Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve

And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.   Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"   And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

- Luke 21:37-22:13

Yesterday we read that, after Christ's prophecy regarding both the destruction of the temple (during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD) and of the end times, He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man."

And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.   Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.  Jesus teaches in the temple daily for the people; at night we're told He stays on Mount Olivet, as with other pilgrims who've come to Jerusalem for the Passover.

 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.  And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.  The Passover, my study bible explains, is the celebration of the destruction of the firstborn of Egypt and the deliverance of God's people from bondage (Exodus 12-14).  In remembrance of this, an unblemished lamb would be slaughtered and eaten with unleavened bread.  My study bible comments that it is a prefiguration of Christ's Passion, in which the only-begotten Son of God is slain in order to deliver His people from bondage to sin and death, and then is raised to lead them into the eternal Kingdom.  In the Greek of the Gospels, Passover is Pascha/Πασχα, and for the Easterm Orthodox, Pascha is the primary term for Christ's death and Resurrection, known as Easter in the West.

 Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.  So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.  And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.  So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.  My study bible tells us that Satan doesn't enter into a person unless there is at some level consent.  The reason that Judas was chosen and none of the others is that Judas had a place for Satan in his heart, and the others did not.  The fact that it is emphasized by the text that Judas was numbered among the twelve underscores the depth of betrayal.  It teaches us that religious position has no value if it is not accompanied by faith and virtue.

Then came the Day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat."  So they said to Him, "Where do You want us to prepare?"   And He said to them, "Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.  Then you shall say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says to you, "Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large, furnished upper room; there make ready."  So they went and found it just as He had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.  The term Passover, my study bible says, can refer to the original event itself (the events recorded in Exodus 12-14), or it can refer also to the celebration of that event, or to th efood that is eaten, or also the lamb that is slain.  According to patristic commentary, Peter represents zeal and John represents spiritual understanding -- these are the virtues with which we are to partake of the Lord's Supper.

The events which begin to be described in today's reading are not simply the happenstance of 2,000 years ago in Jesus' final week of His worldly life.  Scripture records for us events of significance that exceeds simple historical value.  Commemoration of such events as the original Passover, and of its fulfillment in the events of Holy Week and Easter, tell another and more full story about spiritual reality, and our own lives as faithful.  That is, to some extent, as we each are called to carry our own crosses in life ("If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" - 9:23), we may also "live" reflections of these events in our own lives.  They echo throughout the fabric of personal experience in the lives of the faithful.  Yes, Christ's Passion and Resurrection happened a single time once and for all -- and for all humankind.  Nevertheless it remains true that each of us are called to participate in His life and Kingdom, and that we each may find ourselves in circumstances and experiences that recall to us what He did first and for all of us.  That Satan enters into Judas is another piece of the reality that may also be reflected and echoed in our own lives.  Although the defeat of death (and Satan) is clear through the Cross of  Christ, nevertheless the end times have not yet manifested; we still live in a world in which human beings have somewhere deep inside each one of us a will, a volition, a heart that can consent one way or another to love God or not.  As such, each of us may have experiences of evil in our lives.  Experiences of betrayal can echo the shocking depth of choice -- and personal destruction -- we see in Judas.  Betrayal is a kind of pain that we can understand as the destruction of trust -- and faith is, in fact, trust.  When we are talking about a betrayal of faith in goodness itself -- in God, then betrayal becomes truly evil, destructive, an act against goodness, righteousness, justice, love.  These realities happen in the events of the Passover Week 2,000 years ago, but do so at such levels that they continue to echo and ripple through the experiences of the faithful in practicing their faith.  Such has been the experience of the Church and its saints throughout the centuries, those both known to us and unknown in the struggles for their own faith.  What we can count on is that should we also go through such struggles, we must never lose sight of the fact that this happens for a reason and purpose, and that reason and purpose is salvation for all, and for the life of the world.  When we follow in faith and find our own betrayals and hardships and crosses to bear, we can known and understand that we share and participate in our Lord's Passion as He has gone before.  These reflections in the life of Christ go both forward and backward in history, with His Passion, death, and Resurrection in the center,  even as the story reminds us that His Passion is the fulfillment of Passover.    Christ's Passion is reflected in the Psalms He will pray on the Cross (see Psalms 22 and 31), and through the Old Testament Scriptures the Church has always seen "types" we know fully in Christ.  But we should not forget that we also are called to participate in the fullness of His life, and to take up our own crosses -- and to see our own difficulties in this light of faith.  As the Psalmist reminds us, "Righteousness will go before Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway" (Psalm 85:13).  If we live to Him, in faith and love, then our own sufferings take on meanings and strengths that run deeper than our experiences of this world.  He goes for us into His Passover, His Passion, so that we may always remain with Him (John 12:32).   "Come to Me," He says, "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 11:28-30).  We give to Him our burdens -- of betrayal, hardship, injustice, cruelty, abuse, abandonment, loss, death, and suffering -- so that we may be healed even in the depths of our souls to which His salvation can reach.  He doesn't look away from our lives but reaches into them for each of us, even as we may share in His.  Christ does not invite us into a "perfect" worldly life, but rather into a good fight.  He invites us to be truly healed.  As so many have found, it's not the battle scars in the end that matter.  It's not about winning in a conventional sense of that word.  It's not about what everybody else is doing.  It's all about what you decided in your heart to stand up and fight for.

Which is easier?

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!"

- Mark 2:1-12

We have just finished chapter 1 of Mark's Gospel. Jesus' Galilean ministry has been widely established. In yesterday's reading, we read of several healings: by touch, Peter's mother-in-law was healed of fever; then the whole city gathered to his door in Capernaum, and Jesus healed many with diseases and cast out demons from others. Jesus again showed His power over the demons because He would not let them speak. Long before it was light, early in the morning, Jesus went out to pray alone. But everyone was looking for Him. He told Peter they must go to the next towns, "that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth." Then a leper came to be cleansed, and Jesus healed Him. He forbade the healed leper to tell others of it, but simply to go to the priest for a certificate. Nevertheless, Mark tells us, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Jesus sticks to His purpose: for the ministry, preaching comes first. My study bible points out that "Jesus preached wherever there were people -- in the synagogue, on the mountain, on the plain, and here in a house."

Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." There's an interesting note here that this story relates to our preparation for Easter. This particular passage tells us "(1) We must come to Christ in faith and let Him heal us of our spiritual paralysis. Sin is a paralysis of the soul. (2) We should let nothing deter us from getting to Christ, who alone can heal us, both in body and in soul. (3) We must help each other come to Christ." Many comment on the help of friends illustrated here, and of course, to me it suggests also the power of intercessory prayer on behalf of others. It also speaks of the great effort we may put in to get this great gift, the presence of Christ. In faith, the effort confirms our great and true desire.

And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?" In Scripture, the heart is usually meant to refer to the center of our consciousness, which includes both our will and reason. Jesus, as the Gospels so often illustrate, and as the Apostles prayed, is the knower-of-hearts. Neither is He afraid to challenge the scribes, based on His knowledge.

"Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" -- He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" My study bible says that the point here is not which is, in fact, easier, but rather that the one who can say to a paralytic, "Arise, take up your bed and walk" also has the power to forgive sins. The scribes have, in an ironic twist, confirmed that only God can forgive sins, and the implication about Jesus' divine nature is clear, yet remains a great secret! As we read in yesterday's cleansing of the leper, this secret is one that is, in fact, hidden in plain sight, so to speak. And the people give glory to God in their amazement, and say, "We never saw anything like this!"

Have you ever experienced anything in your life that felt to you as if it must have been the work of God's presence in your life, and yet to all others it passed as the normal order of the day? I don't think this is such a very unusual experience. Often we may attribute workings in our lives, or insights we may gather, simply to natural forces or the capacity of our own minds. I have had friends insist that this must be so for me, when I tell of insights that I don't feel I could possibly have had without spiritual grace -- things I don't feel I learned from merely my experiences of life. Regardless of how we feel we get there, today's story is an expression of the effort that is always worthwhile, and that is the power that we put into our faith. It really doesn't matter how things look to others. Jesus illustrates this by His conviction, His preaching, because "for this purpose" He "has come forth." He doesn't heal to please people, nor to gather followers, but rather out of compassion -- and in today's story, we learn, He "saw their faith." The knower-of-hearts responds to what is in our hearts, and out of our hearts comes our effort. What may be hidden in plain sight, even to those who may be amazed, won't be hidden in the heart when we understand the relationship of faith to effort, to love and relationship, and to the Comforter, the One that graces us with help. How do you prepare for Easter today by making the effort to find the One whom your heart most desires?