Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe

 

 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. 

 

So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 

- John 4:43–54 

 

 On Saturday, we read of the outcome of Christ's visit to Samaria and His encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (see the first two readings in this story here and here):  And at this point His disciples came, and they marveled that He talked with a woman; yet no one said, "What do You seek?" or, "Why are You talking with her?"  The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, "Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did.  Could this be the Christ?"  Then they went out of the city and came to Him.  In the meantime His disciples urged Him, saying, "Rabbi, eat."  But He said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know."  Therefore the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought Him anything to eat?"  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.  Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'?  Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!  And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.  for in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'  I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."   And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."  So when the Samaritans had come to Him, they urged Him to stay with them; and He  stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of His own word.  Then they said to the woman, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

 

  Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  The two days refers to the two days Jesus remained in Samaria following the conversion of the Samaritan woman and her townspeople (see Saturday's reading, above).  Jesus' own country is Galilee.  Galileans were present in Jerusalem during the Passover (John 2:13-25) where Jesus apparently had performed many signs.  That was the first of three Passover feasts recorded in St. John's Gospel.  My study Bible comments that while the Galileans received Christ having seen His signs, St. John Chrysostom gives more credit to the Samaritans for accepting Christ based on words alone without the accompanying signs (see also John 20:29).  This statement that a prophet has no honor in his own country is reported in all four Gospels (see also Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24).

 

 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  My study Bible comments that here Christ admonishes the people in general (you is plural both times in Christ's statement) and not only the nobleman.  It says that faith based on miraculous works alone is insufficient for salvation; this kind of incomplete faith quickly turns to scorn should the miracles cease (John 19:15).  

 

 The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.  My study Bible notes that this nobleman's concern is clearly for his child, although his faith in Christ is weak.  He doesn't understand that Christ is Lord over illness even from a distance, and neither does he know that Christ would have the power to heal even if his child were to die.  Finally, he asks about the timing of the healing, suggesting that he still doesn't completely trust in Jesus' authority.  But after all is confirmed then he and his whole household believe.  My study Bible says that thus, in healing the child from a distance, Jesus heals not simply the body of the child, but the soul of the nobleman.  This is the second of seven signs reported in St. John's Gospel.  (The first was the turning of water to wine at the wedding in Cana.)

 

I recently had an experience of an acquaintance whose son fell ill with a very rare type of cancer.  He was quite healthy otherwise, and so the parents pursued many avenues of healing for their only child.  Sadly, this cancer had spread before anyone was aware of it, partly due to its very rare nature, and the fact that the child was otherwise a very healthy young man.  They prayed and enlisted many in their prayers for him.  But sadly, it could be observed that there was a belief at work that if only they believed hard enough that he would be healed, even miraculously, their prayers would come true.  Unfortunately the child -- a wonderful young man full of faith in Christ -- endured many treatments but ultimately was not cancer-free.  It remains perhaps the most tragic experience for so many of us who were praying and hoping.  But in my opinion, that young man who never gave up his faith in Christ, even when he (contrary to his parents' belief and promises) didn't believe he would be completely healed.  And this, to me, is a tremendous testimony to the boy for he faced difficulties that would test any of the saints we know, the martyrs we might have read about.  I was awed by what a tremendous positive and creative personality he had, and the love present in him and in his family.  In fact, it seemed as if he continued his treatments long after he did not feel he would get well, but did so for his parents' sake, and not to let them down.  Today's reading has prompted this memory, sad and tragic as it is (and perhaps dismaying to readers), because we have in a sense an opposite scenario.  A desperate man comes to Jesus, the Lord in the flesh, seeking healing for his direly ill son.  But he doesn't have that complete faith in Christ.  In fact, we read throughout the story that his faith is little.  Faith in him and his household is confirmed not after his son is healed, but when he found out what hour the son recovered.  The difference between the Gospel story for today, and the story of my friends and their sadly ill child is striking to me.  But one thing remains, and that is the power of Christ.  It is not "conjured" by us if we simply believe what we desperately want to believe.  The Lord, in the person of Jesus Christ, assured this nobleman his son will be healed in our story.  In the life we live in this world, full of its own sorrows and difficulties (including death and illness) we are charged not simply to believe that what we want will happen if we have enough faith, but rather to seek God's way to live through the difficulties and pursue our lives with the love, compassion, and insight that grace and prayer can give to us.  We don't know the outcome of all circumstances, and sad or tragic outcomes can happen, even things we most fear.  But what we are promised is the grace of God, our Savior's presence with us, and in the prayers of the faithful who also pray with us, including the saints in heaven.  Our faith is not about guaranteed outcomes, which is perhaps the hardest thing of all for us to accept, but it is about the grace we're given to live our lives through it, to build love and compassion, for our beloved dear ones who suffer to know our love is with them, and will continue with them.  And this is the promise we're given that in Christ, love and life is transcendent and abundant, even to an everlasting life.  The story of my friends, the parents who did so much with so much love, is not over. Through their efforts their son was beloved by many and will continue to be; they themselves were an inspiration to many.  Through God's love they will perhaps help many others in similar situations, but that remains to be seen.  Jesus says in today's reading, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  But perhaps we need to change our understanding of signs and wonders to include the grace of God that shows us how to love and guides us to compassion for those who suffer, even when our outcomes are not the perfection we desired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them

 

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  

 

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan. 

 

- Matthew 4:18-25 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, / By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, / Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 

 

  And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.   My study Bible asks us to understand that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and so they were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  Although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, it notes, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to the be the wisest of all.  

 

 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  My study Bible says that we should note that these crowds do not swarm Jesus when He commands repentance (as in yesterday's reading; see the final verse, above), but only as He begins to heal and work miracles.  This fact, it says, shows that the people misunderstand the true nature of His Kingdom.  It also shows Christ's concession, according to Theopylact, "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the fickle multitudes.  

 

Jesus reveals the presence of the Kingdom with Him in the healings that He does.  He heals diseases and torments, epilepsy, paralysis, and of course this goes hand in hand with casting out demons from those who were possessed.  This is all an expression of the Kingdom very present with Him, and of course, a manifestation of His power and authority in His identity as Son.  But, as we discussed in yesterday's reading and commentary, all the things that Christ is, and that entire presence of the Kingdom that encompasses all that He teaches and will do, including even Judgment, are part and parcel of what comes with Christ.  We can pick and choose healing, or casting out demons, but we can't leave out repentance, for this is basic and fundamental to His gospel message.  It is a sad and tragic thing when people suffer; when they suffer from diseases that afflict in terrible ways, when people die.  These things are "not fair."   In the historical understanding of the Church, these afflictions are a part of the effects of sin in the world, and that includes death and all that comes with it.  But each one of us will contend with death in one way or another, and what that means is that the ways in which we meet death, or any of the varied forms of death we encounter in life, such as illness and suffering, injustice, and the entire gamut of myriad things that are detrimental to life, must first of all be the encounter with Christ.  He is the One who transfigured death on the Cross, defeated it, but in His suffering created meaning and purpose.  We also, turning to Him in our distress, must meet all of our suffering and ailments with Him, and the fullness of what He is and teaches us.  Many people look to the amazing healings described in the Gospels and think that prayer's effectiveness is only about those times of trouble we have and the banishing of that trouble, like using a magic wand to fix our problems, or saying particular words that will have this effect.  Some see Christ's preaching as teaching us that all we have to do is believe that we have what we want, and call on His name, and it will be manifest.  But this is not the fullness of His ministry and message.  Even St. Paul writes that he had to accept an affliction, for he had received so many blessings and revelations, and been granted so many graces by God that, as he says, "a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure."  Praying about this "thorn in the flesh," this "messenger of Satan," he was told by God, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  Can we, in our quest for healing, accept what St. Paul says here?  That his own thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, was allowed intentionally for the greater glory of God, that his weakness was in fact a way through which God's strength is made perfect?  How many of us can accept so fully this gospel that we could meet our own afflictions this way, finding meaning and even intention and purpose in our suffering?  But St. Paul met his suffering in prayer, and embraced the message that God had for him.  He concludes, "Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).  It is a healthy and good thing to seek life, to reject death in all its forms, and to find the good and abundant reality of creation which God has given us and of which we are a part.  But when we substitute something else, an idol even of something nominally good, for the fullness of Christ and the meanings and grace to be found in the transfiguration of life possible through faith, then we're missing the mark -- we're failing to find what God has in mind for us and the beauty therein.  None of us wants to suffer; even more so, none wants to see their loved ones suffer in any way.  The mother of God, Mary, comes to mind when we think of her watching her Son suffer and die.  This kind of agony we wish upon no one.  And yet, she accepted God's reality for her; it was her faith that guided her response to even the worst cruelties of life.  These things are also great and profound mysteries; they are difficult to fathom, more difficult even to see when we are in distress.  But prayer will see us through them, even in the times when God's grace must be sufficient for us, when God's strength is made perfect in our weakness, or that of someone we love.  An acceptance of the potentials of meaning even within suffering shifts our perspective to one of compassion, and transcendence.  We find a dignity in forbearance but most of all in our capacity for care in the midst of imperfection, a beauty in seeing the grace that is still possible in the expression of faith and of love and the strength made perfect in weakness.  For we are on a journey to God which takes us through all kinds of things in life, even the sad things of this world.  Let us find His way and the comfort in His easy yoke, and light burden (Matthew 11:20).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more

 

 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."  When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

 

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male  children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,

Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,

 Rachel weeping for her children,

Refusing to be comforted,

Because they are no more." 

 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."  Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.  And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.  And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

 

- Matthew 2:13-23  

 

Yesterday we read that after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah are not the least among the rulers of Judah;  For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"  Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

 

  Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."  My study Bible points out that Egypt is where Israel once took refuge; as Joseph of the Old Testament once saved God's people by bringing them to Egypt (Genesis 39 - 47), now Christ's stepfather Joseph finds safety for the Savior in Egypt.  It is probable, it adds, that the gifts of the magi paid for this journey.  

 

 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."   This quotation is from the prophet Hosea (Hosea 11:1).  It refers first to Israel being brought out of captivity.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible explains, "son" can refer to the whole nation of Israel.  Here Jesus fulfills this calling as the true Son of God by coming out of Egypt.  

 

 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.   My study Bible tells us that the cruelty of Herod was prefigured by Pharaoh, who, in an attempt to destroy the power of Israel, commanded the death of all the newborn Jewish boys (Exodus 1:16, 22).  

 

 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:  "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."   The prophet Jeremiah recorded the people of Jerusalem being led away into exile (Jeremiah 31:15).  On their way to captivity, my study Bible says, they passed Ramah, which was near Bethlehem, where Jacob's wife Rachel lay buried.  In his prophecy, Jeremiah saw Rachel, even from the grave, moved with compassion for the fate that had come to her descendants.  St. Matthew writes that Rachel once again is weeping for her children, and according to my study Bible, it shows that the saints in heaven have awareness and compassion for those yet on earth.  These slaughtered children are regarded as saints and martyrs in the Church and are known as the Holy Innocents.  Just as Rachel was told that her children would return from exile in Babylon (Jeremiah 31:16-17), so Jesus will return from His exile in Egypt.

 

 Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."  Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.  According to historical records reported by my study Bible, Herod the Great died in 4 BC.  So, the date of Christ's birth on our current AD (Anno Domini, Latin for "year of the Lord") calendar is based is off by four years.

 

 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.  And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.  My study Bible cites Augustus Caesar having banished Archelaus for his cruelty in AD 6.  This cruelty, it says, was revealed as a warning to Joseph, hence the detour to Nazareth.  This town was in Galilee, and governed by a different son of Herod the Great, whose name was Herod Antipas (see Luke 3:1). 

 

 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."  My study Bible tells us that this prophecy cannot be precisely identified.  It has been taken as a reference to the rod (Hebrew neser) in Isaiah 11:1, and to the Nazritie (Hebrew Nazir) of Judges 13:5.   It says that St. Matthew might also have been alluding to passages in which the Messiah was despised, since Nazareth did not have a good reputation (John 1:46).  

 

In these early "chapters" of Christ's life, we see that His entry into the world as Human Being was anything but simple and easy.  First of all, His pregnant mother and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem for Caesar's census.  This cannot by any means have been an easy journey.  Then, for the Savior of the world, there was no place -- no place to stay and to be born.  So He was born in a cave, used as a barn for animals, where the shepherds, informed by angels, came to adore Him (see Luke 2:1-20).  As we have read so far in St. Matthew's Gospel, the wise men have made their way from Persia to find this Child born under a star which foretold a tremendous identity and destiny.  In Bethlehem they are brought before Herod to tell him about the Child, but they manage to escape Herod when leaving through divine warning in a dream.  This is after they bring Christ their gifts of gold for a King of the ages, frankincense for the God of all, and myrrh for One who is Immortal and yet will be three days dead.  Shortly after, based upon the information he was given by the wise men (or magi), Herod orders the death of all male infants under the age of two years.  But Joseph -- similarly to the wise men -- has been divinely warned in a dream to take the Child to Egypt, and so they must live in exile until King Herod is dead.  Then this holy family returns, but the fear of Archelaus, new ruler of Judea, keeps them from going to Bethlehem, so they turn to Galilee to establish themselves there, where Jesus will be raised.  As my study Bible points out, Jesus will meet with disapproval and suspicion, even contempt, because it will be known that He is from Nazareth, a town which holds little importance in terms of prophesy and spiritual history.  But that, of course, will come from people who do not know that He was born in Bethlehem, the city of King David.  So let us start here, with all of these difficulties, present in simply the first few years of Christ's life.  We should note, too, that they are difficulties for His parents, His mother and earthly guardian Joseph, who take all precautions and take on hardships to protect this Child.  What does it say about the Incarnation story?  If you and I were writing a story about the King of all, the Lord of the universe, come into the world and born on planet earth in the form of a helpless baby, what would we write?  Could we even imagine these difficulties?  Would we write such a story of exile, of being despised and being hunted?  Would we invent a story of the wise men who come to honor Him but who are also in mortal danger for doing so, and must leave the country by evading King Herod?  I hardly think so, for our ideas about majesty and grandeur are not compatible with God's plans and the truth of the Gospels, and indeed, of the whole Bible.  One thing we can say is that most certainly, in His Incarnation, Christ most definitely experiences the dangers of life that we are subject to -- and maybe even more so than most.  Even as an Infant, He's subject to the hatred and envy of those in power and who wish to simply kill Him because He is already a perceived threat.  There are those who come to adore and worship Him, and even His mother knows not simply to marvel, but that she "kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19), the way a loving mother pores repeatedly over pictures at various ages of her child, and landmarks in his childhood kept in a scrapbook.  Mary kept them all in her heart to ponder.   We can only imagine her distress to come after Jesus begins His public ministry.  But this is the story of our Lord.  This is the way that God has sent His Son into the world -- not to have an easy, simple, or comfortable life, but to share our fears, our dangers, our woes, our worries.  He shares our vulnerability to abusive power, to coercive military might, to cruelty, and to death.  He shares everything we share in a world beset by the effects of sin with which we cope every day, and the ongoing hatreds, lies, envy, injustice, and vicious behaviors we know and may experience.  He is also born into a world beset by temptations and the malice of demons, but that will become a special hallmark of His presence -- effects that will become immediately discernible to people once His public ministry starts.  But as we go on to read about Christ's life, let us first take a minute to consider these dangers and fears that we all experience that are already borne in upon Christ, even as a little Child.  Let us consider the sacrifices and love of His parents, and know that God's plan was not for worldly greatness, but for something quite different.  And in this inclusion in our subjection to the same difficulties and dangers, let us know that this is shared with us so that we are also born into a mission if we are His followers.  He did not come to be treated "like a King" but to show courage against the adversary, to teach us His way, give us His light and the Holy Spirit, so that we bring in a Kingdom into this world that is His together with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  We are invited to share in a mission with Him.  And when we face a world shaken by senseless violence, malicious hatreds, cruelty that we can't imagine, and a host of evils and effects that frighten and terrify, He has been here with us and this is somehow, in ways we can't imagine, a part of the plan.  Midst all this strife and even senseless things to our minds, we  have a role to play, something important to do, and the salvation of the world even perhaps depends upon it.  There have been countless saints, martyrs, confessors, and unknown faithful who have lost their lives and faced perils for the sake of His name and His gospel.  Let us take up His mission and know the power of His Cross, the courage that He gives, the strength of His truth, and the meaning even in His suffering and that of those who follow.  For God's ways are not our ways, nor God's thoughts our thoughts, but His Kingdom is ours when we meet Him at His Cross, and carry our own His way. Nothing we know of in history has had the impact of Christ and His followers upon the world; let us continue to seek His way with prayer and through the living faith He teaches.  And remember that even the sparrows are known to Him, even the hairs of our head (Matthew 10:29-31).

 

 

 

This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!

 

 Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.  

 

Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.

 

- Mark 6:14–29 

 

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

 

  Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known.  And he said, "John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him."  My study Bible informs us that this King Herod is the son of the one who slew the infants in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).  The one responsible for what is called the Slaughter or Massacre of the Innocents was also known as Herod the Great, king of Judea.  His son, the King Herod of today's reading, was known also as Herod Antipas, and he ruled over Galilee.  The Herodian dynasty ruled for Rome: Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee.  Although he was technically a governor, he was popularly called king.  My study Bible explains that, as Herod known that John the Baptist had worked no miracles while living, he now believes John was raised from the dead, thinking that powers are at work in him.  Therefore, he fears John more dead than alive.  

 

  Others said, "It is Elijah."  And others said, "It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets."  Elijah was expected to return and to work signs before coming of the Lord (Malachi 4:5).  My study Bible comments that the Prophet is interpreted by some to be a reference to the Messiah, the One whom Moses foretold (Deuteronomy 18:15), while other interpret it as simply meaning that a new prophet had arisen.  

 

  But when Herod heard, he said, "This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!"  For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; for he had married her.  Because John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him.  And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.   Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.  And when Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."  So she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?"  And she said, "The head of John the Baptist!"  Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.  And he went and beheaded him in prison, brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.  The account of Herod Antipas' story with John the Baptist is given parenthetically here; that is, we're given a "backstory" in order to explain John's earlier death so that we understand why Herod would think that John had risen from the dead.  My study Bible comments on the fact that Herod, with his wealth and soldiers, feared John, a man who lived in poverty and was clothed in camel's hair (Mark 1:6).  It notes that this is a testament both to the power of personal holiness and integrity, and also to the people's understanding of John.  St. John the Baptist was held by the people in the highest esteem; he was revered as a holy man (Mark 11:32).  

 

  This language of the opportune day reminds us of the temptation of Christ by the devil as He fasted in preparation for His public ministry.  Luke 4:13 tells us, "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time."  Here is another opportune time for the works of evil, this time through the cunning of Herodias, and the blindness of her daughter.   It seems that just the right temptations are here before Herod; it's the right time and place to implement a plan that will work for the evil ends of Herodias to rid herself (and her king) of the presence of St. John the Baptist.  Note how temptations work on Herod.  He's subject to grandiosity of course; but perhaps this is "normal" for a king of his time and place.  But this is a dangerous sort of grandiosity which can easily get a person of power into a lot of trouble, and cause him to make bad decisions, errors of judgment.  It is a weakness.  Here it is his birthday party, a time when a seemingly rather spoiled and temperamental person is at their most weak in terms of the need for gratification of all desires, being the center of attention.  Note how his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee are all assembled for this birthday feast.  It is before these men that he swears his oath.  There's another temptation here, and that is the lasciviousness that seems to be stirred by the dancing of the daughter of Herodias.  It seems to be something that would have been scandalous to the Jews, to allow a daughter to expose herself in this sense to these men.  But it works indeed to provide just the incentive for a rash and stupidly expansive promise to be given by Herod to this girl:  "Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you."  He also swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom."   The girl goes to her mother, to find what she should ask for, indicating that she really doesn't seem fully able to think for herself, and her mother, being the extremely ambitious and unethical person she apparently is, goes after the most monstrous thing she could ask:  the head of John the Baptist.  Note that in terms of personal wealth or gain, she could have asked for "up to half" of Herod's kingdom.  But she doesn't, and neither does her mother advise her to do so.  Moreover, the girl adds an imaginative, macabre twist to her mother's demand, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."   And so it was, St. John the Baptist's head was brought to this birthday celebration on a platter, as if it were one more dish at the feast.  This is the story of John's martyrdom; and in many icons he is shown bearing his head in this way (see the photo of a mosaic at this blog post, for example).  Herod's weakness extends to his conscience, and his overriding concern for saving face before his court:  And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.  In some sense, this king who is a slave to his passions and therefore weaknesses is an antithetical contrast to the person and character of St. John the Baptist.  John is his opposite:  one who has served God in all ways possible in his life, and an extreme ascetic in so doing.  His life has been lived without the comforts of the world, forgoing traditional community for his life of ascetic poverty which would become the model for Christian monasticism to come.  Herod's story (and that of his wife and her daughter) is a cautionary tale for Christians, because it teaches us about our own weaknesses, how our need for indulgence of various kinds on display here can lead to evil results in our lives.  Herod is on display as a kind of paradigm of all that was wrong with the pagan world, but nonetheless forms an image of things we might see from the pages of our own newspapers and tabloids, with modern figures of those grandiose and indulgent and wealthy enough for every excess without limits or spiritual discipline.  The beheading of John, and especially his head being presented on a platter at this dinner, is also a kind of double suggestion:  beheading would have been the easiest or "kindest" way to die at the hands of the Roman Empire.  But that it was demanded and served on a platter gives us a bloodthirsty hint of human sacrifice linked with cannibalism, also once common to the ancient world, and suggestive of the religious practices of the enemies of the ancient Jews and their opposition to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Let us remember in this context that Herod's family was meant to be nominally Jewish, even if they served for Rome.  All we need do is to consider the restrictions on contact with blood for Jews to see how truly scandalous this story is.  Let it remain a caution to us today.  For John the Baptist, and those monastics who would follow in the Church, humility before God and hospitality to others served as the greatest virtues, the gateway to all others.   In a time of excess, tremendous wealth, and unlimited freedom, our choices remain more significant than ever as to who or what we will follow, and what traditional disciplines of faith and the Church are meant to serve for our lives.  Herod's fear tells us all we need to know about what is truly stronger.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You the King of the Jews?

 

 Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."  

 

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at this time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.

 

- Luke 23:1–12 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Christ's betrayal and arrest, the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.  And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, "Prophesy!  Who is the one who struck You?"  And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.   As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, "If You are the Christ, tell us."  But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe.  And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go.  Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God."  Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?"  So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am."  and they said, "What further testimony do we need?  For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."

 

  Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate.  And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King."  Then Pilate asked Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered him and said, "It is as you say."  So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man."  But they were the more fierce, saying, "He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."   My study Bible tells us that the religious accusations against Jesus (Luke 22:66-71) would not be enough to justify a death sentence under Roman occupation.  So, therefore, the chief priests invent false (Luke 20:20-26) and politically charged accusations in order to persuade Pilate to put Jesus to death.  Pilate's question ("Are You the King of the Jews?") is more a mockery of the accusation itself than of Jesus.  Clearly, he doesn't take the political charges seriously ("I find no fault in this Man").  The answer Jesus gives, "It is as you say," can also be translated more ambiguously, "You say so."

 

 When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean.  And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at this time.  Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him.  Then Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.  My study Bible comments that Herod sees Jesus as a novelty.  (Perhaps this is the way he had also viewed St. John the Baptist; see Mark 6:20.)  Christ's silence in this instance before Herod is an act of compassion.  To reveal divine mysteries in the face of such blasphemy would have brought Herod even greater condemnation.  According to St. Ambrose of Milan, says my study Bible, Herod is a figure who represents all unrighteous people who, if they don't recognize Jesus as the Christ, will never understand His words nor recognize His miracles.  

 

In terms of the "darkness" which we read about over the past few readings and those to come (see But this is your hour, and the power of darkness, Monday's reading), we see that darkness expressed in certain ways in today's reading as well.  There are first of all the deliberate falsehoods told to Pilate in order to extricate from him the death penalty for Jesus.  This is one level of darkness indeed, in which malice, spite, and envy play a great part in this devious behavior.  Note also that the chief priests and scribes offer to Herod the same false accusations.  There's the particular darkness of Pilate, who in fact can see that Jesus is innocent and that the accusations are preposterous, but who doesn't know nor understand Jesus.  And then there is the peculiar darkness of Herod, a Jew in some sense only by "training" in order to rule as tetrarch.  He knew John was a holy man, Mark's Gospel told us, and he delighted in asking questions and treating John as a sort of curiosity he had in his court for a while.  Here, Herod once again delights in being able to see Jesus, someone who is different and extraordinary, about whom we know he has heard much (Luke 9:9).  We're told that when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him.  Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing.  Perhaps because he's been rebuffed by Jesus, who is not a pleasing plaything or curiosity as He answers nothing, and perhaps feeling justified through the vehement accusations of the chief priests and scribes, Herod, with his men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate.  Luke's Gospel here witnesses the same mocking and humiliating behavior given to Jesus at His detention overnight in the home of the high priest (see yesterday's reading, above).   Jesus, responding to this kind of "darkness," which is based in a type of ignorance, answers nothing.  St. Ambrose, as noted in my study Bible, categorizes unrighteous people such as Herod as those who will never understand His words or even comprehend his miracles because they don't recognize Him as the Christ to begin with.  Perhaps it would be more clear to say that, because of their own blindness, they cannot.  There is a blindness (or darkness) which is born of not simply ignorance but a preference for a kind of brutality, a sheerly material outlook, one characterized by the kind of indulgence we can observe of Herod throughout the Gospels.  This is a man who cares for power and what he gets thereby, more interested in pleasing his men of war and his own sense of "honor" before them than the things which are God's.  It's a very interesting note that Luke adds for us to this passage: that very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.  Those familiar with any sort of hierarchy or bureaucracy can recognize such a friendship, based as it is on a kind of complement or courtesy of power, in that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod in what might be interpreted among the powerful as a gracious gesture of acknowledgment of his authority.  But there also might be a deeper sense here, also part of the darkness of the time, in that shared guilt or responsibility for injustice also seems to act as a kind of bind, even enslavement between people, a pact that ensures conspiracy when desired.  There are plenty of public scandals today which testify to this phenomenon at work among the powerful.  But let us consider here the grace of Jesus which stands alone among this darkness, mockery, lies, and injustice.  We -- especially in the modern Western world -- may be conditioned by our secular political perspectives to believe that it is always proper to speak out.  But Jesus knows something different, something better, and a deeper truth.  That not only would revealing more of the truth about Himself deliver an even greater condemnation to these men when they reject it, as they are bound to do (for it is judgment that is at work, the Judge who is standing before them), but that there is no purpose in delivering truth to those who cannot and will not see.  As He tried so hard to save Judas by any means available, so no doubt He would also try to save these others, if it were at all possible.  He gives us this touch -- a hint of wisdom, if we can but see it -- that there are times when it is proper not to speak, but to withdraw.  And so He does.  Midst the indignities, He holds His dignity, but the ignorant, in their darkness, cannot likely see it.  And so, this also explains His answer to Pilate, which might be translated, "You say so."   There is no point to answer what will not be clearly understood.  Perhaps it is Christ's humble demeanor which Pilate can easily read, for he's a shrewd man who's reached a position of authority in the Roman hierarchy.  Let us consider the time, and consider also what we might see around us in our own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me

 

 Then Jesus  returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

"The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, 

 Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 

 To proclaim liberty to the captives

And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." 

Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

 

- Luke 4:14–30 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit [and following His Baptism] returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil.  And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."   And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and,'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"  And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

 

 Then Jesus  returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.  And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  Let us note how the Gospel is careful to tell us that all things are done with the power and involvement of the Holy Spirit in Christ's ministry.  This was expressed as a sign "like a dove" at His Baptism, in His being led into the wilderness to be tempted for forty days by the devil (see yesterday's reading, above), and now in this earlier part of His public ministry, in which He returned to Galilee, and taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

 

 So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:   "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."   Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  Jesus reads these words from Isaiah 61:1-2.  My study Bible comments that being the eternal Son of God, Christ did not "become" the world's anointed Savior, but He has always been our Savior from before the foundation of the world.  It was Christ speaking through Isaiah who said, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me" (Isaiah 61:1).  We are further asked to note that Isaiah does not write, "The Spirit 'has come' upon Me."  When the Spirit of the LORD descended upon Jesus at His at His Baptism (see Luke 3:22), this was a sign which revealed an eternal -- not temporal -- truth to the people.  The acceptable year is the time of the Incarnation -- when the Kingdom of heaven has come to earth (see 2 Corinthians 6:2).

 

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.  My study Bible comments that this double response of marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's being rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha.   Furthermore, it foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus accepts death according to the Father's will, my study Bible tells us, and not at the will of the nation or the people.  Here, the hour of Christ's Passion has not yet come (see John 8:20).  Jesus' statement that no prophet is accepted in his own country appears in all four Gospels (see also John 4:44; Mark 6:4, Matthew 13:57).

 

Jesus reads from the prophecy of Isaiah: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me."  And when He finishes reading the passage, He declares to the people of His hometown of Nazareth: "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  It's interesting that so much of Luke's Gospel (particularly the passages we have read so far in the lectionary at this time, beginning especially with Friday's reading of the events of Jesus' Baptism) concerns itself most transparently with the work of the Holy Spirit, active and participating in our world through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  After all, it is Luke's Gospel that tells us of the Annunciation, and Gabriel the Archangel's announcement to Mary that she will conceive a child.  When she asks, "How can this be?" the angel replies to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).  In all things concerning Christ, we find the activity and anointing and blessing of the Holy Spirit.  Today's reading is no different, because the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah is also linked to the Spirit, as we read.  Most clearly the Spirit appeared "in bodily form like a dove" at Christ's Baptism, and from there the Holy Spirit drove Christ to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil while He fasted forty days.  The Spirit was also at work in Christ's beginning His ministry in Galilee, and now here He is in His hometown of Nazareth (that is, where He had been brought up), also in Galilee, where His fame has already spread.  But the interesting part of this work of the Holy Spirit is that it doesn't lead automatically to a life and ministry for Jesus that is simply filled with a worldly concept of "success."  While His fame has grown (He has been glorified by all), this doesn't mean that He meets with universal acceptance.  In fact, so far, quite the opposite seems to have happened.  He is first led by the Holy Spirit to be opposed, tested, and tempted by the devil in the wilderness.  And here, while He's come back to the place He was raised with a lot of renown in Galilee already, the people both marvel and become offended.  Where did He get those gracious words?  Then the real work begins, and Jesus tells them the truth, that He can't reproduce the marvelous works they've heard about which have taken place in Capernaum (possibly at the wedding reported by John).  For these things require faith, and they will not be done as proofs, or on demand.  And so comes the opposition and rejection, even outrage on the part of His neighbors at Nazareth.  Who does He think He is, after all?  He reminds them that prophets of the past -- Elijah and Elisha -- were not sent to their own to do great works, but rather to foreigners, and the response of His former neighbors is wrath.  Perhaps the lesson we should take from this is to understand that success on God's terms and success on worldly terms are two entirely different classes of experiences and values.  Do we need to be popular and liked by everyone?  Can we stay "friends" with all those who are not going to like the truth we embrace in our faith?  Perhaps even fellow Christians, members of our families, and those of our community reject truths we are led to embrace in our faith.  Particularly difficult is when political tests (of any type) come to apply as checks to our faith.   But a life spent pleasing God is just not going to be the same life that seeks instead the "praise of men," and we should be prepared for rejection, even outrage, because this is what accompanied our Lord.  As His disciples, we are told, "Love one another as I have loved you" (John 13:34-35).  Learning to follow Christ in that love is perhaps the greatest undertaking of our faith, for we are asked to love even when we can't "like" something.  To my way of thinking, this is not a question of doing things others want or desire from us, but rather finding out how love is seeking the good for others, and learning discernment in what will and will not have such desired effects -- including even where we cannot intervene or interact.  These are difficult things to learn, but that is what we are called to learn, how to love.  We can call on the mystery of the Holy Spirit to always be at work in our lives, but remember that worldly expectations are not always the answer, nor are they the purpose of the call of God.

 

 

 

 

If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also

 

 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.  Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."

 

- John 12:20-26 

 

 This week is Holy Week, and will culminate in Jesus' Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection.  Yesterday we read St. John's account of Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate as Palm Sunday.  Note that this time in Jerusalem marks the start of Passover week.  This is the third and final Passover festival recorded in John's Gospel, and the Triumphal Entry marks the beginning of the final week of Jesus' earthly life.   Yesterday we read that a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out:  "Hosanna!  'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' The King of Israel!" Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written:  "Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey's colt."  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, "You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!" 

 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.  But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified."  My study Bible explains that these Greeks were Gentiles (those who spoke Greek, the lingua franca or international language of the period).  They are Gentiles who believed in the God of Abraham, having come to participate in the Passover feast.  That they were still called "Greeks" shows that they were not yet full proselytes (converts) to Judaism.  Since Jesus had taught His disciples not to go to the Gentiles (Matthew 10:5; 15:24), my study Bible says, the disciples approach Jesus before they bring these inquirers to Him. Glorified is a reference to Christ's death on the Cross.  My study Bible notes that His obscure response indicates two things.  First, the answer these people are seeking will not be found in words but in the Cross.  Second, the Cross will be the event that opens all manner of grace to the Gentiles. 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.  He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."  My study Bible comments that this image of the grain of wheat dying in order to bear fruit signifies that Christ's death will give life to the world.  It is common in Orthodox churches to serve boiled wheat, sweetened and spiced, at memorial services for the departed faithful.  This is a kind of affirmation of God's promise that those who have died in Christ will rise again to life.  In the Armenian Apostolic Church, this passage is read in the memorial service.

 

 Jesus lays out the plan in today's reading, a plan for His glorification.  This is the great paradox that begins with more explicit language of His Crucifixion and death which is to come.  For, as these Gentiles show up, these pagan Greek-speakers who seek the God of Israel, so we get our first hints of the gospel being sent out to all the world.  And they seek out Jesus, so He has come to be known now outside of Israel.  Again, we're given a paradox in today's reading, just the same way Jesus, the King, rode into Jerusalem in what is called His Triumphal Entry not on a horse or in a chariot, but on the colt of a donkey, so "glorification" is going to mean something seemingly entirely at odds with the world's sense of glory.  It will not only mean His death, but it will mean death by the most notorious means of suffering intended for those who are non-Roman citizens.  It will mean a death by the most ignominious way known under the Romans, a death by a method from which we derive the word "excruciating," a death of ultimate humiliation before the nation, especially for a Jewish man.  And Christ's death will be added to by the religious leaders who will go to further lengths to humiliate Him and show how they despise Him.  All of this is part of Christ's "glorification," in His own words.  For this tremendous sacrifice on His part will be done, first of all, in obedience to God the Father, within the plan for salvation of all the world, meaning all of creation (not just the earth).  For Christ's salvific and redemptive Incarnation as human being is not meant for Himself only; it is not meant as a project for God, so to speak, but as a project for us, and out of love for us.  Gregory of Nazianzinus, also known as Gregory the Theologian (one of only three saints in the entire history of the Orthodox Church to be given this title), is famous for a statement about Christ's Incarnation.  He wrote, "What has not been assumed, has not been healed."  What this means is that every aspect of human life assumed by Christ is healed through His life and divinity, thereby enabling us to enter into and participate in His life and experience that healing for ourselves.  Whatever aspect of human experience, no matter how unpleasant or humiliating or painful, which Christ assumes as one of us becomes capable of being healed simply by His entering into our life.  And this is the great love, the seed that is being planted through His death and sacrifice, so that we might live and be healed and join Him where He is in eternal life.  Christ's life, death, and Resurrection becomes His hour of glorification through this process by which we are saved, by which we may also pray and experience the energies of grace made possible through His Incarnation and His help to us, even in our very present hour, during our suffering, through our prayers, and through His life which He brings to bear on all aspects of our existence, even those caused by influence of the evil one, the devil.  Because of this hour of glorification, there is no aspect of our life, no matter how humiliating or painful, or seeming to be a failure, that Christ has not assumed so that He may be there with us, present to us.  This is about Christ salvation for everything, and for everyone, held out and given as a present, a gift to all of us, if we but will receive it.  Again, Holy Week becomes all about paradox, the good and the evil, the tremendous sacrifice of love and at the same time those who plot against our Savior to bring Him such pain and death.  But God is more powerful than all of these things which seem to be imposed upon Him, for He enters into both our life and our death in order to transfigure and transform it, to defeat death and the forces of death and cruelty for us.  Wherever we go, He is there, for He is willing to make this sacrifice, to fall to the ground as a grain of wheat that is planted for us, to bring about a great harvest.  But let us note another paradox:  He doesn't do this alone; He invites us to live and choose as He does.  He says, "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."  He invites us also into glorification and honor such as God bestows, even upon Him.  For we cannot be the Christ, but we can enter into and share in this plan of salvation made glorious in believers and saints, those who love God so that their lives become also set apart for grace and for love.  Perhaps today God has something in store for you, a message, a way to address pain and difficulty, which draws you out of a human drama and into a place where love dictates instead what you can do with your time and your life, God's glory also shining through you.  Take the time for prayer, even in a time when things we cling to may be dying. 

No man ever spoke like this Man!

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  

 

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."   But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?   Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."

 

Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

- John 7:37-52 

 

Yesterday we read that about the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, "How does this Man know letters, having never studied?"  Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  If anyone will to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law?  Why do you seek to kill Me?"  The people answered and said, "You have a demon.  Who is seeking to kill You?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel.  Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath.  If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?  Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill?  But look!  He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.  Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?  However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from."  Then Jesus cried out, as he taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.  But I know Him, for I am from Him, and he sent Me."  Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.  And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?" The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me.  You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come."  Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him?  Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?  What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"  

 

 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   The last day, that great day of the feast was the eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles.  The ceremony of the drawing of water (in which water was drawn from the pool of Siloam to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar) provides the context for the Lord's words, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink."  Christ's living water is the gift of the Holy Spirit and the new life which accompanies this gift.  

Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."   But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?   Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.   My study Bible explains that the Prophet is a reference to the expected Messiah, the Savior foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-19.  Bethlehem was the town from which the Christ was expected to come, according to the prophecy of Micah 5:2.  

Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  The chief priests had sent officers of the temple to arrest Jesus in the middle of the Feast (see yesterday's reading, above).  But now, it is the last day of the Feast, and no arrest has been made.  These officers have been converted Lord's teaching ("No man ever spoke like this Man!").  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, saying that the Pharisees and the scribes who "witnessed the miracles and read the Scriptures derived no benefit" from either.  These officers, on the other hand, although they could claim none of this learning, were "captivated by a single sermon."  When the mind is open, "there is no need for long speeches.  Truth is like that."

 

 Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."  My study Bible notes that Nicodemus had spoken with Jesus (John 3:1-21), and had since increased in faith.  But his defense of Christ is still based on our law, and this was not yet a public profession of faith (see John 19:38-39).  According to the law, Jesus must be given a hearing before He can be judged, my study Bible says.  The Pharisees declare that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.  My study Bible comments that they show their blind hatred and also their ignorance of the Scriptures here.  The prophet Jonah came from Galilee, from the town of Gath Hepher, which was only three miles from Nazareth (2 Kings 14:25). 

In Nicodemus' action in today's reading, we already see the transformation that happens through faith, and through the work of the Holy Spirit.  While my study Bible points out that this is not yet a full profession of faith, which will come later in the Gospel (John 19:38-39, as cited above), nonetheless he speaks up before the rest of the Sanhedrin to insist that they're violating the law by judging peremptorily.  The courage to begin to speak up here, his conscience not reconciled to the ways in which his fellow Pharisees are approaching Christ, is a sign of what is happening internally to change him, and cause him to speak up.  This is a beginning of separation from his fellow Pharisees and the rest of the ruling council, for we can see by their scathing and insulting response that they will brook no competition for how they must approach Jesus.  They want to do away with Him as handily as possible for He is seen as a threat to their authority and power.  But Nicodemus is not just going along with the rest of them, although he has yet to come to the decision to make the clean break he will later on in publicly confessing faith in Christ.  Let us notice the hostility of the religious leaders, even their insulting behavior toward Nicodemus for reminding them of the procedures of the Law.  They ask if he is also from Galilee, and go so far in their rash declarations as to make a fundamental mistake which they, as the experts in Scripture, are not supposed to make.  They claim no prophet has arisen from Galilee, when in fact a prophet as important as Jonah was from Galilee, from a town close to Nazareth.  What we can observe in this drama of Nicodemus among his fellow religious rulers is the start of separation, of one who is separating himself from the gathering of his own brethren, so to speak, from the important position he holds on the Council, in order to more fully follow his faith.  This is a process, but it is one that can be understood in spiritual terms.  To be holy, in the traditional sense of this word, is to be set apart.  That is, dedicated for the purposes of God.  What we see in the dynamics of the Council are men who, as John will say in his Gospel, "loved the praise of men more than the praise of God" (John 12:43).  Their pursuit of and use of power has become more worldly in its practice than truly serving God, and we can see the result.  As Nicodemus' faith grows and begins to take hold, transforming him, he in turn begins separating himself from them -- in just the same sense as Christ cleansed the temple upon His visit at the first Passover given to us in this Gospel (John 2:13-22).  He does not want to simply fall in with their corruption, and so this beginning of the process of setting apart is taking shape and leading him further into the direction of faith in Christ.  We might take a moment here to consider the work of the Holy Spirit, which was the great subject of discussion in Christ's visit to Nicodemus and His teaching in chapter 3.  Jesus spoke then about being born "from above"; that is, reborn in the Spirit.  He taught Nicodemus, "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  As in that teaching, the Spirit is leading Nicodemus where it will, and so it is in each of us in terms of this process of faith.  We are not the ones leading the journey, and we "cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes."  As we, too, grow in faith, let us not be dismayed or surprised by the separations we might come to know, even from things or people we might cherish.  For surely for Nicodemus, being on the Council and a member of the Pharisees is something absolutely central to what he feels is right about his identity and heritage.  And yet, we know that he will separate from them for a higher, better truth, for the faith of an identity given by Christ.  Let us also let the Holy Spirit work in us and follow the path of faith in Christ.  Then we can say with the officers, and eventually Nicodemus, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"