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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men

 

 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

 

- Luke 5:1-11 

 

On Saturday we read that Jesus arose from the synagogue (where He had cast out an unclean demon) and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

 

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  My study Bible explains that the Lake of Gennesaret is also known as the Sea of Galilee.  It is a very large lake:  about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.  Sitting was the traditional position for a teacher.  

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  Jesus commands St. Peter (Simon):  "Launch out into the deep."  My study Bible points out that St. Ambrose sees the spiritual meaning in this command as an invitation to give one's life over to the deep mystery of the knowledge of the Son of God.   Moreover, this great number of fish -- so big that their net was breaking -- illustrates the principle that God draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them.  My study Bible comments that, as He drew the Magi with a star (Matthew 2:2), and would draw tax collectors by a tax collector (Matthew 5:29), here Christ draws the fishermen with fish (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).  

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. My study Bible tells us that Simon Peter's cry in the face of divine power is not a rejection of Jesus (contrast this with Luke 8:37).  On the contrary, when suddenly cast in the light of Christ, holy people such as Peter become keenly  aware of their own unworthiness (compare Isaiah 6:5; Revelation 1:17).  

And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.  My study Bible says that this great catch of fish is an image of the apostles bringing humankind to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that it fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 16:16.   In the Orthodox festal hymn of Pentecost, it is sung to Christ, "Through the fishermen, You drew the world into Your net." 

Clearly there was already familiarity between Jesus and St. Peter and his family; after all, we just read of Christ's healing of St. Peter's mother-in-law (see Saturday's reading, above).   Through John's Gospel, we know that Saints Peter, John, and James Zebedee were first followers of St. John the Baptist, who brought them to Christ.  But perhaps the most important and striking feature of today's reading is just what my study Bible commented:  that "God draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them."  Surely that great catch of fish counts as one of the signs of Christ, that the Kingdom is present with Him.  This the fishermen most surely can understand, and it would make an indelible impression.  No doubt it sealed the decision to follow Christ as full-time participants in His ministry.  We can also look at this picture symbolically.  That great catch of fish is like an astonishing, overwhelming promise.  If Christ can do this, is it not a kind of promise of what abundance He can bring into their lives?  Devoting themselves to Christ will bring an impossible-to-calculate abundance of fruits, of "fish" so to speak, in those faithful believers that will follow the disciples and come after them in time.  And so the abundance of fish is indeed a promise about the spiritual fruitfulness of their lives, and how they wish to devote them in the future.  When St. Peter is overwhelmed by what he perceives truly to be Christ's great holiness, Jesus tells him, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  This is truly a promise indeed, and one made for the glory of God.  Would that we all could receive such a grand promise for our futures in Christ.  

 

 

 

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed"

 

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them. 

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. 

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues and throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself t the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction. 

 

- Mark 1:29-45 

 

Yesterday we read that after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."   And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.   After they come out of the synagogue, Christ and His disciples go the family home of the brothers Simon and Andrew.  The presence of Simon Peter's mother-in-law tells us of his extended family, in this home that would become the headquarters of Christ's Galilean ministry.  The very personal and compassionate manner of Christ's healing is given to us here in that He took her by the hand and lifted her up.  By this healing, Christ restores Simon Peter's mother-in-law to her rightful position in the household, and she served them, a kind of minister to the ministry.  The root for this verb "to serve" is the same as that from which we derive the word "deacon" (διάκονος/diakonos), and is an indication of the honor to do so.  It is the same word translated as "ministered" in Mark 1:13, where we read that "the angels ministered to Him" in the wilderness.

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."  And He was preaching in their synagogues and throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  My study Bible notes that Christ's primary mission was to preach the kingdom of God, "because for this purpose I have come forth."   It notes that miracles and healings testify both to the truth of the message and the identity of the Teacher (see Luke 5:24).  To this we may add that they also testify to the presence of the Kingdom.  This same pattern, my study Bible adds, holds true in the Church (Acts 4:29-30).  Note also that the pattern of variously healing and casting out demons; both are acts of healing for human beings, depending upon the cause of the ailment.  Jesus did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. My study Bible notes that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4). It says that the reasons for secrecy include His anticipation of the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; the people's misunderstanding and expectation of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and our Lord's desire to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  In the midst of this glimpse we're given of Christ's busy and varied ministry, we are told that in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. This gives us an example of the spiritual life.  My study Bible notes that although He is God incarnate, Christ prayed continually, often finding a solitary place in order to be free from distraction, despite the multitude's need of Him.   It notes, most importantly for us, that our Lord's ministry comes forth from His communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and flows to people in their needs.  That He prays in the morning teaches us that we must put as first priority our commitment to God, and only then are we equipped with what is needful to serve others.

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing; be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.  My study Bible explains that the biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus 13 and 14.  Deuteronomy 24:8 is a description of the purification of lepers and leprous houses, a duty which was entrusted to the priests; hence, Christ's instructions to "show yourself to the priest."   It adds that leprosy was considered a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they were not permitted to live in the community or to worship in synagogues or the temple.  To touch the unclean was forbidden (Leviticus 7:21), but Jesus here is characteristically moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him.  In addition to expressing Christ's compassion, this shows also that Christ is not subject to the Law but over it.  My study Bible adds that "to the clean, nothing is unclean" (see Romans 14:14; Acts 10:15).

We see how quickly Christ's ministry grows in today's passage (and how swiftly Mark's Gospel moves forward).  By the end of the events of today's reading, we're told, Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction. We know from John's Gospel, and its inclusion of three Passover Festivals, that Christ's ministry was approximately three years long.  The action in Mark's Gospel, the shortest Gospel, takes place seemingly quickly.  But this is enforced by the language used in a deliberate way.  As we read in yesterday's reading and commentary, the word "immediately" occurs nearly forty times in this Gospel, nearly all of them before Christ enters Jerusalem for the final week of His human life.  So the emphasis on "immediacy" in this Gospel is not an accident, nor is our impression of the urgency with which Christ's carries out His mission and its depth of involvement in purpose.  This immediacy gives us a sense of the work of God in the world, the presence of the Spirit, and the ways that the mystery of holiness can manifest and express presence, working seemingly through unseen networks of connections that are made without our own intellectual understanding or explanation.  Indeed, we can look at the spread of Christianity in its early centuries and marvel that, without empire or military, it was carried throughout the known world in a relatively short time.   In Christ's prophecy of end times, and specifically in Matthew 24:14, Jesus teaches that all manner of calamities and opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel message, and my study Bible comments that persecutions against the Church often increase the  number of souls being converted.  It adds that St. John Chrysostom marveled that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising in the Siege of Jerusalem in AD 70,  they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In hindsight so many centuries later, we may consider how many ways we can observe attacks upon this gospel message from all kinds of directions, precepts, philosophies, and vantage points, and yet it continues, endures, and spreads with the same sense of immediacy.  For the words of truth have a depth of response in us that hits its mark where the soul needs and receives it, a healing balm specific to what ails us in times of loss and difficulty.  Certainly there are those for whom it is not missed nor understood or sought for, but this does not seem to be the concern of the gospel nor of Christ's ministry.  The gospel is for those who will respond to it.  As St. Peter will eventually exclaim to Christ as others desert Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68).  It is the fire of these words in which we find the greatest immediacy.  As Jesus taught in the same passage, "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).  So we may, at this time, turn again and again to the spirit and the life of the gospel, and find the immediate need met for today, for the ways in which this mysterious fire responds to what it is we're seeking.  It continues to illuminate and inspire where other things fail, like a light shed on yet another facet of a gem we haven't fully seen.  Even so, Jesus remains to us compassionate and personal, in ways that may touch us all, like the wind that blows where it wishes.

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel

 

 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."   And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 

- Mark 1:14–28 

 

 In yesterday's reading, we started Mark's Gospel:  The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in the Prophets: "Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You." "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.  Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.  Then a voice came from heaven, "You are My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness.  And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. 

 

  Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  My study Bible tells us that Mark's written emphasis on John being put in prison before Jesus begins preaching reveals that a key purpose of the old covenant -- preparing the people for Christ -- had been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).   As Christ has come, the time of preparation was fulfilled.  My study Bible explains that to repent is to do a total "about-face."  We noted in yesterday's reading that in Greek this word literally means to "change one's mind."   This is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart.  My study Bible calls it a complete reorientation to a life centered in Christ.  Let us also add that this is a lifelong process.   Just as the stories of the Bible indicate, our faith is a journey; Christ is "the way" (from a word that means "road" in Greek).  Our faith is always called to grow and deepen; we are always called to bear fruits worthy of repentance, the spiritual fruit of faith (Galatians 5:22-23).

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.   If we look at the Gospel of John, we know that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist (John 1:35-50).  They were thus prepared to accept Christ immediately.  Although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, my study Bible explains, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."   And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.  My study Bible points out that the word immediately occurs nearly forty times in Mark's Gospel, and nearly all of these occur before the Lord's entrance into Jerusalem.  This sense of urgency and purpose as Christ journeys toward Jerusalem to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world helps make Mark's Gospel not only the shortest, but also the most direct of the four Gospels.  

If we look closely at the text of today's reading, we see an element which is not necessarily obvious but it teaches us something important.  Jesus begins His ministry, taking up from where the last and greatest in the line of the Old Testament type prophets, John the Baptist, has come preparing people for this Kingdom (see yesterday's reading, above).  At that time, Jesus declares to all, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  Again, as explained in our commentary from yesterday, "gospel" (εὐαγγέλιον/evangelion), literally meaning "good news," was a quite commonly known term in the empire of Christ's time, in the Greek that formed the lingua franca, or international language of His time.  It was the title for the various missives sent across the empire by the Emperor, setting out plans and policies or declaring news of victorious battles.  So when Christ teaches to believe in the gospel, it is emphasizing this sense of a kingdom which is at hand, present to the people.  This is not the kingdom of Herod and his descendants, nor the empire of Caesar, but the kingdom of God -- which remains to us present and at hand (Matthew 18:20; Luke 17:20-21).  This kingdom is present with Christ, for as St. Paul taught the Athenians about the "unknown god," Jesus Christ, "He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being" (see Acts 17:26-28).   But, if we read a little further, we see that, similarly to the kingdoms of the world, this Kingdom also has its battles with an enemy (see the parable of the Wheat and the Tares).  But this is a spiritual battleground.  Jesus' first act after calling disciples and entering the synagogue to preach, is to encounter an unclean spirit.  The spirit challenges Christ, informing us about this battle and Christ's spiritual authority, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"   The people respond, astonished at this evidence of what is unseen, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  Our faith does depend upon understanding that we are always in a kind of a struggle, just as Christ's testing in the wilderness for forty days did as the first act of the Spirit after His Baptism (again, see yesterday's reading, above).  So we must not be dismayed or disheartened in the times when we go through our own struggles with faith, when our common assumptions and ways of thinking, or the hurtful things of this world, come to challenge us.  Just as the Crucifixion remains the greatest paradox of transfiguration by Christ's ministry and presence, with the figure of the Cross being the sign of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:30), so we should remember that we are taught we each have our own unique cross to bear into the world, and this is always an element of our lives.  The work of faith is to transfigure this world, with the presence of the kingdom of God, which is always "at hand."   Through our own lives of faith as His disciples, suffering becomes transfigured with meaning when challenges are met with the help that is always spiritually present to us even if we feel alone.  For the Cross means that the power of Resurrection is present and with us, despite the darkness (John 1:5).  This is the mystery of the kingdom of God and God's grace.  Let us call on the resources we have and look to His light.  Modern life seems to challenge us with expectations of easy happiness, guaranteed through some sort of acquisition of material goods, or new inventions -- perhaps a new identity, a new change in our appearance.  But the wisdom of our faith teaches us something much greater than such a limited, and misleading perspective.  It gives us what is eternal and abiding, and therefore true.  But it calls us into a dynamic that will involve every aspect of life, "in which we live and move and have our being."  That is the kingdom of God, always at hand.

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing, be cleansed"

 

 Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him. 

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."   And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing, be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.   However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.

 

- Mark 1:29-45 

 

Yesterday we read that after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.  Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

 

Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever, and they told Him about her at once.  So He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her.  And she served them.  Simon Peter and Andrew's family home would become a de facto headquarters for Jesus' Galilean ministry.  Here, we know Peter is married and has a family because of this story about his mother-in-law.  There is great symbolic value in Christ's gesture in that he took her by the hand and lifted her up; He expresses His compassion which is personal for each, and reminds us that through His love we may all be lifted up with Him (John 3:14-15, 12:32).  Here, Peter's mother-in-law is restored to her place of service to the Lord, a place of honor in her household.

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed.  And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.  For the second time, Mark tells us that Jesus did not allow the demons to speak (see yesterday's reading, above, when Jesus says, "Be quiet, and come out of him!").  Jesus wants people to come to Him through faith not based solely on signs, and is wary both of the hostility He knows will come from the authorities and the popular expectation that the Messiah will be an earthly, political leader such as a powerful king who will deliver them from the Romans.

 

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.  And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.  When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."  But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."   And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.  My study Bible comments here that Jesus sets forth for us an example of spiritual life.  Although He is God incarnate, He prayed continually, frequently finding a solitary place, we're told, to be free of distraction, despite the multitude's need of Him.  Christ's ministry comes forth from His communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit and flows to people in their needs.  My study Bible adds that Christ's praying in the morning teaches us that we must put as first priority our commitment to God, and only then will we be equipped to serve others.  

Now a leper came to Him, imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, "If You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, "I am willing, be cleansed."  As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.  And He strictly warned him and sent him away at once, and said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.   However, he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places; and they came to Him from every direction.  My study Bible points out for us that the biblical law concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus 13, 14; Deuteronomy 24:8 describes the purification of lepers and leprous houses, a duty entrusted to the priests.  Leprosy, it explains, was considered a direct punishment for sins, and as lepers were unclean, they were not permitted to live in the community or to worship in synagogues or the temple.  To touch the unclean was forbidden (Leviticus 7:21), but Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched the leper.  My study Bible says that this shows not only Christ's compassion, but also that He is not subject to the Law but over it.  To the clean, it says, nothing is unclean (see Romans 14:14).  Note also that Jesus tells the healed man to show himself to the priest, and do as Moses commanded.  This is offered as a testimony to them.  Cyril of Alexandria, commenting on this story as it appears in Luke's Gospel, suggests that the priests hold Moses to be great than Christ (the Messiah), yet Christ heals a leper immediately and with His own divine authority.  When Miriam, the sister of Moses, was struck with leprosy, Moses had to seek mercy from above, and still she was only healed after seven days (Numbers 12:10-15).

It's intriguing that Jesus sent the healed leper to a priest, not only to fulfill the law as commanded by Moses, but also as a testimony to them.  Note also that this is done even when Christ has twice now rebuked demons to be quiet so as not to reveal His messianic identity, and at the same time admonished the leper to say nothing to anyone, excepting the priest.  So this is a kind of window possibly showing us a beginning attempt by Jesus to communicate in a certain way with the religious authorities regarding what He does and who He is.  He is "fulfilling all righteousness" (Matthew 3:14-15) by instructing the healed man to follow the commands of Moses, and yet at the same time He instructs him to give a testimony to the priest about the healing by Jesus.  It suggests the possibility that Christ is finding a righteous and tentative way to begin to reveal His identity, beginning with the priests who hold authority within the religious establishment.  It is in the next reading, as we begin chapter 2 of Mark's Gospel, that Jesus will begin to receive criticism from the authorities for the manner in which He heals another, as well as challenges of blasphemy.  Thus the open conflict with the religious authorities over Jesus' ministry will begin.  But here, we may observe that Jesus is at once fully assuming the familiar role of compassionate Savior whom we know, by going outside of convention in touching a woman (Peter's mother-in-law), and violating the law by touching a leper, both in order to heal -- and at the same time seeking not to publicize what He is doing, but rather offering discreet testimony to the priest through the healed leper.  What we can infer about Jesus is that His ministry is going step-by-step, doing the things He must do to express God the Father as Incarnate Son.  That is, Christ's display of compassion, and the presence of the Kingdom in His healings, are clear testimony that if we see Him, we see the Father (John 14:9).  However, He does not engage in direct challenges to the religious authorities; if those challenges arise, it is in the context of the expression of compassion, the love which is the reality of God (1 John 4:8).  This is a great lesson to us also in the context of our own times, when so much activism seems to be geared toward making a splash with open challenges and fierce confrontation.  Jesus does something quite different:  instead of making declarations and manifestos, it is love in action that declares who He is and what He is, and the rest will have to follow in whatever way that develops.  For now, we observe His fulfillment of the Law by participating in its requirements regarding the healed leper, and allowing the healing to testify for Him.  May we all learn from His example, to so fully and directly live and express our faith, without the fanfare.  For it is our own compassion that may serve as eloquence.

 

 

 

 

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

 

 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 when Jesus, John, James, and Peter had come down from the mountain of the 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.   The language in this passage, in which the time had come for Him to be received up, is very similar to language used for kings and rulers of the time.  To send messengers before one's face is to make an announcement, a preparation, for the distinguished person, a person of power and authority.  The face of an emperor or king is his person, carrying the authority and power and even empire of the position and all that means.  Jesus' journey to Jerusalem is certainly one of the Messiah or Christ, the rightful Bridegroom, going to His city, His Bride.  And by the response of James and John to the Samaritans (who did not view Jerusalem as the holy city, nor the place where the temple should be), certainly is in keeping with such expectations.  So in this context Christ's rebuke of James and John (the "Sons of Thunder" - see Mark 3:17) is very important.  He does not argue with their expectations; those will be challenged soon enough by the events to come, and He has already given two warnings about betrayal and His Passion to come at Jerusalem.  Instead, He corrects their thinking regarding the mission of His Church, and what manner of spirit they are of.  The entire mission of the Son of Man is not to destroy men's lives but to save them.  And until we are given further notice, this remains the spiritual mission of the Church and its heart.

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."   This journey on the road to Jerusalem seems to be recognized by many, and as we've just been told, is made by One who sends messengers before His face.  As such, someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go."   Jesus reveals three aspects of the cost of discipleship, which my study bible names.  First, the disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security.  If the Lord has nowhere to lay His head, neither will the disciple.  Second, there is nothing, not even the honor which is due to parents, which can be an obstacle to serving the Lord.  Finally, a disciples cannot delay in accomplishing the good that is demanded by Christ.

This journey toward Jerusalem continues to reveal to the disciples (and, following them, the Church until today) the nature of Christ's ongoing mission, and of all those who would be disciples of their Lord, Jesus Christ.  First, there is what is possibly the closest thing we have to a mission statement of the Church:  "The Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."    This language is in keeping with Christ's portrayal of Himself as Physician, which we found directly referenced in Luke 5:31-32, in speaking of Himself as Physician who heals the sinful:  "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."  Moreover, the great signs Jesus has performed throughout His ministry have involved healing (and that would include exorcisms -- which teaches us that there clearly exist spirits who seek to destroy men's lives).  So salvation must be considered on all levels as that which permeates the ministry and mission of Jesus Christ and of His Church.  To be saved is to be delivered from what is evil, harmful, painful, onerous.  But it is also to be made whole, to be truly healed.  This saving mission is the purpose of Christ's ministry on earth, and it remains so as it addresses every single level of human life, and is also for the life of the world (John 6:33, 51).  For Jesus, to be healed is always linked to faith.  See, for example, the story of the woman who suffered for twelve years from hemorrhage, "who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any" (see this reading).   Jesus assures her, "Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well."  Faith is connected with something beyond the physical world.  That is, not something separate, but something more.  It is aware of more dimensions to life than worldly material perception, and Jesus indicates this when He tells James and John (and by inference, all the rest of us) when He says, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of."  Our mission isn't merely to be in the world, but it is a spiritual mission in the world, which incorporates all aspects of saving, healing, wholeness of people's lives:  mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and the soul.  And through Christ's mission, He gives to us mission.  Today's reading also lays out the demands of discipleship:  our loyalty and mission in serving the Lord takes precedence over everything else.  When other aspects of our worldly lives stand in the way of where that mission may lead, we are to consider them secondary to the call of the Lord as true disciples.  Again, we are to understand this in the framework of salvation.  We make such choices not to destroy our lives but to save them.  Earlier in chapter 9, Jesus has 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?" (see this reading).   Sometimes the saving cure we need is surgery, and there are things which are harmful to us that stand in the way of healing:  bad habits, false priorities, mistaken beliefs, even our own psychological shortcomings.  Even the sacrifices we're called upon to make must be seen as ultimately saving.  That may even include, at times, leaving others behind or letting go of relationships for what are more important priorities.  But love, prayer, forgiveness, and salvation still remain priorities for all life.   So let us consider salvation and discipleship, and what manner of spirit we are of.  Our discipleship is meant for healing, for salvation, and this includes the others around us -- that is, both those who reject our faith and those who do not.  There are times when the single weapon of mission is prayer, for no one comes to faith or love by being compelled.  There are times when we must let others go.  But at all times, the mission in which we are disciples to our Lord is one of salvation, and we -- like James and John and the other disciples -- must know what manner of spirit we are of at all times.  No matter where we are called, ultimately, the saving of lives is the mission.  Ultimately this happens through the love of God, and God's mercy and grace.  We are those called to serve Christ's mission, not to have all the answers ourselves.  Let us remember that none of us knows the future of any person, and that we are all on the journey toward Jerusalem with Christ.  Sometimes we may have to "let the dead bury their own dead," while we live the gospel of the kingdom of God.  But that gospel is to save lives, and it remains open for all.  The ancient Greek father of all physicians was Hippocrates, who lived from approximately 460-370 BC.  Modern medicine still pays homage to the Hippocratic Oath, a hallmark of which is the injunction, "Do no harm."  As the true Physician of all, we can understand Christ's teachings as similar, and emblematic of the true spirit His disciples are meant to bear into the world.   Our mission is to help to save lives, not to destroy.  Let us always remember this first above all.

Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch

 

 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.  Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."  But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

 

- Luke 5:1-11 

 

 Yesterday we read that Jesus left the synagogue in Capernaum and entered Simon's house.  But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her.  So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.  And immediately she arose and served them.  When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.  And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!"  And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.  Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place.  And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent."  And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

 

  So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. The Lake of Gennesaret is another name for the Sea of Galilee.  The lake is about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.  This name may possibly be used here for the Sea of Galilee as it is suggestive of the fruitfulness of this region (its original name taken from the name for a fruit tree), both the fertility of the plain adjacent and the fishing.

Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land.  And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.  Sitting, my study bible explains, was the traditional position for a teacher.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch."   My study bible cites St. Ambrose's commentary here, in which he sees the spiritual meaning of this command as an invitation to give one's life over to the deep mystery of the knowledge of the Son of God.

But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."  And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.  So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.  And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.  My study bible comments that the Lord draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them.  As He drew the Magi with a star (Matthew 2:2), and tax collectors by a tax collector (5:29), here Christ draws the fishermen with fish (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).  

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"  For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.  And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."  So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.  My study bible tells us that Peter's cry in the face of divine power is not a rejection of Jesus (contrast this with 8:37).  But, instead, as Peter is suddenly cast in the light of Christ, he responds as do many holy people when they become keenly aware of their own unworthiness (compare to Isaiah 6:5, Revelation 1:17).  This great catch of fish is an image of the apostles bringing humankind into the knowledge of Christ, fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 16:16.  I the Orthodox Church, the festal hymn of Pentecost proclaims, "Through the fishermen, You drew the world into Your net."

This marvelous, surprising image of this great catch of fish catches our eye -- as no doubt it was understood that it would.  We can see the reactions of these fishermen.  No one is more astounded than they.  The word in the Gospel is astonished.  This is their home territory, it's where they have fished all of their lives, and yet on the word of Christ a catch of fish arrives that is so great it is breaking their nets.  The number of fish is so tremendous that they fill their boats to the point at which they begin to sink.  This is the powerful image of the Gospel that makes grown men astonished, stunned, amazed to the point of stupefaction.  Peter is so overwhelmed that he responds with a holy awe by simply having glimpsed an understanding of Christ:  "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!"   Certainly there is in this image of the great catch of fish splitting the nets of the fishermen a sign of tremendous abundance.  The familiar phrase "all the fish in the sea" comes to mind.   We know that the sign of a fish will become an early symbol for Christians:  the ancient Greek word for fish, ιχθυς/ixthys will become an acronym for "Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior" (Ἰησοῦς Χριστός Θεοῦ Yἱός Σωτήρ).  Jesus forever ties together the metaphor of fish to the world full of human beings who must hear the gospel message when He says to these fishermen, "Do not be afraid.  From now on you will catch men."   This word in Greek for "men" also means generically mankind, human beings.  So astonishing in their minds is this catch of fish that the fishermen leave their boats and nets and business behind, becoming disciples of Christ.  John's Gospel explains to us that several of them had already been disciples of John the Baptist, and so were familiar with Jesus from the beginning.  But here is where they are truly called, and this great sign gives Peter a visceral experience that he stands before a man whose holiness he cannot fully estimate.  And that, too, is part of the surprising nature of our faith and its component of mystery to be experienced.  For that sort of glimpse comes in a way as surprising as this extraordinary catch of fish on a day when there were no fish to be found.  It is sudden, experiential, a glimpse like a flash.  The brief moment of any experience of holiness or the divine is a taste of something whose depth we cannot measure and do not know.  In the entire treasury of the Church with her saints and Scripture and all of theology there remains an overwhelming unknown of mystery about God.  Whatever we do know of God has only come through revelation; what has been developed by combining this with philosophy to create theology gives us a glimpse, but teaches us more:  that whatever it is we know of God is a tiny fraction of God's reality.  There is so much more that we don't know, like how much more is there in that great wide sea do we not know, besides this abundant, surprising catch of fish.  It's important that we understand that comparing this one catch of fish to all the fish in the sea is a metaphor for our real knowledge of God.  The sea is limited, but God is not.  Whatever we think we know of our faith, it is the tiniest fraction of the mystery of God -- and in fact our faith therefore only begins a journey that is unlimited.  When we lose sight of this mystery, we have forgotten who we are as Christians, because the true range of our faith cannot be defined and limited by what we know.  It must also include the awareness of the much more that we do not yet know.  It is that mystery -- like the glimpse of the great catch of fish -- that invites us in, and asks us to go forward.  Have you come far on your journey of faith?  Then prepare to go further.  Do you think you have tasted God's love?  Continue into its depth and breadth.  Are there still questions you need to ponder?  This is exactly the right place we must be in.  For we don't have all the answers, and the fullness of Christ we can't yet grasp.  But we are asked to be on this journey, and given experience that gives us a glance -- but there is always so much more ahead.  Sometimes, like the fishermen, we're asked to leave all behind and follow Him.  Wherever we are in this long discipleship of faith, the road starts here, and there is so much more we don't yet know.  This is what St. Ambrose understands of the command to launch out into the deep, and so we are called with the fishermen, as well.

Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men

 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.    We remember that Jesus has made Capernaum His new home (see yesterday's reading, above), and so He walks by the Sea of Galilee in this headquarters town for His ministry.  My study bible comments that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and so were prepared to accept Christ immediately (see also John 1:35-42).   Although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land," my study bible says, whom Jesus calls, will be revealed at Pentecost to 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.  These great multitudes followed Jesus, my study bible points out, not when He commands repentance, but rather only when He begins to heal and work miracles.  This shows that from the beginning the people misunderstand the true nature of Christ's Kingdom.  It also shows, as Theophan comments, Christ's concession "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the fickle crowds.  (See yesterday's reading, above, for Christ's immediate ministerial call to "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.")

Christ's ministry is couched in healing, as "concession" my study bible says, to give credibility to what He teaches" (quoting Theophan).  But healing, as we understand it in its manifold forms, is the overall direction of what Christ does to save.  We might not understand it, and neither apparently do these crowds who flock to Him for healing, but healing is the entire meaning of the Incarnation.  That is, it is for the life of the world, all of the creation, to set us right, to heal, to transform -- and that includes a patterning of righteousness that puts us in right-relationship among ourselves and even extending to the creation.  In this sense, we shouldn't forget that repentance (as we wrote in yesterday's reading and commentary) is a means -- indeed, the chief means -- whereby that healing and transformation take place.  Repentance in this sense becomes the major means of healing in a holistic sense of an entire human being, for we are made not simply of body, soul, and spirit, but we are also made in relationship to all that surrounds us.  Repentance then becomes the chief means whereby we seek through our own adjustment to Christ's call of discipleship to becomes "right-related" to God and by extension to creation, including all of our fellow creatures.  It's not for nothing that we have saints who were known to preach to the birds, or that the early monastics dwelt in the desert wilderness or as hermits, or that even today the Church sees its mission as one of redemption for the entire creation, the whole of the world.  In the prayers of the Church, we pray for the entire creation, and not merely for ourselves.  Therefore is the mission of Christ seen as healing and in the context of repentance on our part, for repentance is simply the turning to God to find God's way for us, even as a kind of constant state of prayer.  Repentance is linked to notions of time, for it is only through time that such transformation occurs, and indeed, our journey of faith is not one of simply a one-day commitment or realization.  It is, rather, a lifetime's passage of work and growing awareness:  there is always something new we must learn, a work ahead or in front of us toward which Christ calls.  Those who have been married for a while -- even many decades -- know that a marriage is a constant work in progress:  as our lives change, we go through transitions that always require a re-orientation in love.  And so it is with our relationship to Christ.  It is one that gets renewed, in which each day passes as we come to know more of our Creator and what is expected of us, and understanding and depth hopefully grows, including its ups and downs.  So we start out with these first disciples called.  This is not a one-day event, as the Gospels attest, but a growing stage of transformation in discipleship.  These men who are called today will not be remain the same persons who come to Him as fishermen; neither are they the same people they were before the ministry of John the Baptist.  All is preparation, all is of a pattern of growth and of transformation.  Each one will have his failings in discipleship that need correction, and each will grow in stature and fullness and disciples and as apostles.  The foolishness we read in one passage will be transformed into the most persuasive and strong character to carry Christ's word into the world.  And St. Paul will also be changed from one striking fear into all the believers, to one unshakable in his conviction to serve the Gentiles.   But all of this is gradual and works through time, and so we should also see Christ's ministry and work in our own lives.  We might not be the same people -- at all -- who started out in faith.  We might be transformed through this ministry, and participation in His life, into those who are quite different from the people we once were.  But this is all a part of healing, both to cut out what needs to be torn away for the health of the whole person, and also to grow the positive good things necessary for true health.  We might not have compatible relationships any longer with those with whom we were once comfortable, and we may find ourselves keeping company with those who are somewhat strange to the persons we used to be.  We may find ourselves with interests and ideas that surprise us, that don't fit an old pattern, or disappoint even the ones whom we love.  We may find ourselves doing "good works" (such as writing Bible commentary blogs!) that we never thought we'd do.  But life in Christ forms a transition, a pattern of change.  It asks us -- when we are called -- to follow, and to trust where we are led.  Each act, in my experience, requires courage, and each one a call to a response in which we realize the importance of our choice and our capacity for change.  Each new "repentance" a form of taking responsibility, and understanding that we are not simply pawns of fate, but rather those who -- even in the most desperate and limited of circumstances -- have some sort of choice to make.  This is the way of Christ, to show us the way.  We learn through prayer, we affirm our faith, and enter into mysteries.  We might not ever understand how it works, nor can we fully explain why, but we know it is a way, and we can look back and see the change.  Let us enter into His life and His call for the journey, even just today, for right now, each mindful moment of where He asks us to be and to affirm our choice for trust in His love and ministry and our part in it.