Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?

 

 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  

 

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" 

 

- Matthew 8:18-27 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." 

 

And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  My study Bible comments that, since the term Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), it is an expression of both His humanity and His divinity.  Here it's a reference to Jesus' human condition; in Matthew 25:31-33 it describes His divine authority.

 

 Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  My study Bible says that Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents, but rather teaching us to put the things of the Kingdom as our highest priority.  Those who ignore this priority are spiritually dead.  

 

 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"  Similarly to His healing miracles, Christ's mastery over creation on display here is another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  Jesus issues commands to the sea and the waves; my study Bible comments that such can only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 66:5-6, 107:29).  It further notes that Jesus was asleep because, as a human being, He needed rest.  In His Incarnation we see that Jesus assumed all the natural actions of human flesh, of which sleep is one.  This image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used to illustrate the Church.  My study Bible concludes that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Christ's rebuke of this storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul.  

 

Who can this be, indeed?  This is the question we are supposed to ask (see Matthew 16:15).   In yesterday's reading and commentary, we discussed the question of authority.  Christ has no earthly sign of authority in the sense that He is not a well-known rabbi, not a Levitical priest, not a member of the Sanhedrin or ruling Council.  He comes from a humble background (the carpenter's son), from a seemingly small and not noteworthy town (Can anything good come out of Nazareth?).  So authority on worldly terms is not something Jesus commands.  And yet, He speaks with authority and astonishes people in so doing (Matthew 7:28-29).  We might call it, from a human perspective, a surprising paradox.  One without authority speaks with authority (even as Judge), heals with authority, and here commands even the wind and the sea.  He acts with authority.  Yesterday we read about the centurion, a clear image of worldly authority, yet who has greater faith than any Christ had found in Israel.  In that reading (see above), it was Jesus' turn to marvel.  And yet, in today's reading, He speaks about the cost of discipleship.  He says, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  He even speaks of leaving family behind -- even family obligations -- when necessary to do so for the Kingdom.  "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead" is a command He gives indicating the first priority of the spiritual life; perhaps indicating this is particularly true if what is left behind is spiritually dead.  But all of this indicates putting the spiritual life first, as first priority, as my study Bible says.  It is this perspective that we need on our worldly lives, and for making our choices in our lives.  Let's note that almost everything Jesus does calls for courage.  This is not only true for Jesus but also for His disciples, those who follow Him.  The story of crossing the stormy Sea of Galilee teaches us this quite vividly.  This is not to say that faithful Christians should take unnecessary risks or avoid thoughtful planning in what they do.  But it does teach us than when our faith calls us to something, then that becomes first priority, and faith must carry us through even the risks we encounter.  Most of all, we call upon Christ in prayer, even when God feels to us to be "sleeping."  Our faith rests upon that guidance, and in the case described in today's reading, it is Jesus who is leading these seasoned fishermen across the sea, even though they fear for their lives.  Perhaps our faith journey will take us through many difficult passages of life, in which we fear loss to ourselves in one way or another.  Jesus Himself has no home; this is something human beings universally have need of and fear to lose.  The man who must leave family obligations behind to follow Jesus will fear the loss of family connections, also a universal need in human beings.  But this "natural" fear of human life in these cases runs contrary to where the spiritual life is calling, and so faith must be the resounding answer, and the risk taken in faith.  Jesus' crossing the Sea of Galilee speaks clearly to this point, when Jesus asks the disciples, ""Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" We are reminded once more in today's reading that authority is practiced appropriately when it is reflective of the qualities of the authority we find in Christ; and above all we know that God is love, God heals on all levels (for this also includes salvation and redemption), and God leads us to become more like God -- to reflect our true nature.  That is, God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:26).  As we will see in the following reading, this journey across the tempestuous sea is for a reason, heading toward a particular and spectacular healing, and spiritual battle.  Let us follow Him in faith in our own lives.  We will always be challenged by the perspective of the worldly and authoritative without Christ; our faith is to live His priorities first.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

 

 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my Father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  

 

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

 

- Matthew 8:18-27 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had come down from the mountain (where He preached the Sermon on the Mount) great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.  Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."   The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses." 

 

 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  My study Bible comments that, since the term Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), it expresses both His humanity and His divinity.  Here it's a reference to Christ's human condition, but in Matthew 25:31-33 it describes Christ's divine authority.  

 

 Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my Father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  My study Bible tells us that Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents, but rather is teaching us to put the things of the Kingdom as the highest priority.  Those who ignore this priority are spiritually dead.  

 

 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"  Christ's mastery over creation is yet another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  My study Bible explains that commands to the sea and waves can only be given by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 65:5-6; 107:29).  That He was asleep shows His humanity, for as a human being, he needed rest.  In His Incarnation, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, of which sleep is one.  My study Bible adds that this image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used to illustrate the Church.  It says that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Christ's rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul. 

 

 We would all like to be in that boat with Christ when we are in a storm, or in a tempest of trouble.  When calamity strikes in our lives, it would be wonderful to think of Jesus asleep in the boat, or in our boat, so to speak.  But we have Christ with us through our prayers, and the Holy Spirit who will testify of Christ, not speaking "on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come" and will "take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 15:26; 16:13-15).  So, even though it may feel like Christ is sleeping in terms of His awareness of what we go through, and that we are like the disciples who want to shout, "We are perishing!" He is nevertheless with us.  While Christ's miracles are extraordinary and instantaneous, it seems that often we must have patience in dealing with our own difficulties.  It seems that prayer allows us to call upon help, to shore up strength, but when it accompanies difficulties we are in a place where we can't see the next step ahead of us.  Then is the time we put confidence in God, so to speak.  We do all that we can, explore all the ways we might solve or understand what we're going through, and with forbearance find that we simply await the next step that might come to us.  Often it seems that prayer works through time, that the help we don't see today will unfold without our being in control or even aware of it.  We always have Christ's admonition to the disciples to recall, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Over and over again in the Gospels, Jesus reminds us, "Do not fear."  We have recently finished reading through the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus counsels us not to magnify our anxieties, fears, and worries (see this reading).  Perhaps our greatest anxieties come from the feeling and the knowledge that we are not in control of everything in our lives, and that extends of course to the lives of others whom we care about.  It's possible that modern life gives us much more of a sense of control than our forbears had, with new technologies, medicines, and development that seems to remind us of our power to build solutions to problems.  It may give us a sense that human life can be perfected in material terms.  But when we put our confidence in Christ, we have another kind of assurance, which comes from our orientation and communion with Him.  The Gospels teach us of His love, and of the transcendent reality of God with us.  God does not ask us to choose between the material things that are helpful to us and our faith, but rather asks us to put our faith first and let that define and shape how we live our lives in the world and relate to the world, how we use our resources and for what.  Seek first the kingdom of God, as Christ taught when He preached against excess anxiety and worry, as those don't do a lot to help us when we need it.  It's perhaps ironic that modern developments seek to help control and solve problems in ways that weren't possible in the past, and yet anxieties and stresses may be the most common problems of the developed world.  For whatever era or place we live, let us think of Christ on the boat.  Even led by His presence, He does not lead the disciples away from problems and difficulties.  He leads them through them.  As my study Bible tells us, it is to teach us to call upon God in our own storms, not to promise a life without struggles.  We won't be judged by how "perfect" our lives are, but how we live with imperfection.  For this is what our faith is for.  In the first part of our reading, we learn that even the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.   In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul contrasts the state of the apostles with others, "And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now" (1 Corinthians 4:12-13).  "We live in a world in which we are caught in a type of wilderness where there is good and bad, beauty and heartbreak, difficulties and grace.  Let us pursue God's grace, and rest in our faith, learning more deeply what that means for us and how to live it.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

You do not know what manner of spirit you are of

 

 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village. 

 

 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  but he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

 

- Luke 9:51–62 

 

Yesterday we read that, when Jesus, James, John, and Peter had come down from the mount of the Transfiguration on the following day, a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.  And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to the disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.  Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great."  Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."

 

  Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village.  As we have observed of others in the Gospels (such as, for example, the sisters Martha and Mary), these two brothers, James and John, are here true to type.  We recall that Jesus has named them Boanerges, meaning "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17).  In our previous reading (see above), it was the brother John who said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  (Take notice of the plural "we" in that statement).  Jesus replied, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."  Here, it is these brothers who ask if the disciples should command fire to come down from heaven and consume the Samaritans who did not receive Christ into their village (for His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem).  Here Christ's reply to these brothers similarly tempers their "fiery" responses, and puts them in mind of what manner of spirit they are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."

 

  Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  but he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  My study Bible comments on the phrase I will follow You.  It notes here that there is a cost to discipleship.  Here, it says, Jesus reveals three of them.  First, the disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security.  That is, if the Lord has nowhere to lay His head, then neither will the disciple.  Secondly, there is nothing -- not even the honor due to parents -- which can be an obstacle to serving the Lord.  Finally, a disciple cannot delay in accomplishing the good that Christ demands.  

 

 We often minimize the demands of discipleship in our modern context.  We live in a world which, for the most part in the developed or developing countries, glorifies consumerism to a certain extent.  Or, barring overt glamorizing of money and all that it can do for us, popular culture and modern life of great advancements in technology and all manner of consumer goods becomes a template for the way in which we live our lives, and the ways we think about how life works.  All manner of things become some kind of object of consumption, even to the point of choosing what our religion teaches and how we follow it.  In other words, "sacrifice" as a concept becomes minimized and even to some extent a scandal.  On a certain level, this even becomes unconscious, for it is the stuff of the societies we live in and the modern telecommunications we consume and use.  Do we want a Christianity that enables us to pursue the great dreams of success taught by the modern world?  We can find a variety or flavor that offers this.  Would we like a Christianity that teaches us that we needn't learn any discipline on our appetites and passions?  We can find that too.  Do we want a Christianity that corrects no one, and says "no" to nothing?  It's easy to call ourselves tolerant while we refuse to notice how much these attitudes allow or even enable harm to others.  On the other hand, the modern world in popular culture is often reacting to overly harsh attitudes of the past as well.  In today's reading, we get a balance between both of these extremes.  On the one hand, Jesus corrects James and John Zebedee, who wonder if they should bring down fire upon the Samaritan villagers who refuse to receive Christ, for Christ has now set his face to go toward Jerusalem and the Cross.  We recall that when Jesus sent the apostles out on their first mission, He taught them to "shake the very dust" from their feet in rebuke against those places where they are not received (Luke 9:5).  Here the Zebedee brothers seem to be consumed with the idea that a worldly kingdom is about to be established by Jesus, complete with the power of holy fire such as shown by the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:20-40), and we can imagine that the dispute about who among the disciples would be the greatest reflected this understanding (see yesterday's reading, above; see also Mark 10:35-45).  In today's reading, Jesus rebuffs such attitudes toward power among His disciples, saying to them, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of."  Following immediately upon this lesson, we are given examples of sacrifice necessary to be a disciple, which couples with Christ's teaching on the use of power.  Even such pressing circumstances which we deem ostensibly "good," such as the burial of a parent, fall to a secondary place when called to discipleship.  Here, Jesus tells the would-be disciple, "Let the dead bury their own dead," implying that those whom he has left behind are not interested in the kingdom of God Christ asks him to go preach instead.  Another reflects the same sentiments of home and family:  "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus replies, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."   In a modern context, midst a breakdown of the family, we are often told that family values are the emphasis of Christianity.  But this can also obscure the fact of discipleship and the sacrifices it requires, even its priorities as explained here by Christ.  Sacrifice entails not only dispelling our conventional social ideas about power (which includes the power of consumption) but also social obligation and the priority given to a call from Christ.  To carry one's cross, to be crucified with Christ in this sense, is to learn to discern where we're called away from the things we might think are "good" to the higher good of service, discipleship, and sacrifice that God asks of us.  Each one's cross will be different, just as each social construct belongs to its own period of time and place in terms of how we're asked to change our thinking, and what to give up at times even what we think of as "good" and "successful" for the vision that God has for us instead.  In our time and place, we have a powerful call to consumerism, to the latest technologies, to obedience to one social realm or another, even to cancel culture.  Let us temper all of our impulses with prayer and the call from Christ, as best as we can discern.  Let us embrace the sacrifice that leads us to our own higher good that we can't know nor realize without it.  For Christ calls us beyond where we are and what we know, into the places we don't know, in order to grow as His disciples.  For all these things are teaching us "what manner of spirit" we must be of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head

 

 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village. 

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

 

- Luke 9:51–62 

 

On Saturday, we read that it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain of the Transfiguration, that a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.  And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.   Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great.   Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."

 

  Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village.   In Saturday's reading and commentary, we noted that a subtle turning point has come in the progression of Christ's ministry.  Now the emphasis on faith grows even stronger; the disciples will have to be strengthened in their faith to bear the experiences that will be coming to them, and to carry out the mission they have of establishing the Church after Christ's Resurrection, and Pentecost.  Jesus has now warned them two times of what is to come at Jerusalem, telling them of His betrayal and persecution, but they have not understood Him.  Perhaps anticipating the advent of a material kingdom, they disputed among themselves who would be greatest (see Saturday's reading, above).  Here we read of a decisive moment, a signaling turning point:  the time has come for Christ to be received up, and so He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.   He is prepared now to go voluntarily to His Passion in Jerusalem, and all that it will lead to.  St. Cyril of Alexandria comments on this passage:  "The disciples are to benefit from preaching the gospel and experiencing rejection, learning how to accept this with longsuffering and gentleness and not with a vengeful spirit."   Jesus is preparing them for the mission to the world that is to come.

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  My study Bible remarks on the comment directed to Jesus, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  It says that there is a cost to discipleship.  Here, Jesus reveals three such costs.  First, the disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security.  That is, if the Lord has nowhere to lay His head, neither will His disciple.  Second, there is nothing -- not even the honor that is due to parents -- which can be an obstacle to serving the Lord.  Finally, a disciple cannot delay in accomplishing the good that is demanded by Christ.  

 

In today's reading, we are given several "costs to discipleship"  that the Gospel lays out.  First, there is the rejection of the Samaritans that the messengers (Christ's disciples) must contend with.  In the Samaritan town, Jesus is rejected.  Somehow there is an implication here of the rejection, the "lifting up" in Crucifixion and death that is to come to Jesus in Jerusalem.  This is a preparation for the times to come, both in Jerusalem, and in the disciples' greater mission to the world to come.  Then Jesus encounters others who would become disciples on the road to Jerusalem.   To one He tells truthfully, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."   Once upon a time I understood this as only indicating that discipleship may entail being poor, but in the context of rejection by strangers it means so much more.  It indicates a state that is physical, psychological, spiritual -- a place of not having a home in this world in the sense of a "place to lay one's head."  Spreading the gospel message, even being a faithful Christian and living in one's home community, may mean that there is no sense of being at home where one is fully accepted, at peace.  Discipleship brings challenges; as we seek to better follow Christ it just might ask us to do the things the disciples do, including leaving friends, even family members behind if we are called by the Lord in such a way.  This may be as simple as finding that practices or behaviors we've always accepted are simply things we're called to turn away from, and we are rejected by others in so doing.  Another says, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."   Even solemn obligations may have to be put aside if it is the right time for us to do something, if we are so called by the Lord -- called to mission away from those who will have no use for our faith.  Another said to Jesus, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."    Sometimes we will need to leave things behind in such a way that we can't spend time explaining, worrying over what some will think and why.  It is hard to accept these kinds of changes in our lives, even on perhaps the most casual and personal of levels.  But nonetheless Christ will call, and we might be asked to leave pieces of our lives behind as we go forward in our mission of becoming what He asks of us.  St. Paul left behind all that He knew as a Pharisee, speaking of it powerfully in his letter to the Philippians, referring to his worldly life as the life of the flesh:  "If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ"  (Philippians 3:4-7).  We can look to the whole of the New Testament as that which prepares us not with false promises of a worldly kind of success or happiness, but rather with the realities of what  it is to live a faithful life, both the sacrifices of carrying our own particular cross, and the joy that causes St. Paul to rejoice in saying that "what thing were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ."  Note that St. Paul is not at all ashamed of being a Pharisee, or of the Law, or of his Hebrew identity.  This passage means quite the opposite.  These, Paul is saying, are valuable and good things; but nonetheless he counts it all as loss for Christ, for the knowledge of Christ -- and St. Paul's conforming to Christ -- surpassing all of it.  This surpassing excellence is the gain of righteousness through faith in Christ, "for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:8-11).  Discipleship, we could say from this passage and Christ's teachings in today's reading, is all about that transfiguration that leads us to things that surpass even the nominally "good" things we may know and believe, like delaying to say good-bye to those we leave behind, or obligations  which can be filled by others, even having a home, a secure place where we may lay our head.  Rejection is a part of the Christian life that we might have to face in various ways; it's not simply a part of life where Christianity is officially persecuted.  In a recent reading, Jesus taught, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels."  There are all kinds of ways in which we may take up our cross daily, and lose our life for Christ's sake, or even to be shamed for following Him and His words.  But it is the surpassing excellence of His righteousness that gives us joy and meaning midst the loss, a sense of self, a onfidence that transcends everything else.

 

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

 

 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

 

 Then another if His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

 

- Matthew 8:18-27 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I am also a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."  

 

  And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."   My study Bible says here that since the term Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), it expresses both His humanity and His divinity.  Here, it is a reference to Christ's human condition; but in Matthew 25:31-33 it describes His divine authority. 

 

Then another if His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."   My study Bible says that Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents, but is teaching us to put the things of the Kingdom as the highest priority.  Those who ignore this priority are in effect spiritually dead.   

 

 Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"  My study Bible explains that the Lord's mastery over creation is another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  It says that commands to the sea and waves can only be given by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  Additionally, we should consider that Jesus was asleep because, as fully human, He needed rest.  In His Incarnation, my study Bible points out, Jesus assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, of which sleep is one.  The image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is a traditional one used to illustrate the Church itself.  My study Bible tells us that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Christ's rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul.  

I personally have had occasion to consider recently various incidents in which I have struggled with difficulty, and especially in feeling alone or abandoned.  These experiences echo aspects of my childhood, and revisit old emotions that can be troubling.  But in today's reading, we see an illustration of Christ's experience of human life, and that is together with the disciples, and also those who would seek Him out to find discipleship.  In the first verses of today's reading, Jesus first sets up the later experience of the storm by giving the command to cross the Sea of Galilee.  He is approached by one who declares he will follow Christ anywhere.  But Christ points out that even the animals have homes and dens, but He, as Son of Man, has nowhere to lay His head.  It is a kind of declarative warning, that discipleship will involve hardships and possibly even a sense of abandonment, and the struggle for faith takes place amidst a world beset with such experiences.  He goes through such experiences as Lord, in His Incarnation, to offer us healing.  But we also will struggle, but together with Him through our faith.  In the second incident, another disciple says he needs to go home first and bury his father.  So we begin with an experience of abandonment, a kind of state of exile, and then we are confronted with death - even the death of a loved one.  But in the midst of that incident, Christ sets the priorities straight.  It is the kingdom of heaven He offers that we need, He is the One who sees us through -- and even family, without Him, cannot sustain us for what we need.  This is setting in order, giving priority; for there are others who will bury the dead, even as discipleship calls us forward.  Finally there is the scene in which wind and sea seek to conspire to frighten these seasoned fishermen on the sea which is part of their homeland.  But Jesus sleeps.  Again, we have a sense of abandonment intentionally given by Christ's command to follow the sea into this storm.  They fear death ("Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"), but Jesus asks, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Here we need to remember this word faith, and that in the Greek its root means to trust.  So He's asking them to trust Him.  This is another aspect -- possibly the fullest aspect -- of discipleship.  It is the whole root of faith.  In whom do we trust?  Where do we put our trust in life?  Whose light will guide us?  When we go through difficult, frightening experiences, and we feel alone or abandoned, let us consider His words. For it is then that He -- the One who will go through the same, and endure even the Cross abandoned and seemingly alone -- will ask us for our trust, to help us to heal even as we dwell in a world beset with storms and fears.

 

 

Lord, save us! We are perishing!

 

 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead." 

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" 

 

- Matthew 8:18-27 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother, lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them. When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."

 

  And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." Jesus uses the term Son of Man here.  My study Bible comments that since "Son of Man" refers to the Messiah (in Daniel 7:13), it expresses both Christ's humanity and His divinity.  Here He is referring to His human condition.  See Matthew 25:21-33 where Christ uses the term to describe His divine authority. 

 

 Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  My study Bible explains that Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents, but rather teaches us to put the things of the Kingdom as the highest priority.  It says that those who ignore this priority are spiritually dead.  

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"   One more sign of Christ's divinity, and that He is the Messiah, is His mastery over creation.  This is linked to the miraculous healings and other signs He performs.  My study Bible notes that commands to the sea and waves can only be given by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  Jesus was asleep, showing His humanity, as He needed rest.  In the Incarnation, Christ assumes all of the natural actions of the flesh, of which sleep is one.  My study Bible adds that the image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is a traditional depiction of the Church.  It says that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Jesus' rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming of the tempests in the human soul; this event is in itself a depiction of the actions of Christ setting our lives in order and calming us under duress.

This image of Christ in a boat on the waters, with the panicking disciples in the boat with Him, summons up many ideas regarding our faith.  There is first of all the consideration that Creation itself comes out of the waters in Genesis.  One strong association with those waters of the creation story in Genesis is not that they are the waters of ocean and sea that we know, but that they are symbols given to us of chaos.  Genesis 1:2 tells us, "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."  These senses of being "without form" and "void," and the "darkness on the face of the deep" are descriptions of chaos, something without order.  And it is the Lord who puts things in order; this is especially understood in Christ's identity as Logos, translated as "Word" but meaning so much more.  John's Gospel begins with a parallel to Genesis, and opens in ways related to the chaos which is organized into Creation.  We read (in John 1:1-5), "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."  Christ's identity as Logos names Him as One without whom "nothing was made that was made," as "life" and also the "light" that "shines in the darkness."  We can see all of these things in the creation story, and we can see them in the life of Jesus, and in how Jesus impacts our own lives.  So when Jesus, asleep in the boat (as God often seems to us), arises at the urgent behest of his panicking disciples in order to calm the chaos on the face of these dark waters -- a chaos that is threatening their very lives -- we can imagine the understanding that parallels what God does in Genesis, that suggests that in Christ is the presence of the Logos, the organizing principle of all life.  For these first century Jewish disciples, there is little doubt of these associations with the Genesis story.  This is why we also should understand these stories about Christ not as simple metaphors, but rather as stories that teach us what Christ does and who Christ is -- and possibly, most importantly for ourselves, what Christ's actions can be like in every aspect of our own lives.  It is a reality that permeates many dimensions without barrier or limit.  We pray in the midst of our troubles just as the disciples plead with Christ to save them from what seems like sure destruction enveloping them.  We pray to be saved from physical danger, spiritual danger, emotional danger, and even mental danger when we are overwhelmed with all forms of chaos.  In Twelve Step programs, it is reliance on a "Higher Power" (language reduced from the original Christian inspiration that began this movement in its infancy) that helps bring order out of the chaos that addictions bring into human lives, families, and communities.  We rely on Christ to set us aright, to lead us out of danger when we're out on a limb, to teach us how to build our home on the rock that is the true solid foundation for strengths and good order (Matthew 7:24-27).  When times arrive, as they inevitably will, in which chaos makes an appearance in our lives, we should consider all the meanings present in this scene and the depiction of Christ and the disciples on the stormy waters -- as an image of the Church in the world, and Christ's work in us.

 

No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God

 

 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village.

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

 

- Luke 9:51–62 

 

On Saturday we read that on the next day, after Jesus, Peter, James, and John had come down from the mountain of Transfiguration, a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.   And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.  Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great."  Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."

 

 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village.  Jesus has twice given the prediction of His Passion to the disciples (Luke 9:21-22, 43-45).  Now, as He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, it is clear He goes to His Passion.  But it is likely that the disciples expect that He goes toward Jerusalem in order to fully take His place as the Messiah, the Christ of God (9:20).  Therefore John and James Zebedee, whom Jesus has called "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17), respond in a way that might characterize one seizing material power in the context of rulers of the time.  But just as Jesus has recently corrected the disciples regarding who would be greatest in His Kingdom (see yesterday's reading, above, and the example of the little child), this response is also an opportunity for correction to the disciples regarding "what manner of spirit you are of."  The very nature of the holiness Jesus brings into the world works not to destroy men's lives but to save them.

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  My study bible writes about the statement, I will follow You, that there is a cost to discipleship.  Here Jesus reveals three of them.  First, the disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security.  If Christ the Lord has nowhere to lay His head, neither will the disciple.  Moreover, there is nothing, not even the honor that is due to parents, that can be an obstacle to serving the Lord.  Finally, a disciple cannot delay in accomplishing the good that is demanded by Christ.  

Jesus says, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  Let us be assured that this does not mean a person is permanently barred from the kingdom of God.  Jesus is speaking of the demands of discipleship, the way of following Him.  If we think about the good we might miss, or the things we might have, then we are not "all in."  In other words, if our loyalty is in question as to where our deeper love calls us in the soul, then we're not prepared for this journey of discipleship and especially the taking up of our own crosses daily.  Earlier in this chapter, Jesus has taught the disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (9:23).  That taking up of the cross is a way of crucifying everything in our lives.  If this sounds harsh, one must understand it in the truly experiential terms of the journey toward Christ.  Every day of our lives, we'll be asked, in some form or another, what our real choice is, what we truly desire.  A prompting of the heart may tell us what we truly love better than what the world offers us at any particular given time.  Does our spouse need help, when we might spend the same time working at something that brings personal worldly glory?  Is a friend hurt who needs comfort?  Is there a way to donate to a cause to help someone truly needy, but that will not give us the worldly currency of a different and more widely applauded cause?  These are just daily examples of choices we might have to make, in which somehow our worldly lives are crucified.  Our choices become times of the cross, where we need to make a decision, and choose who we really are.  How we find who we really are becomes a matter of what we love the most, where our real loyalty lies, and thus who we become.  Are we going to be modeled in the image of Christ?  This is the cost of discipleship and the true goal invested in discipleship.  Christ becomes the model, giving us the image He has of us, His creation.  This is the long road of discipleship, the ways in which we take up our crosses daily.  We exchange one way of life for another, a worldly or "earthly" way of thinking and being in the world, for Christ's way of thinking and being in the world.  In this way our true image of the self is created, tested in the fire, brought to the Cross.  And as Christ indicated when He spoke of taking up one's cross daily, for each of us this is going to look different.  We are each going to have specifics we need to live, and to walk through, and to make choices about, all in the light of that Cross.  This is the way life is, and those who are outside of Christ's discipleship will not understand it except in vague terms of morality or some other kind of compass.  But the life to which we are called by Christ is a life of love and loyalties within the practice of that love.  Do we save life or destroy it?  This is the manner of spirit we are of.  What are we called upon to nurture and love?  Are we all in, or is there something else that calls our loyalty?  Our lives are meant to be journeys of faith; let us consider with what courage we look toward Him on that road. 

 

 

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

Rembrandt van Rijn. Christ In The Storm On The Sea Of Galilee. 1633, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA

 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then his disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"

- Matthew 8:18-27

In yesterday's reading, we that when Jesus had come down from the mountain (where He gave the Sermon on the Mount) great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."

 And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, He gave a command to depart to the other side.  Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  My study bible says that the term Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), and it expresses both Christ's humanity and divinity.  Here Christ uses it to reflect His human condition.  By contrast, in 25:31-33, it describes His divine authority.

Then another of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus said to him, "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  My study bible comments that Jesus does not negate the command to honor parents, but rather teaches us to put the things of the Kingdom as our highest priority.  To ignore this priority is to be spiritually dead.

Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him.  And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves.  But He was asleep.  Then his disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"  But He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?"   Christ's mastery over creation fits with His capacity for healing, and is another sign that He is the Messiah, and also divine.  My study bible says that commands to the sea and waves can only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  Jesus also shows His humanity in that He needed rest and so was asleep.   So this passage in today's reading is a profound expression of both His humanity and His divinity.  My study bible says that in His Incarnation, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh -- which includes sleep.  This image of Jesus and His disciples in a boat is a traditional illustration of the Church.  My study bible comments that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can more clearly see God's protection.  Jesus' rebuke of the storm also expresses His help and aid to calm the internal storms within our souls.

In our reading for Thursday, Jesus taught (as part of His final teachings in the Sermon on the Mount), ""Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock."  In that reading, Jesus assured us that, indeed, rain will descend, and floods come, and winds blow and beat on the houses of our lives.  These are potentially literally true events, but clearly Jesus' words are metaphorical.  We don't exactly know what form the winds, rain, and floods will take.  In Thursday's reading, He doesn't teach that as disciples we will be spared such events; rather, as good disciples, we will be on solid ground to withstand them intact.  In today's reading, we are given an illustration that being a disciple does not spare us from such challenges.  In fact, the disciples -- many of whom are seasoned fishermen who've worked this sea all their lives -- are led across the Sea of Galilee and into this storm by Jesus.  It's important, too, that Jesus has just been approached by others who wish to follow Him, and that this resulted, first, in a warning that He Himself has "nowhere to lay His head," even though foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests.   Moreover, another wishes a kind of reprieve first, seeking to go bury his father.  But even that Jesus does not grant, commanding instead to "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  While it's entirely possible that this case of one who seeks to bury his father is entirely individual (in the sense of it being a distraction from discipleship or faith), we are nevertheless given to understand that nothing comes before discipleship, and that -- at least in this case -- Christ issues a clear command not to do so but to follow Him instead.   That tells us about sacrifice even of things that are nominally "good" in social context will be asked of us in discipleship.  This potential disciple must risk looking "bad" at least in the eyes of his family and possibly the society in general.  Then Christ directs the disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee, where they promptly happen upon a storm that seems to them to threaten their lives altogether.  My study bible comments that Christ both leads us into storms and through them.  But I think our real insight has to be that discipleship will demand enormous things of us.  It will ask us to stretch, and to come to terms with whatever is inside of us.  It will challenge us.  Most of all, we will certainly come up against challenges to our faith, which are meant to test and expand that faith through confrontation with our own assumptions, habits, and familiarity.  Even the fishermen in the boat are shaken with fear in this scene -- while Jesus sleeps.  He asks of them not only to follow into places which test their capacity to go outside their norms, but to learn to have complete confidence in Him.  Faith, we recall, means "trust" at its root in the Greek.  And that is precisely what He asks them for.  He asks us for our trust in Him.  We will be challenged, the Gospels tell us, every step of the way.  We'll be challenged regarding our assumptions of what is good and what takes priority even over what we think is good.  We will be challenged on what is "safe" in many senses of the word.  Above all, we will be taken on a journey meant to challenge our own barriers and expand our faith.  This seems to be assured, if nothing else, through the Gospels.  How is our discipleship -- the solid ground upon which Christ has asked us to build our house -- at once challenging and also built upon a rock?  In which direction do we go when Christ calls us forward to new and even risky things?  Where are we going in the life of faith?  How are we called upon to move forward, and "let the dead bury their own dead?"  These are all important questions which will shake up our assumptions regarding just what "solid ground" really is.  Let us remember the question He asks the disciples:  "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"   

No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God

 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.  And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village.

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

- Luke 9:51-62

On Saturday we read that it happened on the next day (after the Transfiguration), when they had come down from the mountain, that a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.  And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.  Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great." Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face.  And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him.  But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.   The time has come for Jesus to be received up; that is to be received into heaven -- the time has come for His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  Jesus has steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem:  His Person is now totally identified with what is to happen at Jerusalem, His entrance as Messiah and the Passion to come.  It is Jerusalem where the Messiah will be received, and make His departure.  This Samaritan village refuses to receive Him, most likely, according to many commentaries, precisely because He is going to Jerusalem.  Many note the traditional conflict between Jews and Samaritans about the proper location of the temple (see the story of the Samaritan woman in John 4:1-23, especially her question to him in verse 19).

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?"  But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."  And they went to another village.  Second to Peter, the characters of James and John Zebedee are pretty clearly marked out in the Gospels.  It is John who has just told Jesus that they forbade another from casting out demons in His name (see Saturday's reading, above).  We know that Jesus has given His own name to these brothers, Boanerges, meaning "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17).  John, who will go on to teach us that God is love in His first Epistle (1 John 4:8), will clearly learn this lesson of discipleship.

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Then He said to another, "Follow Me."  But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God."  And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house."  But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."   My study bible comments that there is a cost to discipleship.   Here, Jesus reveals three of them.  First, a disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security.  At this point, Christ has nowhere to lay His head, nowhere He can call His "home" (and keep in mind He is on His way to Jerusalem, where He will be rejected).   If this is true for Him, it is also true for the disciple.  Second, there is nothing that can be an obstacle to serving God, not even (as in the example here) the honor due to parents.  Finally, no disciple can delay in accomplishing the good that has been asked by Christ.

Discipleship is a long road, which is meant to pull on each and every thing we have and are, and teach us what to do with it, how to change, what to discard, and how our lives can serve God even in the details.  We note above the characters of James and John Zebedee, and the name that Jesus gave to them, "Sons of Thunder."  Their characters seem fiery, quick to answer and flash a response or command, as they are revealed through the Gospels (particularly that of John, whom we also know that Jesus loved; see John 13:23-25).  John is so beloved a friend and disciple that he's the one to whom Jesus entrusted the care of His mother (John 19:26-27).  Through the fiery, whiplash-quick temper, Jesus sees and knows a man capable of great love and thereby knowledge of God, who would go on to give us so much in the form of the Scripture that we have.  But what of John's capacity for anger?  Jesus rebukes him by saying, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."   In the lives of the desert saints, the men and women who went to the deserts of Sinai to be the first Christian monastics, we have a strong tradition of what is called in Greek "apatheia," which sounds like the English word "apathy."  But it doesn't have the same meaning.  It means to be dispassionate, not to be ruled or controlled by our passions.  And this is an important and essential part of discipleship.  We must be able to put Christ first, before our anger, or disappointment, or envy, or desires of all kinds.  We must be able to do this to serve God.  And so, apparently, do John and James Zebedee, as we learn from Jesus' correction.  In a book I've previously mentioned in a recent reading (In the Heart of the Desert: The Spirituality of the Desert Fathers and Mothers), the author, John Chryssavgis, mentions one "way" of dispassion of the desert monastics, and that is to see each passion as a kind of wound.   It is meant for us to understand that it is our Creator who has endowed us with our passions, but they are meant for particular kinds of uses in our lives, in order to serve the highest good, to be true disciples.  When our passions run away with us and dominate us, our lives are not in order -- they can work to separate us from God.  But under discipleship, our passions may take on beneficial roles meant to serve God.  Anger, which can be used in ways that are harsh and outside the role Christ has for us -- precisely as witnessed in today's Gospel reading in Jesus' rebuke, can instead serve Creator, as when Jesus is grieved at the sight of an injustice or callousness or hypocrisy of the religious leadership.  See, for example, Jesus grieving at the hardness of heart of the Pharisees who would deny someone the healing of a withered hand in Mark 3:1-6.  In this point of view, we understand that our creation is basically "good" -- as it must be by creation of God.  But that we need to understand who we are within a depth of return to love of God, in communion with Christ.   Our own impulses and emotions, and all of our passions and desires, are given over to Christ in discipleship, and we change and are transformed through that discipleship.  This is the image of Transfiguration for all of us, as our true identity may be revealed through the work of our Creator within us (indeed, even the Trinity is at work within us).  What we seek in discipleship is precisely this kind of depth of change from within.  It is not something we call upon with our own desired image of ourselves in mind; that is not Christ's purview.  But we submit ourselves to the "manner of spirit we are of," and we learn within that discipleship.  Witness the examples given above of the people who delay to follow Him when commanded.  None of the impulses that the would-be disciples have are "bad" -- one must consider that he will have no home, another must not go first even to bury his father, and yet another must not even return to say good-bye.  These are not nominally bad things, but they are hindrances to the necessary discipleship for the followers Christ asks for; and discipleship comes through putting the Lord first, and learning what the Lord would ask of us in the moment of choice.  This is our road, how our own passions become transformed, transfigured, put to better use, and serve a world that is hungry for the love of God.  Where are you on that road?  Have you put your hand to the plow?  Are you ready to follow Him?   Christ Himself becomes "home" -- and where He is, there we follow.  And do we not all want our homes to reflect His love?