about the Messiah.  It also tells us of the hidden truths "revealed" through the parables. 

What are the things kept secret from the foundation of the world?  In Jesus' hands, this quotation from the prophecy in the Psalms indicates the mysteries contained in the parables He teaches.  He is teaching us about the kingdom of heaven, and letting us know, with this language, that the simple stories He tells -- illustrations of the Kingdom -- are giving us great mysteries, truths embedded within them.  This Kingdom is essentially without time and even without space, so its mysteries are thereby eternal -- and kept secret from the foundation of the world, since God's Kingdom pre-existed the foundation of the world.  Let us make note, while we are considering the eternal nature of the Kingdom which He illustrates with His parables, that this also ties Resurrection into the picture.   Moreover, who would know what was kept secret from the foundation of the world except One who was present at the creation of the world?  John's Gospel begins by telling us this story of Christ's divine identity as Son:  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made" (John 1:1-3).  So when we hear these simple and charming stories (and they are captivating in their quiet simplicity, the way a beautiful icon works when we behold it), we should consider that the Master Storyteller, who is giving us these parables to teach about the Kingdom, is also the One who was God and with God before the foundation of the world.  In contemplating this "pre-time" reality, we might consider the things the Bible tells us about Him which also existed before time:  He is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8); the One foreordained from before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20); who has suffered often for us since the foundation of the world (Hebrews 9:26); who chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4); and Beloved of God the Father from before the foundation of the world (John 17:24).  The One who has given us these parables has done so through a divine identity and power that not only makes them still speak to us today, but invested these simple illustrations with the power to continually reveal to us truths about our lives in Him and as participants in His Kingdom.  Therefore, when we consider the tiny mustard seed of faith in us, which can have effects to grow great branches which can even give shelter to the birds of the air, let us understand that He's telling us that together with our faith, and our participation in His life and Kingdom, we are capable of producing spiritual beauty and fruit of spectacular heights and reach.  When we think about the leaven that leavens the whole of the grain for bread, let us consider how powerful that means the faith is within us, for its enzymatic action works deeply and thoroughly, and we don't know the depth and extent of our souls, nor how many other souls these factors may touch within the Body of Christ.  It is our eternal Lord who speaks to us in these divine icons of the Kingdom, and in their divine simplicity they reveal so much splendor, given to us in the creation from the foundation of the world, in the love which has been there for us even before the foundation of the world.  This is why we turn to Scripture continually, and to His words, which never stop giving and making new.

 

 

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way

 

 Another parable He put forth to them, saying:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.  But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.  So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have tares?  He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.'  The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'  But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

 

- Matthew 13:24-30 

 

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

 

  Another parable He put forth to them, saying:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.  But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.  So the servants of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?  How then does it have tares?  He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.'  The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'  But he said, 'No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."'"  Today's lectionary reading skips over the beginning of chapter 13 (Matthew 13:1-23), in which Jesus told the parable of the Sower, and introduced parables as a way to teach and preach in His ministry (see this reading, and this one, give at the beginning of May).  It's important that we review the foundational parable of the Sower, because today's parable builds on the parable of the Sower.   Here Christ shifts His attention from the Sower who sows the seeds of the gospel, to the enemy who has sown his seed among the seed of Christ.  Tares are weeds that closely resemble wheat, but their grain is indigestible for human beings.  My study Bible notes that, as falsehood came after truth and false prophets came after the true prophets, so the Antichrist will come after Christ.  Just as the weeds first appear similar to wheat, so the devil fashions lies to resemble the truth.  This is an illustration of heresy, something that seems like the truth but deviates from it, or perhaps is what we might call a half-truth.  My study Bible also notes that the devil sows while men slept -- indicating that heresy and lies creep in where people are apathetic.  Additionally, we are told that this explains why the Church neither condemns nominal members, nor judges those who are outside the Church (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).  Just as wheat would be destroyed in weeding out the tares, my study Bible says, so also many people who might ultimately find salvation would otherwise be lost if condemned before Christ's judgment. 

 

 We have observed over the course of the past few readings, as Jesus disputed with the Pharisees who have now begun to plot against Him, a dire warning to those whose hearts and minds are so closed as to rule out the capacity for repentance.  These men rejected the healing miracles of Christ, calling them demonic, or asking Him to produce a "sign" on demand for them.  As this 13th chapter of Matthew begins, Jesus turns to teaching the crowds in parables.  A parable invites the hearer to think more carefully, to pay a particular kind of attention.  Oftentimes a parable will create reflections within us, pinging upon memories, or giving a particular kind of light to some circumstance in our lives, opening up insights.  And the same parable, heard at different times, will bring different reflections, or add a different kind of light to yet another detail that becomes important at that time.  All of this is related to how we see and how we hear spiritually, related to our capacity to open hearts and minds to the truths Christ is telling us, to His word, and to Him.  The parables invite us to open our hearts to the deeper truths hidden in the simple stories of every day life for an agrarian society, where planting, sowing, and harvesting were familiar to everyone.  But today's story of the wheat and the weeds give us additional characteristics to notice in the context of Christ's disputes with the Pharisees and scribes.  They teach us that it's important to pay attention, that we're responsible for the truths we're offered.  It also teaches us that we need to look closely, to discern, to be aware of what is truth and what is a half-truth, and not to be complacent or apathetic.  If our digestion depends upon looking closely at the difference in a crop of grain, then we need to think about what our minds will "digest" and about the outcome of something good and nutritious or something that really doesn't feed us well.  Jesus gives us the parable of the Wheat and the Tares (or Weeds) to teach us that we need to look closely, to evaluate what we see and hear, and to hold firmly to the truth He gives, because it is the standard by which we judge what else is offered.  St. Paul writes, "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify" (1 Corinthians 10:23).  We might start with this understanding of discernment, if only to grasp that what sounds good on the surface might not actually be helpful or good.  The parables teach us that Christ wants those who will be awake and alert to the spiritual truths He gives us, and also for us to be paying attention.  Those who respond care enough about what He offers to open our minds to His truth, and grasp it well enough to separate truth from misleading appearances.  Let us not be asleep or apathetic to what goes on around us.

 

 

 

 

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

 

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

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

 

- Matthew 12:43-50 

 

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

 

  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  My study Bible comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and hence an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 106:34-39).  So, therefore we guard our hearts, and keep this as an important practice.  It continues, "Unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, an expelled demon will return with others and reoccupy its abode."  

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points here to a spiritual family, which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.  We should also keep in mind that the term brothers in this passage can indicate any number of relations, if we go by the way it is used in Scripture.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" in Genesis 14:14; Boaz referred to his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa his "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  It says that Christ Himself had no blood brothers; Mary had only one Son, Jesus.  The brothers which are mentioned here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  The truth of this becomes apparent when we observe that Jesus committed His mother to the care of John (the "beloved disciple") at the Cross (John 19:25-27).  This would have been unthinkable if Mary had other children to care for her.

In some sense, we can see Jesus in today's reading as pleading with these religious leaders.  It might not sound like it, but He is Savior, and as such all that He does is an attempt to save.  While these men to whom He speaks might not even be capable of "hearing" Him spiritually, there are still others who are listening, and His ministry and words will remain for posterity.  In the first verses of today's reading, Jesus is explaining to them the fullness of the risks of refusal for repentance.  Often we think of repentance in modern terms as requiring sackcloth and ashes, a dismal face, a grim disposition.  But we should not think of it this way.  That is because, above all, repentance is simply a willingness to reconsider, to listen again, and open one's heart and mind, and to change one's mind.  (This is literally the meaning of the Greek word for repent, metanoia/μετανοια, to change one's mind.)   Jesus gives an extremely unsettling warning to these men in the form of a teaching of unclean spirits -- the things we may be healed from through exorcism (such as Jesus performs).  But without a continual vigilance in terms of taking in and actually practicing the things we've learned, such spirits return with a vengeance.  While not everyone in a modern context will understand the terms unclean spirit as a type of being, I think we can all observe the reality of how concepts and ideas work in our minds, what we hold dear to our hearts and souls, and what we are willing to change -- and make a commitment to that change.  Anyone who has ever practiced a Twelve Step program would be familiar with this; vigilance is necessary for continued benefits to one's life of the change to sobriety.  Nothing is a one-minute fix, no matter how good our resolutions are.  In this case, Jesus is warning the Pharisees about their own choices here, and that they are sliding more deeply in spiritual trouble by fixing their minds and refusing what He offers.  He teaches a similar principle in His great summing up of criticisms against this religious establishment which He will make in chapter 23.  Jesus tells them, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."  This is another example of what it is to continue traveling down the same mistaken road, for this is the way that ideas and concepts work within us.  Unless we put in a correction in our thinking, we do not stand still.  We will continue down a mistaken road, and so our "disciples" will be "twice the sons of hell" that we are.  This example of the demonic returning to a clean and swept place is an illustration of that principle and how it works within a single person, or perhaps even a group of people.  If we don't take correction seriously -- and as part of the love of God to heal us -- then we're just going to continue down a wrong road, further along toward a false and mistaken destination.  The contrast to that direction -- the correction, the remedy, the antidote --  is "the will of My Father in heaven."  This is the road we need to be on.  As part of His love, Jesus gives us this truth.   The question remains for us whether or not we can accept it.

 

 

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit

 

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

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

 

- Matthew 12:33-42 

 

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

 

  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Here is a call for discernment, and attention to the inner spiritual state of a person.  What we have read so far (over the course of the past two readings) is a growing depth of intransigence on the part of these Pharisees, religious leaders.  Their hard-heartedness and self-righteousness blinds them to repentance, to the words of Christ, and even to see the powerful healing He has done for what it is, the sign of holy power at work.  Jesus has just criticized them for blaspheming against the Holy Spirit in accusing Him of working by the power of demons.  Here He addresses the state of their interior lives, using the analogy of a tree and its fruit.  Brood of vipers is a term used by John the Baptist to address the religious leaders who came to him in the wilderness, also indicating a lack of capacity for repentance, for opening minds and hearts to the Lord's work.  (See Matthew 3:7.)  "Brood" means offspring.   My study Bible explains that the heart in Scripture is a reference to the center of consciousness.  It notes that the heart is the seat of the intellect and the will, and the place from which spiritual life proceeds.  Here Jesus speaks of the good treasure of the heart:  my study Bible says that when God's grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts.  But on the contrary, when the heart is captured by malice and evil, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion (see Matthew 6:23). 

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  Imagine that!  After so many signs, here these scribes and Pharisees demand yet another.  My study Bible says that they show their wickedness by so doing.  It points out for us that Christ will not cater to those who demand a sign out of wicked intent. 

 

 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  The term adulterous generation is an echo of the illustration for Israel used by the prophets, in the times when Israel was unfaithful to God (Jeremiah 3; Hosea 2:2-13).   The sign of the prophet Jonah is Christ's Passion and Resurrection; it is the only sign these who duplicitously demand signs from Him will receive.  In the heart of the earth refers to Christ's entombment. 

 

"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."   Here again Jesus affirms that the response to Him is the pivot point for judgment, and makes more full the analogy to the prophet Jonah (see Jonah 1 - 4).  Jonah was sent by God to Nineveh, and did not want to go to these strangers who worshiped foreign gods.  But they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and Christ, a greater than Jonah, is here before them.  The queen of the South is the Queen of Sheba, whose origins trace to the Red Sea region bordered by Ethiopia and Yemen, thereby controlling one of the earliest ancient trade routes, source of great wealth.  But together with her wealth, her understanding gave her the reverence for the greater value of holy wisdom, which is also understood to be the provenance of our Lord.  And a greater than Solomon, Christ Incarnate, is here before them.

In today's reading, Jesus teaches, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  In this sense, Jesus continues from His analogy of human beings to trees; in these words, He is comparing the words we speak to the fruit that a tree bears.  If a tree is diseased or blighted, it will not bear good fruit.  One must carefully cultivate and prune and pay attention to trees with the proper medicine, otherwise they can bear many afflictions, and the fruit will not be good or edible.  So it is with human beings, only we cannot be corrected successfully from the outside.  Whatever medicine is offered, whatever words Christ teaches, if we don't take them to heart and apply them, then how will we be corrected, how will the things that afflict us be healed so that we may bear good fruit?  If we are bitter with envy, this can blight our capacity for bearing good fruit, and afflict our souls, just as it does the Pharisees and scribes in today's reading.  In yesterday's reading, the Pharisees labeled the work of the Holy Spirit (Christ's signs or healing miracles) the work of demons, thus blaspheming the Spirit.  If we are so spiritually blind that we would do the same, then how is the grace of the Holy Spirit to be at work in us, healing us of what ails, and giving us spiritual medicine to repair our hearts?   In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul writes, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."  If we put together St. Paul's "fruit of the Spirit" with Christ's demand that we make the tree good in order to bear good fruit, then it stands to reason that opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit and the ways that the Spirit can be at work in us and in our lives is a key to the "good treasures" of the heart that may be brought forth as "good things."  So important is this for understanding that Jesus underscores the point by teaching us that we will give an accounting in the judgment for even every idle word.  Those fruits of the heart, our words, will be the basis for that judgment.  In this context let us again recall the words spoken by these men Jesus is confronting:  they have just pronounced the work of the Holy Spirit to be the work of demons, thereby committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  In this light, we have yet another lesson on personal blindness:  blasphemy is the very thing for which they will accuse Jesus and bring Him before Pilate to be crucified.  Let us consider how important the notion of repentance is, the willingness to reconsider what we think we know, opening our hearts to God to be led.  Otherwise we run the risk of projecting our own blindness onto others, our faults we don't wish to see.  Fortunately we have prayer and worship always working for us so that Christ's light can show us the way, revealing to us the things we need to see, and ways we need to change.  For this is real healing; and so important is it that this message is repeated many times:  see Matthew 13:15; John 12:40; Acts 28:27 -- all referencing Isaiah 6:10.  Let us seek the light of grace, the holy wisdom that heals us.

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad

 

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

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

 

- Matthew 12:22-32 

 

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

 

  Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."   Here we see the Pharisees digging in more deeply in their opposition to Christ.  Even the signs prophesied by Isaiah, such as this healing and exorcism of one who is both blind and mute, is healed.  Beelzebub is a name for the god Baal (meaning "owner" or "lord"), worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  The worship of Baal was once ubiquitous around the ancient Near and Mid-East, with place-names and other designations included in the various sites where the god was worshiped in many forms, as a god of fertility, for example, or storms -- both essential for ancient agricultural societies.  "Beelzebub" is a name used by the Jews to ridicule this god, meaning prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here, the Pharisees call him the ruler of the demons.  My study Bible further notes that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves is an illustration of how irrational the Pharisees are in their pride and envy that spurs their opposition to Jesus (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10).

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."  My study Bible explains that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy that is against the divine activity of the Spirit, blasphemy against pure goodness.  So, therefore, a sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven as people did not know much about Christ.  But blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity was already known to these men from the Old Testament, will not be forgiven as it comes from a willful hardness of heart, and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  My study Bible declares, moreover, that in patristic commentary, it is clearly expressed that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin" and neither does Jesus ever call it "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, it notes, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Jesus makes such a declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and they are beyond repentance by their own choice.

In conjunction with the reading from Saturday (see above), we now see the religious leaders entrenching themselves even more deeply in their opposition to Jesus.  In Saturday's reading, we saw that they decided to plot against Him, after they first criticized Him for plucking grain to eat on a Sabbath, and then turning to try to destroy Him after He then healed a man with a withered hand.  Here in today's reading, they go further.  Not only does Jesus produce a "mighty work" that is characteristic of the prophesies regarding the Messiah (see, for example, Isaiah 35:5), but He does so in casting out demons as well.  While the people are amazed, and ask, "Could this be the Son of David?" (a messianic title), the Pharisees have an antithetical response to amazing sign revealed to the multitudes.  They go so far as to accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of demons, calling His power evil.  At this time, Jesus gives them the starkest warning yet of where they are headed.  He proclaims that all sins will be forgiven, save blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is what these men have just done.  They have just pronounced the power of the Holy Spirit to be a work of demons.  Essentially, this is calling God -- and God's grace at work in the world -- demonic.  It says something, indeed, about the hardness of heart that is on display here that either they are deliberately calling what they understand to be a holy work of God demonic, or, if they cannot perceive that as such, they have made themselves truly spiritually blind, and deliberately so.  For these men are not ignorant of the work of the Holy Spirit, they are the great Biblical scholars of their time, devoting themselves to nothing but debating the fine points of Scripture.  Their knowledge and understanding of Scripture is what they pride themselves on.  So, as my study Bible points out, they know full well the things that characterize the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.   My study Bible also notes the irrationality of their pride and envy, both of which have the better of them.  But Jesus also tells us something essential in His defense of the power working in Him through the healings He does.  He is here to establish a Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.  As such, He is Lord, and how could He cast out demons in opposition to His own power?  Jesus asks, "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?"  Moreover, since exorcism was already a part of Jewish spiritual tradition, how would the Pharisees' own pupils cast out demons, by what power?  Jesus makes a declaration here about Himself, that He is the "stronger man" who binds the strong man, the devil, in order to plunder his goods, to set free the captives in the house and find souls for His Kingdom.  As the Pharisees grow in their opposition, and resort to accusations of evil, so Christ declares more strongly who He is and what He is doing in the world, what the Incarnation will inaugurate.  Let us consider how He is Lord, and what spiritual power in His name really means.   Jesus concludes, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."   It reminds us of His warning, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword" (Matthew 10:34).  Ultimately all things are revealed for what they are through Him, and our response to Him.

 

 

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

 

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

"Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, 

My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out, 

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory;

And in His name Gentiles will trust."

 

- Matthew 12:15-21 

 

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

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.   Jesus withdrew because He knew the Pharisees were plotting against Him, how they might destroy Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  

And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."   My study Bible comments that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  There are several reasons given here for Christ's secrecy regarding His identity.  First, there is the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders.  Second, the people misunderstand the Messiah as an earthly, political leader.  Finally, our Lord's desire is to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  My study Bible adds that the Servant is a reference first to Christ, but by extension it applies to all who follow Him.

Looking closely at today's reading, we are given an important chance to note Christ's reaction to opposition, and what it tells us about Him, and "what manner of spirit He is of."  If people are expecting a worldly king as Messiah, one who uses every advantage of power for what it can bring to him, then they are disappointed and perhaps shocked or surprised at Christ.  Although He has clearly shown His power to heal and to cast out demons, this extraordinary power that He has is not used to defeat His opponents (such as the Pharisees) either in the traditional sense of the power to manipulate or move circumstances "His" way, nor is it used in some magical sense to manipulate the minds of the Pharisees.  Instead, Christ is the Servant in the prophesy of Isaiah, He withdraws.  It is not yet time for the confrontation that will come later, not yet time for His Passion.  This Servant is not like rulers and governors like Caesar or King Herod.  "He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."  Even among the Gentiles, He will declare and send forth victory to justice -- and yet His persona, power, and authority are nothing like those of the Gentile rulers.  His justice does not work like worldly justice.  His methods and working are entirely different, almost opposite.  Everything about Him speaks to humility; above all He is a servant of God, does not curry favor nor play political games.  He is the One upon whom is God's Spirit, and everything about His working and what He does is a part of that spiritual reality which travels through even our world unhindered by time or space, but works through everything.  The prophecy of Isaiah is a part of this "network" (so to speak) of the Spirit, and so even 700 years earlier He could tell us about the Christ.  This reveals to us yet another aspect about Christ's identity; in the Kingdom this King brings into the world there is an eternal reality.  It permeates and intersects with our lives, and deeply within our hearts, but it is unrestricted by time and space.  In God's Kingdom, power is used in a way that conveys grace, and our Messiah is the Servant who will achieve victory through this power which so embraces humility and the service of the will of the Father.  God calls the Servant My Beloved, indicating to us this is also a Kingdom of love.  Let us seek His way, so that we also serve His Kingdom, accept His justice, and trust in His name.

But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless

 

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

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

 

- Matthew 12:1-14 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been speaking about John the Baptist, who is at this time imprisoned by King Herod Antipas of Galilee.  Jesus has criticized the people for their attitude of rejection toward John the Baptist, and also to Christ's own ministry and the "mighty works" He's done among them.  Yesterday we read that He answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"   My study Bible comments here that the Pharisees are rigid in their legalism.  It explains that the Law allowed plucking a few heads of grain in a neighbor's field (Deuteronomy 23:25), but these men consider it "reaping" which is therefore unlawful on the Sabbath.  

But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?"  Jesus provides clear exceptions to the "rule" from the Old Testament, giving examples of blameless "violations" of the Sabbath.  In so doing, He makes it clear that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God, as my study Bible puts it.  David and his men partook of the showbread (1 Samuel 21:5-7), prefiguring the Eucharist.  In the Old Testament this food was forbidden to anyone except the priests, but in Christ it is given to all the faithful. 

 

 "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  My study Bible comments that, as Author of the Law, Jesus is the Lord over all of it.  As Lord, therefore, He teaches that mercy takes precedence over regulations, ordinances, and ritualistic observances.  Jesus quotes from Hosea 6:6.

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.  Here is the expression of Christ's mercy at work on the Sabbath, and it is all the more deeply rejected by the Pharisees.  In the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, it is noted that Jesus is aware of their love of money and things over people -- so He first appeals to them regarding precious property, and the allowance to save the life of a sheep on the Sabbath.  But the healing of this man's hand -- a hand now capable of laying hold of a sheep to lift it out of a pit -- means only defiance to the Pharisees, for which they now seek to destroy Him.

 

 One of the first things we might notice -- and that we need to pay attention to -- is the growing intransigence of the Pharisees in today's reading.  They begin by condemning Jesus and the disciples for plucking some grain (likely ears of corn) to eat when they were hungry.  They liken this to harvesting and therefore working on the Sabbath.  That they don't seem to be aware of the blameless exceptions to the Sabbath rule tell us how fixed they are in their ideas to begin with.  These, after all, are men who spend their days debating the fine points of Scripture.  But when Christ is faced with a choice of completely restoring someone's hand on the Sabbath or not, they double down on their legalism.  They dig themselves into a deeper pit, so to speak, and increase their intransigence to the point that they now are essentially denying a livelihood to this man, and diminishing his life by doing so.  It's an important illustration of the principle of repentance, because it teaches us the importance of the direction in which we're going in life.  We don't stand still.  Every moment we are always going to be challenged with new decisions to be made, building up upon previous choices and earlier directions we've chosen.  The word translated as "repentance" is metanoia/μετανοια in the Greek, and it literally means a change of mind.  That is, a kind of transformation involving a turnaround.   Real repentance asks us for an open mind and an open heart, a willingness to be corrected, to face and embrace truth, and the humility to accept when we need to do something over, or change our direction.  For the Pharisees, whatever it is that has hardened their hearts is keeping them chained not only to the same direction they started, but the inevitable descent into a position that is simply untenable.  Now they refuse to accept plain goodness on the Sabbath, the healing of a man's withered hand.  Let us consider the society in which this takes place, based on agrarian products such as crops and also fishing.  What would be considered to be any type of industry would all depend on a person using their hands.  Think of the kind of hardness of heart that would in turn cement themselves into this position where they plot to kill Jesus because of His saving healing in the synagogue, and let it be a warning to us.  Jesus tells them, "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless."  To condemn the guiltless is perhaps the archetypal act of unrighteousness.  Because repentance is present as an option in order to save ourselves from ourselves, our pride, our arrogance, our misguided sense of "right," it is important to observe the stories here and take them to heart.  We all could be the self-righteous who now plot to destroy Jesus, because our authority is questioned.  Let us accept God's love and mercy, and remember that the call to repentance is a gift.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls

 

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

 

- Matthew 11:25-30 

 

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

 

  At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  My study Bible cites Blessed Theophylact as commenting here that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world, not out of malice toward God's creatures, but because of their own unworthiness, for it was they who chose to trust their own fallen wisdom and judgment rather than God.  Moreover, it is out of love that God withholds this revelation from people who would scorn it.  In this way they can avoid an even greater condemnation.  

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study Bible explains that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  We don't hear this work yoke often in the modern world; a yoke is the wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to a plow or cart they are meant to pull.  So, a yoke can be seen as a sign of hardship and burdens, or possibly responsibilities which one must bear (1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-11, Sirach 40:1).  But in Christ, this yoke is easy, for, as my study Bible explains, the power of God works in each person.  In addition, the reward is infinitely greater than any effort human beings put forth.  This word translated as gentle here is literally "meek" as in Matthew 5:5 (see also the reading on the Beatitudes).

Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."   In the history of Christianity, these words are some of the most uplifting and comforting, inspiring many throughout the centuries.  If we examine that word gentle again, as we did in the reading of the Beatitudes, we read that "meek" and "gentle" do not fully give us the sense of this word in the Greek.  It is a word which links gentleness also to strength, in the sense that cultures have evolved to create an understanding of what a "gentleperson" is.  That is, actions marked with kindness and gentleness, avoiding harshness, but also appropriate to a circumstance.  In modern Greek, it indicates a kind of calmness.  According to HELPS Word-studies, the type of meekness which Christ evinces Himself and also teaches in the Sermon on the Mount is one achieved with the help of the Holy Spirit.  It indicates God's strength under God's control – i.e. demonstrating power without undue harshness, combining both reserve and strength.  As we are encouraged to imitate Christ, and to share God's qualities through the power of the Holy Spirit (the fruit of the Spirit), here He encourages us to come to Him, the One who can give us His rest and teach us.  While this indeed entails taking on a yoke and a particular burden, He characterizes them as easy and light.  Let us remember that we always have the help of the Holy Spirit for Christ's burden and yoke, and that whatever things we go through, there will be a spiritual purpose to be discerned, and out of which we may reap a spiritual harvest.  Learning endurance and patience, persistence and forbearance, are all fruit of the Spirit.  In the stories of the saints, we learn of gentleness and meekness, but these must be seen as our capacity to be resilient, equanimous, and not thrown off our keel at every provocation.   To have strength under control is the aim of historical spiritual disciplines such as fasting; Christ's easy yoke and light burden is the discipleship He offers us.  Let us take strength in His rest, and find our souls in it.

 

 

But wisdom is justified by her children

 

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

'We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not lament.'

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

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

 

- Matthew 11:16-24 

 

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

 

 "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying: 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.' For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Jesus here refers to a game which was played among Jewish children.  Perhaps the words are a singsong that accompanied the game.  The children would divide into two groups; one would pretend to play musical instruments or to sing, and the other group would respond in a manner opposite to what was expected.  So here Jesus draws a parallel to the Jewish leaders who responded in deliberate opposition both to John the Baptist as being too ascetic and to Christ as too liberal in mercy and joy.  When Jesus says that "wisdom is justified by her children," He seems to be referring to the fact that as different as the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus seem to be, they are both products of holy wisdom, and their spiritual fruits vindicate them.

 

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

Jesus' reference to the children's game teaches us something about the attitude of the critics of both Jesus' and John the Baptist's ministries.  There are those who simply will find fault because they don't want to hear or receive the message that is being preached.  The criticism is erratic and it doesn't make sense -- and it's also immature and childish.  But as Jesus takes on His own criticism of the cities which have rejected Him and His ministry, the tone becomes more serious.  Because, in fact, they aren't simply rejecting His words and teaching, but the actual works -- the spiritual fruits -- that manifest the truth of who He is and what He has to teach, His word.  As my study Bible says, to have seen Christ's works and rejected Him is far more serious than never to have known Him at all.  At the end of yesterday's reading, Jesus called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  Here there is a reflection of an idea that is similar to this, as Jesus is asking for spiritual ears that can hear the spiritual messages brought to the people through the work of the Spirit.  Those who saw His mighty works and still rejected Him haven't got spiritual eyes to see.  They don't understand the power of judgment that is inherent in anything with which God may bless and reveal truth to us.  For to reject such efforts is to reject God, and to reject God is to reject life, and all the blessings that includes for us.  We depend upon God for our being, and all that is true, or good, or beautiful.  What is rejected, then, is that substance that is manifest in the works, the reality of the holy power that  is unchanging, and not simply temporal.  Jesus is not performing magic tricks, or spiritual feats to impress people.  His entire Incarnation in the world is God reaching toward us, bringing salvation for those who can receive it, and truly "see" and "hear" it.  In the first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks of maturing in a spiritual sense:  "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:12-13).  He is speaking here about growth in spiritual maturity and understanding, and let us note the metaphors to sight.  His aspiration is for more understanding, to "know just as I also am known" [by God].  This is what Christ asks us for, this spiritual journey, where spiritual sight and hearing are cherished, sought, and known -- as well as the growth toward greater maturity that St. Paul writes about.  Let us especially note the final line.  Where is faith, hope, and love in the self-serving cynicism of the religious leaders?   Love is also known as "charity" in our traditional language of the King James Bible.  Where is the charity in hearts that are so hard they do not even receive the great healings of human beings they have seen?  Let us remember these words and this teaching, for it is our lack of charity and love that blinds us to such great things we are rejecting -- and the depth of loss that creates for us.

 

 

 

Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You

 

 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John:  "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see?  A man clothed in soft garments?  Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he of whom it is written:

'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,

Who will prepare Your way before You.'

"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.  And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" 

 

- Matthew 11:7-15 

 

 Yesterday we read that, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."   

 

 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John:  "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see?  A man clothed in soft garments?  Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he of whom it is written:  'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, / Who will prepare Your way before You.'  Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."  Here Jesus quotes from the prophesy of Malachi (Malachi 3:1), to affirm the true identity of John the Baptist in the spiritual story of salvation.  Let us note how Jesus defends John from all of the common assumptions about what makes a person "spiritual" or lofty in some sense.  He comments astutely regarding people's expectations when He explains that those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what do we expect of prophets?  John is a prophet and more than a prophet.  My study Bible comments that, in terms of the Old Testament Law, John the Baptist is the greatest prophet.  As Jesus indicates here, John is both the greatest and the final prophet of that Old Testament lineage.  But, as my study Bible notes, the New Covenant is of such incomparable value that those who share in the New Covenant are greater than John was without it. 

 

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force."  There have been several interpretations regarding Jesus' statement here that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence.  My study Bible says that some suggest it refers to the Jewish opposition to the gospel.  Others have said that it refers to the Kingdom breaking into the world "violently," that is, with great power and force.  Yet others have indicated that the Kingdom of heaven refers to Christ Himself, who has been incarnate since the days of John the Baptist, and who will suffer the violence of the Cross.   According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible adds, the violent who take the Kingdom by force are those who have such earnest desire for Christ that they let nothing stand between themselves and faith in Him.  

 

"For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  My study Bible points out that it is not John who ascribes to himself this role of Elijah (John 1:21), but Jesus does.  As Christ has quoted from the prophesy of Malachi above, so this is an indication that in John the prophesy of Malachi is fulfilled, that Elijah would return before the coming of the Lord (Malachi 4:5-6).  John fulfilled the mission of Elijah (Luke 1:17, 76) and his destiny was similar.  But, my study Bible adds, John is honored over Elijah because John prepared the way for the advent of Christ Himself.  "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  is a common refrain Jesus repeats from the language of the prophets (see, for example, Jeremiah 5:21), to appeal to those with the capacity for spiritual "hearing" and understanding.

 Jesus says about John the Baptist, "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see?  A man clothed in soft garments?  Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses."  Well, John is in a king's house, indeed, but in the king's prison, and will die at the hands of the king and his corrupt court.  This is the life of the prophet and martyr John the Baptist, the one who is called "Forerunner" in the tradition of the ancient Church.  Jesus seems to be pointing out to this crowd of people who, long before the modern age of advertising and the internet, seem to be concerned that John was neither elegant nor very impressive in terms of his status in the society and his appearance.  Indeed, we know his appearance reflected his life lived outside of cities, utterly devoted to and dependent upon God.  The description of John makes it clear:  "Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4).  This description is also an image of Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 1:8), further affirming that John was Elijah returned in spirit (Matthew 17:12-13).  We know that both Elijah and John lived for much of the time in the wilderness, and this would in turn inspire the monastic movement of the Church in its earliest stages, particularly of those we term the Desert Fathers and Mothers.  But the kind of radical humility lived by John the Baptist teaches us something very important and relevant today, as Christ's words about those who wear soft clothing indicates.  We seem to judge by appearance more than ever, and the age of social media has magnified this far beyond the proportions of the past.  We're presented with impossible images to aspire to and to consider the most desirable, even when they are created through technological programs rather than reflecting true images of human beings.  This is antithetical to the ministry of John the Baptist, and to Christ's strenuous defense of him in today's reading.  In fact, one might suggest to those who are struggling with issues of fitting in and image (such as body image) that John the Baptist would make an appropriate saint to whom to pray.  Today his radical poverty might frighten us, but it is indeed that which strips away all falseness, and asks for reliance upon God for the ultimate truth of who we need to be and what we need to do in our lives.  John is proclaimed by Christ to be the greatest among those born of women, a prophet and more than a prophet, and we should pay attention to what that teaches us today.  We are fed fantasies and images of what success must look like that drive some to despair and some to desperate actions, and we need the spiritual antidote to that kind of falsehood which does not rest in true values of identity and meaning.  John the Baptist continues to fill that role, dedicated to the greatest meaning ever manifest -- the Messiah Incarnate as human being.  Let us remember John the Baptist as an image of Christ's praise of greatness, who fulfilled his mission with the fullest success.  Don't let mere appearances fool or guide you in terms of the fullness of meaning and choices in one's life, nor of whom we will regard -- or even revere -- with respect.  John was the messenger sent before the face of the Lord, Christ, to prepare Christ's way.  In this role, his place with Christ the Bridegroom, John finds the greatest status in the Church. 

And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." 

 

- Matthew 11:1–6 

 

Yesterday we read that, while Jesus was speaking to the scribes who criticized Him, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live."  So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.  And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment.  For she said to herself, "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."  But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, "Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well."  And the woman was made well from that hour.  When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples, that He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  The lectionary skips over chapter 10 of St. Matthew's Gospel.  In that chapter, Jesus chose the twelve disciples who would become apostles.  He taught then how to conduct themselves, what to say to people they encountered.  He warned the of persecutions to come, and the role Christians will play in the world.  He taught them about the dissension that would come about because of Him.  He taught them to fear God above all.  

 

   And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  According to patristic understanding, my study Bible says, John the Baptist asks this question in order to guide his own disciples to Jesus.  John's own faith would be in turn strengthened through the response of Jesus in the next few verses.

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."  According to my study Bible, the prophet Isaiah predicted that these signs would accompany the coming of the Messiah (Isaiah 35:5; 61:1).  It notes that Jesus performed these miracles in the presence of John's disciples (Luke 7:21) so that they could see with their own eyes the works that only the Messiah could do.  

In Matthew chapter 10 (just prior to today's reading), in instructing and preparing the disciples for their first apostolic mission, Jesus closes with these words:  "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.  And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward."  In today's reading, after speaking to John the Baptist's disciples, Jesus says, "And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."   He is speaking of the holy power that accompanies these activities, and its mysterious working that has to do with judgment and eschatological perspective.   Moreover, in speaking with the disciples of John the Baptist, Jesus speaks referring to Himself in a sense as a stumbling block, when He says that those who are not offended because of Him are blessed.  There is an acknowledgement and reward system at work here behind all of these encounters with anything blessed with Christ's power, or which acts as an icon of Christ in a sense.  Even a cup of cold water given to one of these little ones (the least powerful among the faithful) will by no means lose its reward.  So Jesus' message to John is one that affirms His place as Messiah, the One for whom John's mission was meant to prepare the world.  In this understanding of who Jesus is, then, John the Baptist finds his fulfillment and affirmation, even as he approaches the end of his life.  John the Baptist has alluded to this in chapter 3 of John's Gospel, when he says, "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled" (John 3:29).  Christ, in our recent readings, spoke of Himself as the Bridegroom with his friends (in this reading), and John the Baptist is another one of the friends of the Bridegroom.  In Christ's voice, then, is John's joy fulfilled, a fulfillment of true identity and meaning -- his place, because in Christ all things are revealed as they truly are.  Here Jesus sends word ("the voice of the bridegroom") via John's disciples so that John may in turn direct them to Christ, and find in Him the fulfillment of mission and ministry.  As Christ is the Alpha and Omega, so may we all find who we are, and where we belong in Him.