Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother

 

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  

 

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."   But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

 

- Matthew 12:43-50 

 

On Saturday, we read that Jesus continued in His confrontation with the Pharisees who had accused Him of casting out demons by the power of the ruler of the demons.  He told them, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks  after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."   My study Bible comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 106:34-39.  So, therefore we guard our hearts.  My study Bible adds that unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, an expelled demon will return with others and occupy its abode.  

 

 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."   But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission, my study Bible explains.  Christ points to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.  In tradition usage among the Jews (and still today across the Middle East), brother could indicate any number of relations.  Abram referred to his nephew Lot as "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz called his cousin Elimelech his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).   In this context we understand that Christ had no blood brothers, as Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  These brothers He refers to are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or they are cousins.  As additional evidence of this, we know that Jesus committed His mother to the care of St. John ("the disciple whom He loved") at the Cross (John 19:25-27).  Such a thing would have been unthinkable if Mary had other children of her own to care for her.  

 

 Jesus points to a community, and more than a community, when He speaks of His brother and sister and mother in today's reading.  He extends community into even closer relationship by such references as those terms in speaking of "whoever does the will of My Father in heaven."  Often in modern understanding, we fail to grasp correctly what sacrifice was in the context of ancient religions.  A sacrifice was a communal meal, in which the community shared their goods not just with one another, but with their God (or gods).  In the Jewish context, this was the point of the sacrifices in the temple, as it was in pagan cultures as well.  The whole point was community and the relations within the community; in the Jewish context this meant the covenant with Yahweh, but also the ameliorating of the effects of sin on and within the community.  But from ancient times, human beings did not rely upon blood nor physical kinship to determine community; more common was a common code or creed, linked to worship, which determined customs and norms.  Families were a building block of such societies with these community bonds.  In this context Jesus speaks of His mother and sister and brother as those who do "the will of My Father in heaven."  This serves to underscore the deep need we have in today's societies through our own worship and communion in Christ.  His own sacrifice on the Cross -- His body and blood -- serves literally and figuratively as Communion, our communal meal (see Matthew 26:26-29; John 6:50-59).  Today people often find common interest, political affiliation, physical family gathering according to blood, even DNA, national identity, and other types of shared participation to define themselves in the world.  But Christ here offers us something which He tells us is deeper than DNA, deeper than family kinship -- or perhaps more significant in spiritual terms that define who we are and give us a heritage He offers, and that is to be committed to doing the will of our Father in heaven.  This becomes our communion, in which we find brothers, sisters, mothers, as we follow Christ.  It is meant to be a bond of love, for God is love, and this is the bedrock of our existence as God's creatures.  We may look in a million different places to find kinship, a community, a sense of belonging.  But ultimately Christ offers us a love that surpasses and transcends all else, even when all else may let us down, or worse, lead us astray.  For we are not merely flesh and blood; we are also souls.  Without the soul, there is no life in the body.  See also Matthew 16:26.  In Christ, then, we find our community, in this common bond seeking to do the Father's will.  We know of His love for us, His sacrifice for us, and for the life of the world.  Let us root ourselves in His communion, for the reality of God who is love, and God's grace, is the solid bedrock upon which we wish to build our lives.

 

 

 

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment

 

 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

 

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks  after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

- Matthew 12:33-42 

 

Yesterday we read that one was brought to Christ who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

 

  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Jesus begins by once again speaking of the heart, and how the depths of the heart bring out what is there through speech.  This is why we, as followers of Christ, practice the guarding of our hearts, and seek to know ourselves in this sense.  We bring all things to Christ for our own healing, thus seeking to make the tree good.  Jesus uses the title brood of vipers for the Pharisees, echoing John the Baptist (Matthew 3:7).  My study Bible says this title indicates their deception and malice, and their being under the influence of Satan -- just as they accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the ruler of the demons (see yesterday's reading, above).  My study Bible explains that the heart in Scripture refers to the center of consciousness, the seat of the intellect and the will, and the place from which spiritual life proceeds.  It comments that when God's grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts.  On the other hand, it notes, when malice and evil capture the heart, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion.  

 

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks  after a sign and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."  After so many signs, my study Bible notes, the Pharisees show their wickedness by demanding yet another.  Jesus does not cater to those who demand a sign out of wicked intent.  The only sign for them will be Christ's Passion and Resurrection; this is the sign of the prophet Jonah Jesus refers to.  He mentions the men of Nineveh who repented at Jonah's preaching (see Jonah 3), and the queen of the South is the queen of Sheba (see 1 Kings 10:1-13, 2 Chronicles 9:1-12).  Adulterous generation is an echo of the illustration used for Israel by the prophets when Israel was unfaithful to God (Jeremiah 3; Hosea 2:2-13).  

 

Our words are important, and Christ seems to teach and affirm this in ways which are significant throughout His teachings.  For example, when He preaches in the Sermon on the Mount, He likens name-calling to the statute against murder.  See Matthew 5:21-26.  He also suggests the importance of our words -- or really the powerful use of words in sticking to the minimum we need -- a little farther along in the Sermon on the Mount, when He speaks of swearing oaths (Mathew 5:33-37).  There He teaches us, "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."  A simple integrity seems straightforward enough, yet how hard is it for us to adhere to this in the heat of a moment, or in times of fear or stress?  But in today's reading, He takes this emphasis on our words to deeper and more profound levels.  He says, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things."  What does one find in the abundance of your heart?  My heart?  Anyone's heart?  This is a great, and apparently grave question.  For Jesus teaches that we will indeed by judged by those words, and He doesn't speak lightly regarding this judgment.  Even every "idle word" counts.  He says, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Good and evil, justified and condemned:  these are very strong words, indeed.  And yet, the One who teaches us that our words matter so deeply, the One who has fashioned His teachings with such words that they withstand 2,000 years of history to speak to us so clearly -- certainly knows what He is saying, for He Himself is the judge.  He Himself is the only One who really knows the hearts of people (Acts 1:24; 1 Kings 8:39).  If we take His words seriously, then we should begin to take our words more seriously than we usually seem to do.  Particularly if we're talking about "conversation" on the internet, where it's so easy to express an opinion, to "flame" someone with language we might not normally reserve for in-person encounters, we should think about what Jesus has said here.  He, again, isn't just the Judge; He is the Logos Himself, the Word.  He knows the power of words, and He, as Lord, spoke the world into existence at creation (Genesis 1:3).  It's a powerful thing to ponder just what kind of words we may use if we consider that it is also Jesus who taught us that the Holy Spirit Himself would give us words for testimony in times of trial and persecution before the powerful.  Jesus told the apostles in preparing for their first mission, "But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you" (Matthew 10:19-20).  Consider that it is the Logos, the Christ, who teaches us that the Spirit who proceeds from our Father will speak in us and give us words -- well, that's quite a staggering achievement to grant any human being.  We might call it truly a manifestation of God in and of itself on such an occasion.  Words are so important that Christ gives such testimony primary importance for the apostles as they go out into the world.  We live in a time when the world is encircled and enmeshed within telecommunications almost instantaneously transmitting one word to another across continents and oceans.  And yet, how we do need to take His words seriously!  How we could thrive with a sense of integrity that He asks of us!  How life could be meaningful and profound if we paid attention to what we said with the knowledge that it reveals whatever is in the heart, and that we will be judged by it.  Let us give thought to the power of words, the power He Himself teaches us all about, and exemplifies as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come

 

 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  

 

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

 

- Matthew 12:22-32 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus knew that the Pharisees have now begun to plot against Him to destroy Him, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out,  nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."

 

Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."   According to Fr. Stephen De Young (who has written a recent book on the ancient god Baal), Beelzebub is a deliberate corruption of the name "Beelzebul."  Beelzebul is the Greek transliteration of an Aramaic title for the god Baal, and its meaning is "Baal is lord" or "the great god Baal."  But Beelzebub is a title given by the Jews to ridicule the god Baal, and its meaning is "lord of the flies." Given Baal's association with the underworld, this could be a reference to rotting corpses, or possibly due to his image as that of a bull, with animal excrement; thus, "lord of the dung heap."  Baal was a god worshiped by the Philistines (see 2 Kings 1:2-16).  But here he is called ruler of the demons.  My study Bible comments that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus. 

 

 "Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."  My study Bible explains that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit.  That is, blasphemy against pure goodness.  It says that a sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven because the Jews did not know much about Christ.  But blasphemy against the Spirit is a blasphemy against the divine activity known from the Old Testament already to these men.  It will not be forgiven because it comes fro a willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  But my study Bible adds that the Church Fathers are clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin'; nor does Jesus ever call this sin "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Christ makes this declaration in today's reading knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and that by their own choice they are beyond repentance.

 

In the Nicene Creed, we call the Holy Spirit "the Lord, the Creator of Life."  Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the "Spirit of truth" (John 16:13).  The Orthodox prayer to the Holy Spirit, with which all services are begun, reads as follows:  "Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us of all stain, O Good One."  Each of these things gives us a hint about the Holy Spirit.  Genesis 1:2 tells us, "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."  Thus we understand the Spirit as the One who gives life, who anointed Christ (an eternal reality made visible at His Baptism), who is active in the world and among us.  It is this activity of the Spirit, known to the Pharisees who now condemn Jesus' works as evil and demonic, that Christ says is a sin to condemn, to blaspheme.  To do so is an expression of hatred against goodness itself.  Perhaps we could call it the ultimate lie.  Why do people resist the good?  Why do people respond with hatred for what is good among them?  The answers to these questions may give us clues about what might be even a deeper mystery:  What is it that makes someone beyond repentance?  My study Bible says that Jesus makes this statement about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit knowing that, because of their choices, the men who make this accusation are now beyond repentance.  This implies that the power of our own minds, the power of our choices, can render us beyond help because we've gone so far down a particular trail that we will not perceive the options to reverse ourselves.  At least, this is the explanation that seems likely.  Perhaps we can be buried in our own thoughts of hatred and enmity so deeply that we no longer see clearly other possible options.  In the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark, we're told that Pilate knew the religious leaders handed Christ over to him for crucifixion out of envy (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10).  In chapter 2 of the Wisdom of Solomon (also known as the Book of Wisdom), we read all about the hatred of the good, and the envy of the devil through which death entered the world (Wisdom of Solomon 2; see especially verse 24).  So out of envy, we know, such blind hatred can come that not only causes blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, but an enmity that has no capacity to turn itself around of its own power.  It is, perhaps, only a mind open to the Spirit which is capable of repentance, for the Spirit indwells us through Baptism, which begins our journey with Christ.  Jesus tells the disciples at the Last Supper that the world cannot receive the Spirit of truth, "because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you" (John 14:17).  "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me" (John 15:26).  Let us remember the Holy Spirit and the good works of God in our lives.  Only Christ can judge, for He is the One who knows people's hearts.  The good and true and beautiful path for the soul is to Him.   Let us pray that we always stay on it, and are guided back when we take the wrong way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

 

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  

"Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,

My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out,

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 

 A bruised reed He will not break, 

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory;

And in His name Gentiles will trust." 

 

- Matthew 12:15-21 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.  

 

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.   That Jesus knew it is a reference to the final verse in yesterday's reading (above), in which we were told that the Pharisees have now begun to plot against Him, how they might destroy Him.   

 

Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out,  nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."  St. Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4.  My comments that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah.  It states that the reasons for this secrecy include, first of all, the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders (as noted above regarding the plotting of the Pharisees against Him.  Additionally, there is the people's misunderstanding and widespread expectation of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader.  Finally, our Lord wishes to evoke genuine faith, which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  In this quotation from the Old Testament, we can read that the prophet Isaiah had foreseen the mission to the Gentiles after Pentecost ("in His name Gentiles will trust").  

 

 The prophet Isaiah writes, "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him . . .."  The beautiful poetry of this prophesy teaches us so much about Jesus.  The first word to describe Him here is Servant, teaching us all about Christ and His mission.  We know from His ministry that in all things He serves the Father, bowing His human will with His divine identity in obedience to the Father's will.  As His faithful, we also understand Him not simply as a Servant to God but also to all of humankind and to all of creation, for His mission and ministry in the world gave us Resurrection, and we know that He gave His human life "for the life of the world" (John 6:51).  His entire ministry, His teachings, His healings, His exorcism, His sharing His power with His own servants (see this reading) -- all testify to His life as a Servant of the world in every way, and He continues to serve us as Lord, in the mysteries of the Church and in all we depend upon as those who put our faith in Him.  Christ is called My Beloved, and we know He is the beloved Son.  If we look to the divine revelation, or theophany, manifest at Christ's Baptism, we see these words of Isaiah echoed in the voice of the Father:  "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).   These words of God the Father are repeated at the Transfiguration, also a theophany (Matthew 17:5).  Of course, we are all familiar with the Spirit "descending like a dove and alighting upon" Christ at His Baptism (Matthew 3:16-17).  That God declares through Isaiah, "I will put My Spirit upon Him" is a declaration of anointing.  It is a sign of Christ being at once our great High Priest and King (our King of kings and Lord of lords), and Messiah.  Isaiah foresaw these truths, and in Christ's life they are manifested, and they continue to manifest in the Church, as we each may be anointed with the Spirit of God to live our lives in imitation of Him, to be transformed into His image for us.  Let us consider how deep and how true this reality goes for us.  As we have recently read, and we read from this portion of Isaiah's prophesy, this great Savior is One who is also "meek and lowly of heart"; He does not need to prove who He is, but He lives who He is, and shows us by every manifestation this reality, even in His humility and courage and love for us.

 

 

 

For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother

 

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."

 

- Matthew 12:43-50 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued responding to the Pharisees' charge that He cast out demons by the power of demons, which He called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  He said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  My study Bible comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and hence an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 106:34-39).  So, therefore we guard our hearts, and keep this as an important practice.  It continues, "Unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, an expelled demon will return with others and reoccupy its abode."  

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points here to a spiritual family, which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.  We should also keep in mind that the term brothers in this passage can indicate any number of relations, if we go by the way it is used in Scripture.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother" in Genesis 14:14; Boaz referred to his cousin Elimelech as his "brother" (Ruth 4:3); and Joab called his cousin Amasa his "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  It says that Christ Himself had no blood brothers; Mary had only one Son, Jesus.  The brothers which are mentioned here are either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  The truth of this becomes apparent when we observe that Jesus committed His mother to the care of John (the "beloved disciple") at the Cross (John 19:25-27).  This would have been unthinkable if Mary had other children to care for her.

In some sense, we can see Jesus in today's reading as pleading with these religious leaders.  It might not sound like it, but He is Savior, and as such all that He does is an attempt to save.  While these men to whom He speaks might not even be capable of "hearing" Him spiritually, there are still others who are listening, and His ministry and words will remain for posterity.  In the first verses of today's reading, Jesus is explaining to them the fullness of the risks of refusal for repentance.  Often we think of repentance in modern terms as requiring sackcloth and ashes, a dismal face, a grim disposition.  But we should not think of it this way.  That is because, above all, repentance is simply a willingness to reconsider, to listen again, and open one's heart and mind, and to change one's mind.  (This is literally the meaning of the Greek word for repent, metanoia/μετανοια, to change one's mind.)   Jesus gives an extremely unsettling warning to these men in the form of a teaching of unclean spirits -- the things we may be healed from through exorcism (such as Jesus performs).  But without a continual vigilance in terms of taking in and actually practicing the things we've learned, such spirits return with a vengeance.  While not everyone in a modern context will understand the terms unclean spirit as a type of being, I think we can all observe the reality of how concepts and ideas work in our minds, what we hold dear to our hearts and souls, and what we are willing to change -- and make a commitment to that change.  Anyone who has ever practiced a Twelve Step program would be familiar with this; vigilance is necessary for continued benefits to one's life of the change to sobriety.  Nothing is a one-minute fix, no matter how good our resolutions are.  In this case, Jesus is warning the Pharisees about their own choices here, and that they are sliding more deeply in spiritual trouble by fixing their minds and refusing what He offers.  He teaches a similar principle in His great summing up of criticisms against this religious establishment which He will make in chapter 23.  Jesus tells them, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves."  This is another example of what it is to continue traveling down the same mistaken road, for this is the way that ideas and concepts work within us.  Unless we put in a correction in our thinking, we do not stand still.  We will continue down a mistaken road, and so our "disciples" will be "twice the sons of hell" that we are.  This example of the demonic returning to a clean and swept place is an illustration of that principle and how it works within a single person, or perhaps even a group of people.  If we don't take correction seriously -- and as part of the love of God to heal us -- then we're just going to continue down a wrong road, further along toward a false and mistaken destination.  The contrast to that direction -- the correction, the remedy, the antidote --  is "the will of My Father in heaven."  This is the road we need to be on.  As part of His love, Jesus gives us this truth.   The question remains for us whether or not we can accept it.

 

 

Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit

 

 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

- Matthew 12:33-42 

 

Yesterday we read that one was brought to Jesus who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.  Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." 

 

  "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  Here is a call for discernment, and attention to the inner spiritual state of a person.  What we have read so far (over the course of the past two readings) is a growing depth of intransigence on the part of these Pharisees, religious leaders.  Their hard-heartedness and self-righteousness blinds them to repentance, to the words of Christ, and even to see the powerful healing He has done for what it is, the sign of holy power at work.  Jesus has just criticized them for blaspheming against the Holy Spirit in accusing Him of working by the power of demons.  Here He addresses the state of their interior lives, using the analogy of a tree and its fruit.  Brood of vipers is a term used by John the Baptist to address the religious leaders who came to him in the wilderness, also indicating a lack of capacity for repentance, for opening minds and hearts to the Lord's work.  (See Matthew 3:7.)  "Brood" means offspring.   My study Bible explains that the heart in Scripture is a reference to the center of consciousness.  It notes that the heart is the seat of the intellect and the will, and the place from which spiritual life proceeds.  Here Jesus speaks of the good treasure of the heart:  my study Bible says that when God's grace permeates the heart, it masters the body and guides all actions and thoughts.  But on the contrary, when the heart is captured by malice and evil, a person becomes full of darkness and spiritual confusion (see Matthew 6:23). 

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  Imagine that!  After so many signs, here these scribes and Pharisees demand yet another.  My study Bible says that they show their wickedness by so doing.  It points out for us that Christ will not cater to those who demand a sign out of wicked intent. 

 

 But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  The term adulterous generation is an echo of the illustration for Israel used by the prophets, in the times when Israel was unfaithful to God (Jeremiah 3; Hosea 2:2-13).   The sign of the prophet Jonah is Christ's Passion and Resurrection; it is the only sign these who duplicitously demand signs from Him will receive.  In the heart of the earth refers to Christ's entombment. 

 

"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."   Here again Jesus affirms that the response to Him is the pivot point for judgment, and makes more full the analogy to the prophet Jonah (see Jonah 1 - 4).  Jonah was sent by God to Nineveh, and did not want to go to these strangers who worshiped foreign gods.  But they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and Christ, a greater than Jonah, is here before them.  The queen of the South is the Queen of Sheba, whose origins trace to the Red Sea region bordered by Ethiopia and Yemen, thereby controlling one of the earliest ancient trade routes, source of great wealth.  But together with her wealth, her understanding gave her the reverence for the greater value of holy wisdom, which is also understood to be the provenance of our Lord.  And a greater than Solomon, Christ Incarnate, is here before them.

In today's reading, Jesus teaches, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  In this sense, Jesus continues from His analogy of human beings to trees; in these words, He is comparing the words we speak to the fruit that a tree bears.  If a tree is diseased or blighted, it will not bear good fruit.  One must carefully cultivate and prune and pay attention to trees with the proper medicine, otherwise they can bear many afflictions, and the fruit will not be good or edible.  So it is with human beings, only we cannot be corrected successfully from the outside.  Whatever medicine is offered, whatever words Christ teaches, if we don't take them to heart and apply them, then how will we be corrected, how will the things that afflict us be healed so that we may bear good fruit?  If we are bitter with envy, this can blight our capacity for bearing good fruit, and afflict our souls, just as it does the Pharisees and scribes in today's reading.  In yesterday's reading, the Pharisees labeled the work of the Holy Spirit (Christ's signs or healing miracles) the work of demons, thus blaspheming the Spirit.  If we are so spiritually blind that we would do the same, then how is the grace of the Holy Spirit to be at work in us, healing us of what ails, and giving us spiritual medicine to repair our hearts?   In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul writes, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."  If we put together St. Paul's "fruit of the Spirit" with Christ's demand that we make the tree good in order to bear good fruit, then it stands to reason that opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit and the ways that the Spirit can be at work in us and in our lives is a key to the "good treasures" of the heart that may be brought forth as "good things."  So important is this for understanding that Jesus underscores the point by teaching us that we will give an accounting in the judgment for even every idle word.  Those fruits of the heart, our words, will be the basis for that judgment.  In this context let us again recall the words spoken by these men Jesus is confronting:  they have just pronounced the work of the Holy Spirit to be the work of demons, thereby committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  In this light, we have yet another lesson on personal blindness:  blasphemy is the very thing for which they will accuse Jesus and bring Him before Pilate to be crucified.  Let us consider how important the notion of repentance is, the willingness to reconsider what we think we know, opening our hearts to God to be led.  Otherwise we run the risk of projecting our own blindness onto others, our faults we don't wish to see.  Fortunately we have prayer and worship always working for us so that Christ's light can show us the way, revealing to us the things we need to see, and ways we need to change.  For this is real healing; and so important is it that this message is repeated many times:  see Matthew 13:15; John 12:40; Acts 28:27 -- all referencing Isaiah 6:10.  Let us seek the light of grace, the holy wisdom that heals us.

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad

 

 Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."

 

- Matthew 12:22-32 

 

After Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, the Pharisees began to plot against Him, how they might destroy Him.  But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."  

 

  Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.  And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"  Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, "This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."  But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.  But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?  And then he will plunder his house.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."   Here we see the Pharisees digging in more deeply in their opposition to Christ.  Even the signs prophesied by Isaiah, such as this healing and exorcism of one who is both blind and mute, is healed.  Beelzebub is a name for the god Baal (meaning "owner" or "lord"), worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  The worship of Baal was once ubiquitous around the ancient Near and Mid-East, with place-names and other designations included in the various sites where the god was worshiped in many forms, as a god of fertility, for example, or storms -- both essential for ancient agricultural societies.  "Beelzebub" is a name used by the Jews to ridicule this god, meaning prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here, the Pharisees call him the ruler of the demons.  My study Bible further notes that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves is an illustration of how irrational the Pharisees are in their pride and envy that spurs their opposition to Jesus (Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10).

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come."  My study Bible explains that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy that is against the divine activity of the Spirit, blasphemy against pure goodness.  So, therefore, a sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven as people did not know much about Christ.  But blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity was already known to these men from the Old Testament, will not be forgiven as it comes from a willful hardness of heart, and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  My study Bible declares, moreover, that in patristic commentary, it is clearly expressed that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin" and neither does Jesus ever call it "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, it notes, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Jesus makes such a declaration knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and they are beyond repentance by their own choice.

In conjunction with the reading from Saturday (see above), we now see the religious leaders entrenching themselves even more deeply in their opposition to Jesus.  In Saturday's reading, we saw that they decided to plot against Him, after they first criticized Him for plucking grain to eat on a Sabbath, and then turning to try to destroy Him after He then healed a man with a withered hand.  Here in today's reading, they go further.  Not only does Jesus produce a "mighty work" that is characteristic of the prophesies regarding the Messiah (see, for example, Isaiah 35:5), but He does so in casting out demons as well.  While the people are amazed, and ask, "Could this be the Son of David?" (a messianic title), the Pharisees have an antithetical response to amazing sign revealed to the multitudes.  They go so far as to accuse Him of casting out demons by the power of demons, calling His power evil.  At this time, Jesus gives them the starkest warning yet of where they are headed.  He proclaims that all sins will be forgiven, save blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is what these men have just done.  They have just pronounced the power of the Holy Spirit to be a work of demons.  Essentially, this is calling God -- and God's grace at work in the world -- demonic.  It says something, indeed, about the hardness of heart that is on display here that either they are deliberately calling what they understand to be a holy work of God demonic, or, if they cannot perceive that as such, they have made themselves truly spiritually blind, and deliberately so.  For these men are not ignorant of the work of the Holy Spirit, they are the great Biblical scholars of their time, devoting themselves to nothing but debating the fine points of Scripture.  Their knowledge and understanding of Scripture is what they pride themselves on.  So, as my study Bible points out, they know full well the things that characterize the work of the Holy Spirit in the world.   My study Bible also notes the irrationality of their pride and envy, both of which have the better of them.  But Jesus also tells us something essential in His defense of the power working in Him through the healings He does.  He is here to establish a Kingdom, the Kingdom of God.  As such, He is Lord, and how could He cast out demons in opposition to His own power?  Jesus asks, "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself.  How then will his kingdom stand?"  Moreover, since exorcism was already a part of Jewish spiritual tradition, how would the Pharisees' own pupils cast out demons, by what power?  Jesus makes a declaration here about Himself, that He is the "stronger man" who binds the strong man, the devil, in order to plunder his goods, to set free the captives in the house and find souls for His Kingdom.  As the Pharisees grow in their opposition, and resort to accusations of evil, so Christ declares more strongly who He is and what He is doing in the world, what the Incarnation will inaugurate.  Let us consider how He is Lord, and what spiritual power in His name really means.   Jesus concludes, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad."   It reminds us of His warning, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword" (Matthew 10:34).  Ultimately all things are revealed for what they are through Him, and our response to Him.

 

 

Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

 

 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.  And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  

"Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, 

My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

He will not quarrel nor cry out, 

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.

A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory;

And in His name Gentiles will trust."

 

- Matthew 12:15-21 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.   

But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.   Jesus withdrew because He knew the Pharisees were plotting against Him, how they might destroy Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  

And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.  Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "Behold!  My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!  I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles.  He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."   My study Bible comments that Christ's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  There are several reasons given here for Christ's secrecy regarding His identity.  First, there is the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders.  Second, the people misunderstand the Messiah as an earthly, political leader.  Finally, our Lord's desire is to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on marvelous signs.  My study Bible adds that the Servant is a reference first to Christ, but by extension it applies to all who follow Him.

Looking closely at today's reading, we are given an important chance to note Christ's reaction to opposition, and what it tells us about Him, and "what manner of spirit He is of."  If people are expecting a worldly king as Messiah, one who uses every advantage of power for what it can bring to him, then they are disappointed and perhaps shocked or surprised at Christ.  Although He has clearly shown His power to heal and to cast out demons, this extraordinary power that He has is not used to defeat His opponents (such as the Pharisees) either in the traditional sense of the power to manipulate or move circumstances "His" way, nor is it used in some magical sense to manipulate the minds of the Pharisees.  Instead, Christ is the Servant in the prophesy of Isaiah, He withdraws.  It is not yet time for the confrontation that will come later, not yet time for His Passion.  This Servant is not like rulers and governors like Caesar or King Herod.  "He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.  A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust."  Even among the Gentiles, He will declare and send forth victory to justice -- and yet His persona, power, and authority are nothing like those of the Gentile rulers.  His justice does not work like worldly justice.  His methods and working are entirely different, almost opposite.  Everything about Him speaks to humility; above all He is a servant of God, does not curry favor nor play political games.  He is the One upon whom is God's Spirit, and everything about His working and what He does is a part of that spiritual reality which travels through even our world unhindered by time or space, but works through everything.  The prophecy of Isaiah is a part of this "network" (so to speak) of the Spirit, and so even 700 years earlier He could tell us about the Christ.  This reveals to us yet another aspect about Christ's identity; in the Kingdom this King brings into the world there is an eternal reality.  It permeates and intersects with our lives, and deeply within our hearts, but it is unrestricted by time and space.  In God's Kingdom, power is used in a way that conveys grace, and our Messiah is the Servant who will achieve victory through this power which so embraces humility and the service of the will of the Father.  God calls the Servant My Beloved, indicating to us this is also a Kingdom of love.  Let us seek His way, so that we also serve His Kingdom, accept His justice, and trust in His name.

But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless

 

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"  But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?  Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. 

 

- Matthew 12:1-14 

 

In our recent readings, Jesus has been speaking about John the Baptist, who is at this time imprisoned by King Herod Antipas of Galilee.  Jesus has criticized the people for their attitude of rejection toward John the Baptist, and also to Christ's own ministry and the "mighty works" He's done among them.  Yesterday we read that He answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 

 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath.  And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.  And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"   My study Bible comments here that the Pharisees are rigid in their legalism.  It explains that the Law allowed plucking a few heads of grain in a neighbor's field (Deuteronomy 23:25), but these men consider it "reaping" which is therefore unlawful on the Sabbath.  

But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:  how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?  Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?"  Jesus provides clear exceptions to the "rule" from the Old Testament, giving examples of blameless "violations" of the Sabbath.  In so doing, He makes it clear that the law is not absolute over human need or service to God, as my study Bible puts it.  David and his men partook of the showbread (1 Samuel 21:5-7), prefiguring the Eucharist.  In the Old Testament this food was forbidden to anyone except the priests, but in Christ it is given to all the faithful. 

 

 "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.  But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.  For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."  My study Bible comments that, as Author of the Law, Jesus is the Lord over all of it.  As Lord, therefore, He teaches that mercy takes precedence over regulations, ordinances, and ritualistic observances.  Jesus quotes from Hosea 6:6.

Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.  And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.  And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" -- that they might accuse Him.  Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?  Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep?  Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."  Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.  Here is the expression of Christ's mercy at work on the Sabbath, and it is all the more deeply rejected by the Pharisees.  In the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, it is noted that Jesus is aware of their love of money and things over people -- so He first appeals to them regarding precious property, and the allowance to save the life of a sheep on the Sabbath.  But the healing of this man's hand -- a hand now capable of laying hold of a sheep to lift it out of a pit -- means only defiance to the Pharisees, for which they now seek to destroy Him.

 

 One of the first things we might notice -- and that we need to pay attention to -- is the growing intransigence of the Pharisees in today's reading.  They begin by condemning Jesus and the disciples for plucking some grain (likely ears of corn) to eat when they were hungry.  They liken this to harvesting and therefore working on the Sabbath.  That they don't seem to be aware of the blameless exceptions to the Sabbath rule tell us how fixed they are in their ideas to begin with.  These, after all, are men who spend their days debating the fine points of Scripture.  But when Christ is faced with a choice of completely restoring someone's hand on the Sabbath or not, they double down on their legalism.  They dig themselves into a deeper pit, so to speak, and increase their intransigence to the point that they now are essentially denying a livelihood to this man, and diminishing his life by doing so.  It's an important illustration of the principle of repentance, because it teaches us the importance of the direction in which we're going in life.  We don't stand still.  Every moment we are always going to be challenged with new decisions to be made, building up upon previous choices and earlier directions we've chosen.  The word translated as "repentance" is metanoia/μετανοια in the Greek, and it literally means a change of mind.  That is, a kind of transformation involving a turnaround.   Real repentance asks us for an open mind and an open heart, a willingness to be corrected, to face and embrace truth, and the humility to accept when we need to do something over, or change our direction.  For the Pharisees, whatever it is that has hardened their hearts is keeping them chained not only to the same direction they started, but the inevitable descent into a position that is simply untenable.  Now they refuse to accept plain goodness on the Sabbath, the healing of a man's withered hand.  Let us consider the society in which this takes place, based on agrarian products such as crops and also fishing.  What would be considered to be any type of industry would all depend on a person using their hands.  Think of the kind of hardness of heart that would in turn cement themselves into this position where they plot to kill Jesus because of His saving healing in the synagogue, and let it be a warning to us.  Jesus tells them, "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless."  To condemn the guiltless is perhaps the archetypal act of unrighteousness.  Because repentance is present as an option in order to save ourselves from ourselves, our pride, our arrogance, our misguided sense of "right," it is important to observe the stories here and take them to heart.  We all could be the self-righteous who now plot to destroy Jesus, because our authority is questioned.  Let us accept God's love and mercy, and remember that the call to repentance is a gift.

Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first

 

 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."  

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother." 

 

- Matthew 12:43-50 

 

On Saturday, we read Jesus' remarks to the Pharisees who had accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, whom they called the ruler of the demons.  Jesus said, "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  Brood of vipers!  How can you, being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.  Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil an adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.  The queen of the South will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here."

 

  "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.  Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.  Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.  So shall it also be with this wicked generation."   My study Bible comments that when the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, they did not repent of their impure ways, and an unclean spirit took up residence in their hearts (Deuteronomy 31:20; Psalm 106:34-39).  So, therefore, we are to guard our hearts.  Unless there is full repentance and the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, my study Bible explains, an expelled demon will return with others and re-occupy its above.  

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.  Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."  But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?"  And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."  My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of My Father.  My study Bible adds that in Jewish usage, brother can indicate any number of relations.  It cites Abram who called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz who spoke of his cousin Elimemlech as his "brother" in Ruth 4:3; and Joab who referred to his cousin Amasa as "brother" (see 2 Samuel 20:9).  My study Bible adds that Christ Himself had no blood brothers, as Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  The brothers who are mentioned here were either stepbrothers, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, or cousins.  At the Cross, Jesus commits His mother to the care of His disciple John (John 19:25-27).  This would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her.  

We might find Jesus' words strange, in the early part of today's reading.  He speaks of a person as a kind of a house, in which an unclean spirit once dwelt.  But the spirit goes out into the world and finds only "dry places," and finds no rest.  The spirit returns to the house to find it cleaned up, swept, and in order.  And so the unclean spirit gathers "seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."   We should remember that He is speaking to the Pharisees (and scribes) who have accused Him of casting out demons by the power of demons; even by the power of "Beelzebub" whom they call the ruler of the demons.  This is a warning to them about the importance of spiritual consistency.  That is, it is not enough to be "cleaned and swept," to follow all the rules that declare holiness or cleanliness.  But it is essential to be more than that, to be consistent and persistent in our faith, so that we are actively involved with prayer and the love of God in what we do, and seeking God's way for us in our lives.  As He will remind them in the words of Isaiah, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me" (Matthew 15:8). Recently I heard a sermon on the passage of the woman with the twelve year flow of blood (or hemorrhage) as told in this reading.  The priest giving the sermon pointed out that what was necessary in her case was that she took the initiative -- she reached out to Christ with faith.  She touched the hem of His garment in hope of being healed.  It seems that Christ's preaching to the Pharisees in today's reading backs up that understanding of the passage.  It's not enough that we simply take care that we are doing no wrong.  Instead, our seemingly passionate, "jealous" and loving God wants us to take the initiative, and be as involved as we can be with God's healing embrace, and especially calling upon the energies and power of Christ, as did that woman with the twelve year flow of blood.  We are to be engaged with our faith, active in it, even if that means we devote time to prayer, we participate in our sacraments and services, we call upon God for help, we engage as actively as we can so that the Holy Spirit dwells in us.  For everything we read in the Gospels affirms the notion that we need to be actively engaged in pursuit of God, like that woman.  We need to affirm our commitments and grow in our faith, and if that is difficult, then we need at least to be asking, seeking, and knocking (Matthew 7:7).  In the second part of today's reading, we understand that those whom He will consider to be close to Him, His family, are those who seek the will of the Father and to do it -- and this is yet another affirmation that we need to be actively engaged in seeking our faith.  For the Lord wants those who will return His love.  As Jesus, He came into the world seeking His own, with a mission to save, to endure the Cross and human death in order to make it possible for all of us to dwell with Him.  That kind of love does not want those who are lukewarm, but those who can return that love.  A few readings earlier, we read that Jesus taught, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12, in this reading).  One way of interpreting that passage is to understand the ardent zeal with which those who would belong to this Kingdom are pressing into it, desiring to be a part of it, and use of the word "violence" is meant in this sense.  Let us consider, in the world which we might often find simply "lukewarm" to our faith, what it means to passionately pursue Christ, as we would pursue One who is beloved and dear to us.  Let us make our own pursuit of faith as much an ardent priority as He did His pursuit of us and our salvation to be with Him.