This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting

 

 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"  

 

Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."  Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?"  And he said, "From childhood."  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  

 

When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it:  "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.  And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."  

 

- Mark 9:14–29 

 

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

 

  And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them.  Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him.  And He asked the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"   Jesus' return to the disciples is a return to the nine left behind, as He went up to the high mountain of the Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John (see yesterday's reading above).  Notice how Christ's immediate response is to step in for His disciples, asking the scribes, "What are you discussing with them?"

 

 Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit.  And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid.  So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not."  He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you?  How long shall I bear with you?  Bring him to Me."  Then they brought him to Him.  And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.  So He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?"  And he said, "From childhood.  And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him.  But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us."  Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"  Jesus' remark here, "O faithless generation" is a repeated theme from recent readings (see, for example, Wednesday's reading and Christ's experience in Bethsaida).  The scribes and Pharisees have demanded from Christ a sign, a spectacular proof, so that they might believe.  But this is a crisis of faith and spiritual perception.  Therefore Jesus here emphasizes faith, both among the crowds and personally to this man who wants healing for his demon-possessed child.  We note that the text tells us that Jesus commanded, "Bring him to Me" indicating that He does not approach the disputing group, but has stood apart, effectively separating the man and his ailing child from unbelieving or scoffing crowds.  The man's prayer, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" is an effective one.

 

 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it:  "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"  Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him.  And he became as one dead, so that many said, "He is dead."  But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.  And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?"  So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."  My study Bible notes that while the nine disciples also evidently lacked faith to achieve this healing, Jesus had rebuked the man for placing the blame on the disciples when it was his greater lack of faith that prevented the boy's healing.  But we see here, in effect, that Jesus defended His disciples in front of the multitudes, but later rebuked them privately.  (In St. Matthew's Gospel, He tells them straightforwardly in private that they could not cast it out "because of your unbelief" (see Matthew 17:19-21).  This teaches us ourselves that we should first correct people in private (see Matthew 18:15-17).   We remember that this rebuke is directed at the nine disciples who could not cast out the demon, as the "pillars" of faith -- Peter, James, and John (Galatians 2:9) -- had been on the mountain with Christ at the Transfiguration (see above).  My study Bible further comments that this kind refers to all powers of darkness, not only those which cause a particular illness.  It says that the banishment of demons requires faith, prayer, and fasting, as there is no healing and no victory in spiritual warfare without all three.  Starting with the Didache (the earliest teaching document of the Church), our spiritual forbears and elders have taught that both the person in need of healing and the person performing the healing must believe, pray, and fast.  

 

 The taking of this child by demonic possession or affliction is an indication of a spiritual war which is always going on behind the scenes, in which our world, and human beings in particular,  form the battleground.  Notice the effects of this spirit upon the child:  he is mute, and the father tells Jesus, "it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid."  This sounds to modern ears like seizures of some sort, a medical problem that would commonly be approached today with medical treatments.  But this mute spirit is more than a medical problem.  The boy is repeatedly harmed; the man tells Jesus regarding this spirit's effects upon the boy that "often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him."  Moreover, Jesus names further effects of this spirit by calling it "deaf and dumb," meaning the boy can neither hear nor speak.  So beyond these vividly described seizures, there is more going on here.  The affliction of this boy can be characterized by a kind of evil that works as a severe punishment, a great suffering and, even in particular, the suppression of his freedom and autonomy.  He's thrown into fire and water repeatedly and often, he can neither express himself nor even hear others who might teach him something; neither can he hear music or stories, or learn songs, for example, nor, one presumes, play games with other children.  More than one Church Father comments on this passage of the envy of such spirits who've been deprived of their own lofty places before Christ due to their refusal to serve, and becoming more depraved through the effects of spiritual failure and the disintegration that results.  Thus the cruelty of affliction is driven by an ultimately corrupt desire to inflict one's misery upon others.  While we cannot know for certain what defines and drives the spiritual world (except through those saints who've understood such things), we can perhaps clearly verify that for human beings we can observe such mental and spiritual deterioration as the effects of going down a wrong road, moving further and further away from Christ and from spiritual redemption without the saving effects of repentance.  Such a process is well-known and observed in human experience; what may start with one incident or selfish impulse may grow into something hideous and often continued so long as it is hidden from common understanding.  So, when Jesus mentions the weapons of faith, prayer, and fasting, we should not look at these things as if they are simply instruments for the performance of formal exorcisms or for special occasions or extreme spiritual problems, for they are not.  They are the things named as common practices for each of us, and in particular during the season of Lent as we prepare for Easter and the celebration of Resurrection.  Whether we are aware of it or not, we are always caught in the middle of this battle, for we are the battleground.  If we choose to believe that this is not so, then we are rejecting the testimony of the Gospels, the saints, the whole of spiritual tradition and of Scripture, and even of Christ Himself (see, for example, Luke 22:31; 1 Peter 5:8).  We need not know nor prove in some spectacular way the influence of such spiritual problems; we can see them around us and in effect if we simply look closely.  Whatever way we choose to look at this problem in today's Gospel reading, let us consider what a long road of unbroken decisions to follow a bad impulse may lead to, and how the power of faith, prayer, and fasting can help us not only to turn that around for ourselves, but also to help us cope with such an influence in our environment and in our world.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them

 

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

 

- Mark 9:2-13

 

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

 

  Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.  The event described in today's reading is known as the Transfiguration (Μεταμορφωσις/Metamorphosis in the Greek).  This is a theophany, meaning a manifestation of God.  In particular there is the manifestation or appearance of the divinity of Christ, through a display of what is understood in Orthodoxy as His uncreated, divine energy -- appearing as dazzling light.  St. John writes that God is light (1 John 1:5); so His shining, exceedingly white clothing such as  no launderer on earth can whiten them, demonstrate that Jesus is God.  In some icons this color is shown as beyond white, tinted blue-white, meaning an ineffable, inexpressible color of spiritual origin.

 

And Elijah appeared to them with Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.  Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; and let us make three tabernacles:  one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" -- because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid.  Here is the presence of the kingdom of heaven; Moses and Elijah give us the reality of the communion of saints Hebrews 12:1), always present, and they communicate with Jesus.  They are both immediately recognizable (where we know and are known; see 1 Corinthians 13:12).  In Peter's confusion and fear, as he knows that the Feast of Tabernacles is the Feast of the Coming Kingdom, he suggests the building of tents or tabernacles for them as was done at that feast (symbols of God's dwelling among the just in the Kingdom).  My study Bible comments that Moses represents the law and all those who have died, while Elijah represents the prophets and -- as he did not experience death -- all those who are alive in Christ.  My study Bible says that their presence shows that the law and the prophets, the living and the dead, all bear witness to Jesus as the Messiah, the fulfillment of the whole Old Testament.  

 

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son.  Hear Him!"  Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.  The bright cloud recalls  temple worship and the cloud that went before the Israelites in the wilderness, which my study Bible calls the visible sign of God being extraordinarily present.  The Father's voice combines with the Spirit in the brightness of the cloud and the dazzling light around Christ, while the identity of Christ revealed as beloved Son to manifest the Holy Trinity.  

 

  Now as they came down from the mountain, He commanded them that they should tell no one the things they had seen, till the Son of Man had risen from the dead.  So they kept this word to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.  What they have seen is true and real, but throughout St. Mark's Gospel so far, Jesus has emphasized the need to keep the messianic secret until the proper time it can be revealed.  Note the mystery; they question what the rising from the dead meant.  

 

 And they asked Him, saying, "Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?"  Then He answered and told them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and restores all things.  And how is it written concerning the Son of Man, that He must suffer many things and be treated with contempt?  But I say to you that Elijah has also come, and they did to him whatever they wished, as it is written of him."  Now the disciples are prepared to understand that Christ is referring to St. John the Baptist.  When He says that Elijah has also come already, He indicates that Malachi's prophesy of the return of Elijah (Malachi 4:5) refers to one coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), rather than to Elijah himself.  

 

The Transfiguration comes to us as a manifestation, a "showing forth" of Christ's true identity.  This occurs in a kind of symbolic language, a language of light, of sound in the Father's voice, of vision and recognition in the appearance of Moses and Elijah.  And all of these things occur in the presence of witnesses, the three who are known as the pillars among His disciples, and that, too, happens for an important reason.  Not only will they remember this experience during the time of the horrific events they will live through during the Passion and Christ's crucifixion and death.  But they are those who tell us for posterity, and this, too, occurs for an important reason.  For our earliest Christian ancestors, and for the first millennium of the Church, this experience of Transfiguration was an important factor in understanding the whole purpose of Christ's mission into our world, and how exactly we come to be saved.  This is because this notion of transfiguration, of metamorphosis, to use the borrowed Greek word in our language, is the effect of grace upon us.  Most powerfully, throughout the course of the history of the Church, the words of our early Church Fathers and theologians have come to us indicating that God became human, so that we human beings could become [like] God.  This doesn't happen merely through a kind of deductive reasoning, or simply asking ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" or any other sort of purely imitative behaviors.  It happens first of all because of the Incarnation.  Divinity has touched human flesh and human experience, and this becomes a part of our world, a part of the fabric of the created world, where even in His Resurrection and Ascension, human flesh may rise and ascend with Him, and thus humanity.  This is opening the doors to salvation.  Through grace, and our cooperation with that grace, through the workings of the Holy Spirit, the Helper and Counselor sent to us by Christ and the Father, we also are given a kind of blueprint for our lives, a transformative, transfiguring grace, so that we may grow in the fruits of the Spirit.  These fruits become evidence of our own metamorphosis, our own transfiguration, so that we are changed as people, and we become more compatible with the Kingdom and its reality, preparing the way for us to dwell in Christ's many mansions.  We, like Christ, are able to bear the Kingdom into the world, and share the light placed in us, and magnified through the work of grace, and our acceptance and cooperation with that grace.  The Transfiguration shows us who Christ really is, but it also gives us the unseen reality that is always there whether we know it or not.  The light of God is with us, and it is within us.  God's love and mercy always awaits our attention and acceptance.  But because of the Transfiguration, we have a sense of what that is and means.  Let us always remember the light of the world, our true Light, and where it comes from.

 

 

 

 

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 them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.   For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."

 

 And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

 

- Mark 8:27-9:1 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with 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, to 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.  My study Bible calls Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?" the greatest question a person can ever face, for the reason that it is this question that defines Christianity.  Peter answers correctly, and this answer prevents the Christian faith from being understood as just another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, St. Peter adds to his answer here; he says that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the Living God."  This is a unique, singular identity that excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  My study Bible comments that St. Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is the equivalent of the Hebrew title "Messiah."  Moreover, my study Bible points out that Jesus first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself.  He does so 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."  Following the confession of St. Peter, made on behalf of all of the apostles, Jesus now reveals the true nature of His messiahship.  This is the mystery of His Passion.  My study Bible comments that it was expected that the  Messiah would reign forever, so the idea that Christ would die was perplexing to Peter and remained scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).

Peter unwittingly speaks for Satan, as the devil did not want Christ to complete His mission and save humankind through His experience of suffering and death.   

 

 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  The cross was the most dreaded instrument of Roman punishment, crucifixion being reserved for the worst of criminals.  But for Christians, and in the language of Jesus here, it's a symbol of suffering in imitation of Christ.  My study Bible explains that we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  This does not glorify suffering in the sense that to accept it is not a punishment, not an end in itself, but rather a means whereby the fallen world is overcome for the sake of the Kingdom, and the flesh crucified with its passions and desires in exchange for higher purpose (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 here 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, 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."  Jesus asks, "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  My study Bible comments that this question emphasizes the utter foolishness of accumulating worldly wealth or power, for none of this can redeem a person's fallen soul, nor will it benefit a person in the life to come. 

 

  And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."  My study Bible suggests that this is a reference to those who would witness the Transfiguration (which follows in our next reading), as well as to those in every generation who will experience the presence of God's kingdom.

 

Jesus asks, "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?"  With language like this, Jesus makes it clear that -- at least spiritually speaking -- there is an exchange taking place, and this is one that is always with us, whether or not we recognize it.  There is the way of the world, that seeks to gain the whole world, and then there is the way of the soul.  That is, there is a way not simply to gain one's soul, but to feed and magnify it, even to save it.  This language puts life and the ways in which we face life and our choices in life into stark contrast.  We have two ways, apparently, to choose.  There is the way of the world (also sometimes referred to as "the flesh") and the way of the cross, the way for the soul.  We might think of "passions and desires of the flesh" noted by my study Bible as those things which belong strictly to the body, but this would be a false kind of equivalence, a wrong inference.  These would be akin to that which seeks to gain the whole world, and yet cannot recognize the loss of the soul, nor the value of the soul.  It is a kind of material focus that does not recognize the great value of the soul, our potential for all the things of the soul, including beauty and holiness, and the possibility of eternal life.  The Cross in this perspective offers us an exchange, and it is all about what we choose.  Through His Passion and death on the Cross, and His Resurrection and Ascension, Christ brings about the potential for union with the divine for all of us, the potential for eternal life with Him.  Had He chosen instead the "worldly" life of ease and forgetfulness, not heeding His divine mission, we can imagine what would have been lost for the entire world, and the whole history of humankind and of creation.  In a similar sense, our own personal crosses offer us that same kind of exchange.  We can follow our faith to save, magnify, and feed our souls for all the potential of the soul and the spiritual reality Christ offers to our lives (both in this world and beyond), or we can follow the way of "the flesh" or "the world" and be distracted from every spiritual joy and beauty, seeking only that which feeds us in the moment, ignoring grace, seeking a foundation in what is temporal and does not touch the heart of a human being in the inner life.  Jesus chooses His mission from the Father, for all of us, but He invites us, too, to take up our own crosses and do likewise.  For we may all participate in His life, Passion, death, Resurrection, Ascension.  We are meant for greater things than survival, consumption, the distraction of competition around us, what the "worldly" can offer to us.  There is a transcendent joy promised in faith, a way to build for a future we don't quite know, for values that accrue within us through grace, a life built upon the rock that is the foundation of faith.  When Jesus says to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan" He makes it clear that it is through His own forbearance, even His suffering, that it becomes possible for the divine to sanctify what is human, to offer to all of us the chance for holiness, to be "like God."  This is not something reserved only for the great saints of history, but on offer -- even commanded in discipleship -- for all of us.  Jesus says, ""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 we are meant to be mindful not simply of the things of men, but of the things of God, and in that exchange to be capable of something much greater.

 

 

 

 

Why does this generation seek a sign?

 

 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, to 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 these hypocrites have not recognized the signs already being performed because their hearts were hardened, and they ignored the works happening all around them.  In St. Matthew's telling of this episode, Jesus refers to this "adulterous generation," meaning one unfaithful to God.  My study Bible notes that Jesus refuses to prove Himself in a spectacular way, for a sign is never given to people whose motive is to test God.  

 

  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, to 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?"  Leaven is a word meaning a natural yeast, which transforms dough by an internal enzymatic process.  Jesus uses it as a metaphor for the influence of particular behaviors and attitudes.  My study Bible comments that the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Matthew 16:12) and their hypocrisy (Luke 12:1).  In Scripture, my study Bible points out, "leaven" is used both positively (as in Matthew 13:33) and negatively, as it is here.  In either case, it says, leaven symbolizes  force powerful enough -- and often subtle enough -- to permeate and effect 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."  My study Bible explains that as the people of Bethsaida were unbelieving (Matthew 11:21), Jesus leads the man out of the town to heal him, so that the people would not scoff at this miracle and bring upon themselves greater condemnation.  This is furthermore a story about faith in that the blind man was healed in stages, indicating that he had a small amount of faith to begin with, as healing occurs according to one's faith (Mark 6:5-6).  But this little faith was enough, and it increased with the touch of Christ.  His command not to return to the town, according to my study Bible, symbolizes that we must not return to our sins once we've been forgiven.  This story can also be read another way.  In the case of Jairus and his daughter, Jesus put the unbelievers outside of the home (those who ridiculed Him) and took with Him His disciples strongest in faith, the "inner circle" of Peter, James, and John, in order to shore up the faith of the little girl's parents.  Again, since the working of Christ's power is dependent upon faith, Jesus may also have taken this man out of the town in order to strengthen his faith, and separate him from those who would scoff.

 

Today's entire reading gives us a teaching about spiritual understanding, and its growth -- or lack of it -- within us.  In the first instance, we get a taste of Jesus' seeming exasperation with the slowness even of His own chosen disciples.  For despite two separate feeding miracles (see this reading and yesterday's reading, above), when Jesus speaks to them metaphorically of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod, they believe that somehow He's complaining to them that they forgot to bring adequate bread with them.  Considering the miraculous feeding first of five thousand men (and more women and children) in the wilderness from a few loaves, and then the second miraculous feeding of four thousand -- again from a few loaves -- this is an astounding assumption!  Jesus spells it out for them, going through the details of those miraculous multiplications of pieces of bread, seemingly marveling and wondering, "How is it you do not understand?"  This story appearing in the Gospels does us the great favor of knowing that even Jesus' disciples can be astoundingly slow to grasp faith, the working of Christ's power, and even in understanding His metaphors and parables.  If they are remarkably slow in today's reading (especially considering these recent miracles of the multiplications of loaves of bread by thousands), then it gives everyone hope for our own slowness to grasp the things of faith, the things God may be showing us in our lives, desiring for us to understand the things that can be painfully out of our reach.  There are times in life when God seems to repeat a hard lesson for us to learn, sometimes one can look back and realize that a particular lesson was decades in the making, our own growth remarkably slow in hindsight.  Nevertheless, this is part of what makes us only human.  It's our lot to grow, sometimes through painful understanding and difficult experience.  And, as we are all disciples if we are believers, Christ offers us spiritual understanding we need to learn, for a "learner" is what a disciple is.  Contrary to some assumptions, none of us is born with perfect faith; even for the saints, faith is a growth process, an evolution of an open heart to God, a willingness to accept and understand, and the deep need for humility to come to terms with God and where God leads us contrary to our own expectations and desires.  The story of the blind man living among the town of Bethsaida where people refuse to have faith in Christ despite the "mighty works" done among them is another illustration of the process of growth in faith.  We all might live in environments where faith is difficult, either due to those who scoff at it, or perhaps we're surrounded by nominal believers who honor God with their lips, but whose hearts are far away.  In any case, the Gospels give us many examples where faith, even contrary to Jesus' expectations, doesn't exist, such as in His hometown of Nazareth (in this reading).  There are many varied reasons and explanations for why faith doesn't take hold in someone's heart, from false expectations, prejudices, heretical beliefs, emotional binds and holds on their perception, habits, and just plain inconvenience, to a desire not to face what sacrifice it might take to truly accept God's path for them, even the changing image of themselves among the society.  One thing the Gospels make very clear is the role that hypocrisy plays in keeping people from God, putting on a show of piety while inwardly a hardened heart remains untouched.  All of these things remain with us, and even more influences today.  But the Gospels give us the truth, and don't sugarcoat it, when we read about the struggles for faith, even among Christ's own chosen disciples.  We'll never forget, either, the outright betrayal He will experience from one of the Twelve.  So, in short, there is hope for all of us and no need to be discouraged, for God is patient and God's mercy greater than we could hope.  But on the other hand, there is a price to pay for the refusal of grace; we lose what we could have gained, and our hearts grow further away from understanding, sometimes with difficult consequences.  In fact, in the perspective of the Bible, the difficult consequences are things to be grateful for, for we can learn from them (1 Corinthians 5:3-5).  A too-easy life can result in a failure with a far worse consequence (see the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus).  In the end of today's reading, Jesus tells the healed blind man who has recovered his sight, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."  We recall that He has also warned His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces" (Matthew 7:6).  Sometimes we're not to tempt those who refuse faith with our joy and good news, for our own good. Nonetheless, there always remains God's open gift of mercy for those who will come to receive.  All of these lessons open up to us the mysteries of the heart, the place where we may grasp -- or reject -- God.  Jesus asks, "Why does this generation seek a sign?"  They demand to be convinced first; Jesus has to prove to them -- for their arbitrary standards -- who He is.  But that's not the way that faith works, and that's not His mission.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of leftover fragments

 

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

 

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

 

 My study Bible comments on the differences in the numbers given in the readings of the two separate feedings of a multitude in the wilderness.  There is another number that's significant, and that is the number of people.  In the first instance, it was five thousand, a magnification in some sense of the number of the loaves, which, according to traditional commentary, symbolized the Law.  Here this multitude comprises four thousand.  Four is a very significant number in terms of symbolizing the world and even creation.  Four plays a role in terms of the directions on a compass, the directions and dimensions of the world divided into North, South, East, and West.  Of course these also correspond to winds.  Moreover, they correspond to the four points of the Cross.  Christ's life, death, and Resurrection is forever known by the Cross, which leaves its mark on our world, continuing in its effects and ongoing.  This ties in with a pattern we have taken notice of in recent readings, in which Jesus' work has continued -- seemingly unplanned by Him -- in Gentile regions.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus healed the daughter of a Gentile, a Syro-Phoenician woman, after she persisted in making this request, showing herself not only persevering in faith with Him, but also humble but engaging Him with her heart, soul, mind, and strength.  He had gone into a house wanting to be hidden in this place away from the eyes of the Pharisees and scribes that came with public scrutiny among the Jews, but even in Tyre and Sidon "could not be hidden."  So His healing power, perhaps surprisingly to His disciples, has now gone to believing Gentiles, although He Himself said that He was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6; 15:24).  Perhaps the numbers of people in these feedings give us another indication of the shape of Christ's ministry and its own continuing growth and development.  He is not only the fulfillment of the Law, but also the Giver of spiritual perfection, the One to whom every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess (Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11).  These are perhaps hints that this ministry is to go out to all the world, both Jews and Gentiles in its fullness, an activity which is ever-renewing and ongoing, for which we have not yet seen its fullness, a mystery we do not yet know.  Those seven large baskets of leftover fragments symbolize that food for spiritual perfection (especially in the Eucharist) that will continue to go out to the world.  Let us keep in mind this mystical reality, that works seemingly even beyond the immediate plans of Jesus when He marvels at developments, or cannot keep Himself hidden, nor prevent people from speaking about Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  For it continues today and is ongoing beyond where we know as well. 

 

 

 

 

 

He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but 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 Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.  But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs."  And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs."  Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter."  And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.

 

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

 

- Mark 7:24–37 

 

 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to meet 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 commandments 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 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 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 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.   Here, after another confrontation with the Pharisees and scribes (see above), Jesus has withdrawn to Gentile territory, the region of Tyre and Sidon.  Clearly at this point in His ministry, before the time of "His hour," He has sought to withdraw from the scrutiny of these religious leaders.  But, as the text says, He could not be hidden.  This woman is not Jewish, but nevertheless she recognizes Christ and His authority. (In St. Matthew's Gospel, she calls Him "Son of David," a Jewish title for the Messiah; here she refers to Him as Lord and fell at His feet as if in worship.)  Asking for an exorcism for her daughter, she places her faith in Christ.  My study Bible comments that in responding to Christ, she shows both her persistent faith (she kept asking Him) and her humility.  We must keep in mind that Christ's ministry and that of the apostles initial mission (before Christ's Ascension and the Great Commission) was to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew 10:6, 15:24).  But this is Gentile territory, and this woman is not a Jew.  By responding for the puppies (suggesting persistent begging at the table), or little dogs, she accepts her place after the Jews, who were the chosen people of God, but she still desires a share in God's grace.  My study Bible comments that Christ's hesitancy was not a lack of compassion, but a conscious means of revealing the virtues of this woman, both to the disciples who witness (and in St. Matthew's account, grew tired of her requests), and for her  own sake.

 

  Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee.  Again Christ is avoiding the scrutiny put upon Him in regions where He would be more well-known, He returns to the Sea of Galilee via the Decapolis, another nominally Gentile region but with mixed populations of Gentiles and Jews.

 

Then they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him.  And He took him aside from the multitude, and put is fingers in his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.  Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."  Immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. My study Bible comments on the detail given here that Christ sighed.  It notes that this is a sign of divine compassion for the sufferings of our fallen human nature.

 

  Then He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it.  And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well.  He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."  My study Bible says that here, the Lord shows us we must not seek acclaim or praise when we do good to others.  However, interestingly, it notes, Theophylact upholds those who disobey Christ in this situation, seeing them as a good example, that we should proclaim those who have done good to us even if they do not want us to.

 

In today's reading, we are given two instances in which Jesus seeks to avoid public attention, and yet is unable to do so.  In the first instance, He entered a house in the Gentile region called Tyre and Sidon.  The Gospel tells us that He wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden.  But somehow, His reputation has preceded Him.  Perhaps His disciples spoke about Him, perhaps there are people in this place who have heard about the signs and healings that follow this Teacher. Whatever way it happens, she believes there's hope for her daughter, who is demon-possessed.  In the account found in St. Matthew's Gospel, she displays her tremendous love for her daughter, because she pleads, "Have mercy on me," and "Lord, help me!" putting herself in her daughter's place (Matthew 15:21-28).  But, as in the healings among the Jews, it's her faith that makes all the difference, combined with her tenacious pleading, and her willing humility before Christ.  What we notice is not so much these attributes that are shared by those who receive Christ's power in other stories in the Gospels, but the unexpected.  Christ wanted to be hidden, but could not be so.  A similar thing happens in the second part of our reading for today, because He still wants to remain "under the radar," so to speak.  But the people who are astonished that He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak (signs of the coming of the Messiah) will not follow His command to speak to no one about what they have seen.  These instances mirror the explosive growth of the Kingdom, but the difference here is that this surprising growth via word of mouth happens even contrary to Jesus' desire and intention, and so perhaps to His surprise.  It is seemingly as if even He cannot predict this extraordinary effect, the ways in which His reputation grows, and the fierce desire people have for His help.  It's like a train racing along although the engineer cannot understand why it doesn't stop.  Of course, since we are speaking about Jesus and His ministry, we don't know exactly how the human Jesus perceives that it's not the time for open confrontation with the authorities and tries to retire a little for a while.  But this growth among even Gentiles is a hint about what is to come after His Ascension and the future of His ministry, and His Church to come.  The Spirit is working, the power of the gospel message is working, the Father is always working (John 5:7).  Christ has a need to understand where His ministry is headed, and how fast, but things unfold in ways that seem to say God the Father is leading Him along, preparing Him, and all things move all the time toward the fullness of the Church which even we, 2,000 years later, have not yet seen.  Sometimes life presents us with turns we don't expect, outcomes that tell us there's something new we need to live with, and to learn how God wants us to approach life as it is now, and this is seemingly also our Lord's messianic journey and ministry.  At each new turn He prays to the Father, and finds where He is to go, His human will always obedient to the Father, even as He remains yet fully the Son.  Notice that Christ's divine power is never used to stop the spread of the gospel, but there are times when it works in particular ways He didn't seem to expect -- such as when a woman touched Him in faith in the midst of a crowd in this reading, or even when He marveled at the unbelief of His neighbors in His hometown of Nazareth and so He could do no mighty work there as He had elsewhere (see this reading).  So, while we cannot fathom the mind of Christ, who was fully human and fully divine, He nonetheless sets an example for us when we encounter surprising turns in our own lives, completely contrary to our own expectations.  For He always turned to prayer, and to the will of God the Father.  In this way, He heals us by being present to us in prayer as well, when we are in our own encounters with the things that baffle us, make us marvel, and don't turn out the ways in which we expected -- or perhaps even counted upon.  Jesus, as one of us, has had His own surprising turns and outcomes, and so He can help us see the way forward through ours. 

 

 

 

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

 

 Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to meet 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 commandments 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 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 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, as the disciples had been sent back across the Sea of Galilee by Jesus, 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 into 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 meet 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 commandments 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 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 explains that the issue in this passage is not the observation of Jewish customs or traditions, which are most definitely not prohibited by Christ (Matthew 5:17-19; 23:23).  The issue is setting human tradition contrary to the tradition of God.  The tradition of the elders is a body of interpretations of the Law, which for the Pharisees and the scribes was as authoritative as the Law, often superseding it.  So, according to this tradition (as my study Bible explains it) offerings (called Corban) could be promised to God, so it would render property or earnings still available to be used by oneself, but not for others -- including elderly parents.  My study Bible says 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; Exodus 20:12, 21:17.  

 

 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 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 here that food cannot defile a person because food is created by God and is therefore pure.  Evil things are not from God -- and these are what defile a person.  

 

 In today's reading, Jesus gives us an example of how we can take the wisdom of God and turn it into something oppressive by seemingly expanding our zeal for it.  Certainly gifts to God are a good thing; donations to our places of worship and providing for the needs of worship for people are good and uplifting things.  But here, traditions of men have been established that allow people to supposedly express their love of God with gifts that in the end wind up creating circumstances that go entirely against the spirit of the Laws of God. To call something Corban, a gift to God, a kind of offering to the temple in trust during one's lifetime, meant that the owner of this property or gift could then only use it for themselves.   In this case, the example is about gifts that otherwise could be used to help dependent, elderly parents but are instead preserved for only the donor's use.  The practice functions as an excuse to refuse needed help.  Let us recall that the people involved in this story lived in a society that had no social assistance in any number of dimensions of the state as we know it, and so people were dependent upon family and clan for all kinds of needs, even for redressing simple grievances, for example.  Even with all of the extended social fabric of today with its assistance, programs for seniors such as Medicaid or Medicare, Social Security, and a whole host of social services from varied levels of government or community, we will often find ourselves called upon as family to assist others who are in need of extra care.  With all our modern sensibility of the need to care even for those whom we don't know but who are nonetheless members of our society, we lack a perfect system; there is always a need for help, oversight, and effort for those who are dependent for any reason.  So, we can imagine the needs of elderly parents in Christ's time.  What Jesus is saying, as my study Bible explains it above, is that the system of traditions developed by the Pharisees and scribes actually hindered God's Law as given to Moses.  These traditions harmed the outcomes desired by God, the care and structure of community, particularly in the very basic need to help one's elderly parents.  Anyone who has tangled with a bureaucratic requirement that actually hindered getting care for oneself or a family member is familiar with this sense that the spirit of the law is hobbled by the letter of the regulation.  But when it comes to God's purposes, we understand a double layer of hypocrisy from those who have leadership positions and yet enable such common problems of selfishness behind a mask of piety.  Corruption exists today just as it did then, but Christ's outspoken complaint comes in defense of God and God's purposes, for which He has been sent to us.  This isn't simply a violation of basic norms or common courtesy.  This crosses over into a type of blasphemy, where the outward appearance of serving God perverts God's justice and direct teachings.  In our modern age, we might not quite understand the depth of problem such a violation really means or entails, for it's an act against the Spirit of God, against what has been given us by the Lord, not simply a social problem.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 into 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, upon returning from their first mission, 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.

 

  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 into the boat to them, and the wind ceased.  And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled.    My study Bible comments that this is the second time Christ permits His disciples to be caught in a storm (see this reading).  The first time He was with them; here He had left them alone.  In this way, my study Bible says, 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 to "I Am" (in the Greek of the Septuagint and the New Testament Εγω ειμι/Ego eimi).  This is the divine Name of God (Exodus 3:14; John 8:58).  In this way. He reminds the fearful disciples of His absolute and divine authority over their lives.  

 

 For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.  The loaves refers to the feeding in the wilderness, as reported in yesterday's reading (see above).  My study Bible comments on this verse that knowing Christ is a matter of the heart, not merely the intellect.  When our hearts are illumined by faith in God, it says, they are open to receive God's presence and grace.  In the ascetic writings of the Church, the heart is known as "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.   Here Jesus and the disciples return back across the Sea of Galilee again, to an area near their "home base" of Capernaum, known for its abundance of fishing and agriculture.  (Gennesaret means "Garden of the Prince.") Thus, the people recognized Him.  My study Bible notes that Christ permits miracles through touch to show that His very body is life-giving.  See also Mark 5:25-29.

 

 It's interesting that Jesus and the disciples go to a place called Gennesaret, which means "Garden of the Prince" (or possibly "Princely Gardens").  As mentioned above, this area on the Sea of Galilee was well-known for its exceptional fertility in both fishing and agriculture.  Such great abundance seems present in the action of the people in receiving Jesus.  We're told that they ran through that whole surrounding region, even carrying on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard He was.  This is not Nazareth, Jesus' hometown, in which He was rejected such that even He marveled, and could do no "mighty works" because of their unbelief (see Tuesday's reading).  This is not the country of the Gadarenes, where the people beg Jesus to leave, so frightened are they at the healing of a man with a legion of demons, while their herd of swine perished running to their deaths (see Saturday's reading).  Here in this fertile "garden of the Prince" the entire region produces a tremendous harvest of faith.  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.  That "as many as touched Him were made well" is a sign that faith was strong and prevalent, because it is faith that allows Jesus to heal, that enables His power to work in human beings.  It's interesting that the Gospels unveil small secrets to us like this one hidden in the meaning of the word that is the title of this region on the Sea of Galilee.  Nothing seems to be included by accident, and, once again, like the mustard seed, the tiniest detail tells us a great part of a story.  We can contrast this response in Gennesaret with the fear of the apostles while they were on the water and in the midst of the storm.  Once again, let us remember that at least four of these men (which included those who would become leaders among them) were fishermen by trade, who grew up operating on the Sea of Galilee.  But at the fourth watch of the night (that is, approximately 3:00 AM), with the wind against them, and having a vision of Jesus walking on the water, all kinds of things may happen.  It is just the time and circumstance when our fears might be most exacerbated.  In the chaos of a storm and the darkness of the tumultuous waters raised by the wind against them, fears are going to be heightened to the extent that even Christ coming to us may seem like a frightening sight.  Jesus tells them, "Be of good cheer!  It is I; do not be afraid."  "Be of good cheer" is the translation of a word that means to take heart, to be brave, to have courage.  For this is what Christ's presence radiates to us, and His strength that is necessary for us.  Clearly St. Mark, the author of the Gospel, wants to emphasize the disciples own lack of faith at work here, for he tells us they were "hard-hearted."  That is, they had not opened their hearts to the understanding of the miracle of the loaves and fishes.  Somehow the hardened heart is involved in both lacking courage and the failure of faith.  So let us take confidence in Him when we have fears, and faith that we might produce abundance of spiritual fruit; for this is the promise of the Prince, our Lord.