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.  

 

 

 

Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life

 

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

 

- John 6:60–71 

 

Yesterday we read that the religious leaders in the synagogue at Capernaum quarreled among themselves because of Christ's teaching regarding His flesh as the bread of life, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?"  Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.  For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.  He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.  This is the bread which came down from heaven -- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead.  He who eats this bread will live forever."  These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.   

 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can understand it?"  When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, "Does this offend you?  What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  But there are some of you who do not believe."  For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.  And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.  Then Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"  My study Bible comments that even His disciples took Christ's teaching on His Body and Blood as a hard saying, and many consequently walked with Him no more.  There are still those who reject Christ's words regarding the sacramental eating of His Body and drinking of His Blood, and so do not "walk" in this teaching.  My study Bible continues, saying that because of the difficulty of grasping the depth of this Mystery, many try to define its nature rationally, or else to explain away the words of Jesus completely, giving them a solely metaphorical meaning.  But, it says, either extreme is in fact dubious.  If we reject this sacramental teaching then we reject the witness of the Scriptures and the unanimous teaching of the Church throughout history. 

But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.  Here we witness Simon Peter's confession of faith in the Gospel of John, that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God."  My study Bible comments that Peter's understanding of the identity of Jesus defines Christianity.  This comprehension prevents Christianity from being seen as simply another philosophical system or path of spirituality, because it names Christ as the one and only Son of the living God.  Hence it excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  He Himself is the Savior.  Once again, John's Gospel emphasizes Jesus' capacity to know people, as part of the divine wisdom present in Him, when He speaks of the future betrayal by Judas Iscariot.

In today's reading, my study Bible comments on the understanding of the sacrament of Christ's body and blood in the Eucharist.  What we might call "sacramental thinking" permeates the Church, and has done so from the earliest times of Christianity.  In a first century teaching manuscript called Didache (meaning in Greek, the Teaching) we may read the celebration of the Liturgy referred to as "the Eucharist," and so indicating its centrality to faith and worship.  In yesterday's reading and commentary, I quoted from this article by Fr. Stephen Freeman, a priest in the Orthodox Church of America, regarding the nature of sacraments.  Fr. Stephen wrote of the sacraments of the Church, including the Eucharist, "In each of these we observe that God has taken up an ordinary action and made it a means of grace. The sacraments of the Church are each, in their own way, given to us as a means of communion with God."  This notion of communion with God is so important that our Gospels are permeated with it.  Christ chooses disciples who will live with Him, observing all things He does, learning from Him through a shared communion and participation in His ministry.  It is a Person-to-person communion, if you will, comprising both individuals and the community of disciples as a whole.  In St. Paul's writing, this communion extends beyond this world, to the "great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1), consisting of the faithful who have passed and also the angels of God.  Fr. Freeman elaborates that grace itself, in the Orthodox understanding, is the "energies of God."  That is, God in God's action of mercy, reaching toward us, and active in our world, thus present to us in a way that we might receive even though we cannot grasp God in God's fullness of being.  So, this notion of sacrament that Christ gives us in communion, that is made possible through His sacrifice on the Cross (His suffering, death, and Resurrection) is something we must accept as an action of God given to us for the deeper communion that saves, that gives us the saving faith that makes life with God, in this "everlasting" sense of life, possible for human beings.  Ultimately, as Fr. Freeman, explains, grace is love, God in action seeking to bring us closer and deeper, even in the sense of the life of the Kingdom, and its eternal or everlasting reality.  Therefore the notion of sacramental thinking -- of that through which, though consisting of "earthly" matter, is imbued with something greater than itself, made possible through the divine grace and action of God, so that we may partake of it, participate in this life, experience it.  In the Gospel according to St. Matthew, when Peter makes His confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus tells Him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17), and this revelation of faith, through God the Father, becomes another example of grace made possible for us, which Jesus has referred to in our present chapter of John by quoting from Isaiah:  "And they shall all be taught by God"  (see Saturday's reading).  In today's reading, Jesus reiterates a similar thought, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."  If we fail to grasp that God can be active in the world, even working in and dwelling within and among us, then we fail to grasp our faith, so central is this understanding to Christianity and the teachings of Christ.  Even in the Incarnation itself, it is grace, God's love, reaching to us for deeper communion.  In the Eucharist, the material things of earthly life become instruments of that grace, giving us a depth of communion conferred by God, for this is how holiness works.  In this sense, the world can become a sacrament, as Fr. Freeman writes.  Works done in the name of faith or devotion, a garden dedicated to the glory of God, an act of beauty -- to see the work of God in the beauty of the world, in a life lived righteously in relation to any or all of it, is to come to a deeper sense of faith and God's love.  In today's reading, Jesus teaches about the power of Spirit to confer life, that even His spoken word has this same quality of the living reality of Spirit, of sacrament and grace:  "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."  St. Peter, through his faith, understands this, saying, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."  A world with the kingdom of God stripped away from its meanings and lived experience bears no relation to the sacramental picture of life Christ offers us, in which God participates with us and within us, drawing us into deeper communion.  Let us recover who we are in this sense, and where it places us in the grand scheme of creation, for in the story of Jesus, God has come to search for us, to save us and take us back to our true "home" and the fullness of true life, as only God could offer us -- even today, in the here and the now of our world.  Let us be thankful!

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him

 

 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.  

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 

 

- Mark 3:7–19a 

 

On Saturday we read that it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of the grain.  And the Pharisees said to Him, "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?"  But He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him:  how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?"  And He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.  Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath."  And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand.  So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him.  And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward."  Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?"  But they kept silent.  And when He had looked around them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.  Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.  

 

But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  At the end of our previous reading (see above), we learned that the Pharisees began to plot with the Herodians to destroy Jesus.  So, in today's reading we understand that Jesus withdrew in response to this, and also so that He would preach in other places.  Let us note that people now come to hear Him from all over Israel:  not only do they follow Him from Galilee but also from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and beyond the Jordan -- even those who come from the nominally Gentile region of Tyre and Sidon.  Christ's great popularity is another factor in the threat to their leadership the Pharisees feel because of Him. 

 

 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.  The Gospels repeatedly let us know that there are not only the faithful who seek Him out, but also among the people are unclean spirits.   Let us note that these would seem to plague even those who seek out Jesus, just as there are other afflictions among them.  But His authority over the unclean spirits is clear, and they recognize Him.  But just as it is not yet time for His Passion, it is also not yet time to open reveal His identity as Messiah and Son of God.

And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.   As multitudes gather to Christ from all the regions of Israel, a new turning point occurs for Christ's ministry.  It is time to appoint those who will become apostles, whom He will send out to preach.  Let us note that the tax collector earlier identified as Levi the son of Alphaeus is now called Matthew.   To go up on a mountain is an indication of the spiritually-led nature of this new change, and the communion with God that prompts this new revelation of holiness.  The word for disciple means "learner," while apostle is from a Greek word that means "one sent out" as on a mission.  My study Bible notes that they not only are disciples (they might be with Him) and to be sent out to preach as apostles, but also Christ gives them power to heal sicknesses and cast out demons.   This power was given to them by Christ, while He healed and cast out demons by His own power.  My study Bible also notes that the names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, as many people had more than one name.  Besides Matthew/Levi, Bartholomew, for example, is also known to us as Nathanael.

It's interesting to think back upon our lives and recognize the various turning points we believe we've experienced; that is, times when our lives have shifted or pivoted onto new paths and we've made new decisions for the directions we'll go.  So it is with today's reading, where, going up on the mountain, Jesus institutes something new, a profound new development in His ministry.  He chooses the Twelve for special missions, to be given power, and to be sent out to the world.  They will learn from Him as disciples by living with Him and continuing as part of His ministry, and they will be sent out to preach, and heal sicknesses, and cast out demons as He does.  This happens because He will share His own power with them to do so.  Notably, Jesus went up on the mountain, and then called those whom He wanted to Himself.   Since we know that Jesus frequently goes to a mountain to pray (for example, Mark 6:46), and we also witness other events of a profoundly divine nature that take place on a mountain (like the Transfiguration), we may make note of the importance of this new change in His ministry.  Moreover, these mountaintop events seem deeply to be connected with prayer to the Father, and thus we might assume the Father's direction coming to Him as He grows His ministry and decides future steps in its growth and evolution.  Perhaps it is even in prayer with the Father that Jesus chooses which disciples He will call to Himself for this new mission of apostolic ministry.  It seems significant that it is at this stage where His ministry has evolved to attract so many people from everywhere in Israel that it is now time to consider appointing apostles and training them for their future mission.  But it shows us how God's blessings and plans evolve and grow, and the incredible notion that indeed, God shares power with human beings.  This work of Christ's ministry will not remain solely in His hands, but He will use human beings for His work and ministry to be carried on and outward to the world, as it continues even today.  We understand angels as beings that serve God in a ministering capacity, even going out with messages (the Greek word ἄγγελος/angelos means "messenger").  But now these are human beings who are chosen and prepared for such a mission, even to share in Christ's power for healing and casting out demons.  And that is a tremendous new understanding of the evolution of God's power and the kingdom of God among us.  We might even consider that in our own lives God tries to prepare us for a deeper spiritual sense of who we are and where we are going in life.  Our journeys in life are meant to be accompanied and guided by prayer, as Christ sets the true example for us, as well as the apostles and those who would come afterward in the saints of the Church.  For we, too, join that communion in faith and in prayer.  So, therefore, we must accept that we also may be prepared and guided with challenges that teach us about being a part of God's kingdom, and how to bear it into the world.  

 

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease among the people

 

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

 

  And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.   My study Bible tells us that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and so they were prepared to accept Christ immediately (see John 1:35-51).  It says that although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land" called by Christ 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 disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  My study Bible asks us to note that the crowds do not swarm Jesus when He commands repentance (see yesterday's reading, above), but only when He begins to heal and to work miracles.  This shows that the people misunderstand the true nature of His Kingdom.  It also shows Christ's concession, in the words of Theophylact, "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the inconsistent multitudes. 

At this time in Israel's history, expectations of a worldly Messiah, who would deliver the people from the Romans -- like a great king in the style of David -- were very high.  So much so, that the people await one who can do what Jesus does, and be accompanied by the signs prophesied in the Scriptures.  But Jesus is not going to be that kind of worldly king or deliverer, and He comes preaching repentance.  The stage is, therefore, already set for the conflicts that will arise later on in Christ's ministry.  People will be annoyed with Him (such as in His home town of Nazareth, as His neighbors simply cannot accept this identity in the Person they know as the carpenter's son; see Matthew 13:53-58), they'll be outraged at Him, eventually His very persecution will center on this idea that He could be the Christ.  The religious leaders will claim He stands convicted of blasphemy for even answering their question about this identity (Matthew 26:63-65).  Although John the Baptist had many followers, and preached a baptism of repentance in preparation for the Messiah (see this reading), Jesus the Messiah is a completely different proposition, and the expectations for a Messiah are much more worldly than the Messiah that Christ actually is.  He does not come as a conquering king who will re-establish the kingdom of Israel, but He comes instead preaching the kingdom of heaven.  But when Jesus begins using divine power to heal, that is another matter.  These are signs of the kingdom of heaven being quite present, effecting cures prophesied for the time of the Messiah, such as in these passages from Isaiah:  "In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness" (Isaiah 29:18).  Moreover, Jesus has command over unclean spirits, and so also heals the afflictions caused by such, including torments.  This is one kind of a deliverer that makes sense, someone who can relieve people of these effects of a fallen world into which has come death and sin.  So, therefore 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.  So Jesus now has followers from everywhere in the historical Jewish world, and soon even those who come as pilgrims to Jerusalem will before long be seeking Him as well.  Note that He preaches the gospel of the kingdom as He teaches in the synagogues of all Galilee.  In our next reading, Jesus will begin preaching the greatest sermon we know on the gospel of the kingdom, the Sermon on the Mount.  For now, let us consider into what world of expectations Jesus comes as a Man, One who preaches repentance and the kingdom, but also bears signs of the Messiah.  

Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward

 

 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake.  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."

 

- John 13:36-38 

 

In our previous reading (John 12:27-36), Jesus was preparing for His journey to the Cross, His hour of glorification.  He said, "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.  

 Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going?"  Jesus answered him, "Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward."  Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can I not follow You now?  I will lay down my life for Your sake.  Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake?  Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times."  In today's reading, the lectionary skips ahead, to the end of chapter 13.  Jesus and the disciples are at the Last Supper, and this conversation takes place just prior to His last address to His disciples.  My study Bible comments on this passage that Jesus' first words to Simon Peter ("Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward") are in fact a prophecy of his martyrdom.  St. Peter would suffer martyrdom for the sake of Christ by being crucified upside down in Rome in about AD 67 (see John 21:18-19).  

In today's short reading, at first glance we might think that the focus is on Peter's denial.  But my study Bible places the emphasis on Christ's prophecy of Peter's martyrdom which is to come, Peter's own great sacrifice for the sake of the gospel (Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 17:33; John 12:25).  If we take a look at some of the other passages which accompany this one in today's lectionary reading, we see a common theme of sacrifice.  The Old Testament reading is from Genesis 22:1-14, the story of Abraham's being called to sacrifice his son Isaac.  This story seems to many people to be cruel; they wonder why God would call Abraham to do such a thing, even if God did not intend for this to happen.  After all, Israel lived side-by-side with hostile neighboring peoples whose gods demanded such things.  But if we look closely at the story, it is not a story of a god demanding cruelties in order to be pleased, but a story even about God's provision, of unexpected abundance.  It is a story of trust in God, and yes, sacrifice in the sense that Abraham reserves nothing in his love for and obedience to God.  But in the end, seeing a ram caught in a thicket, Abraham names the place The-Lord-Will-Provide.  This is a story of absolute trust in God, even in the most difficult of circumstances, the sacrifice of what we love.  It's echoed in Christ's prophecy of Peter's own martyrdom, a trust that entrusts everything to God's providence, even one's own life.  The other Gospel reading from John gives us a different kind of a sacrifice.  John 19:38-42 tells us the story of two wealthy and powerful men of Jerusalem, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.  Both of them were members of the ruling council.  Nicodemus we know was a Pharisee (John 3:1).  Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man (Matthew 27:57), and also a prominent ruler on the Council (Mark 15:43).  Joseph, in going to Pilate to ask for Christ's body, was making a very courageous and bold choice, and risking everything in his life to do so, for as a member of the Council which pressured Pilate to put Jesus to death, he is defying them and their conclusions about Jesus.  After all, Jesus as a crucified Man is in some sense declared among the worst of criminals according to the Roman laws of punishment.  In this sense, He "became sin" for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), taking on this mantle of public shame and condemnation that went with crucifixion.  Joseph moreover donates a new (and quite expensive) and unused tomb hewn in stone (suggesting it was his own tomb; see Matthew 27:60), while Nicodemus donates the expensive myrrh and aloes for burial, a public act of love for Christ.  Both of these men risk their lives, their substance, and their places in the society to do so.  My study Bible says that according to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently was removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to flee Jerusalem. St. John Chrysostom has suggested that Joseph of Arimathea was among the Seventy noted in Luke's Gospel (Luke 10:1-17).  At any rate as believers in the early Church, there is no doubt of what persecution and loss they faced.  When we look at each of these sacrifices -- the apostleship and martyrdom of St. Peter, the near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, the public donations and declaration of devotion to Christ by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, what we see are various forms of "investment" that comes with entrusting one's life and devotion to God, and all the things that are a part of one's life and oneself.  None of these men knew necessarily what the future held, but their whole trust was in God, in Christ -- Abraham, the first to know the promise; Peter the wavering disciple who would become leader and martyr; and the prominent men of the Council, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.  Each one made choices for a willing sacrifice, an exchange for something more powerful, more essential, a deeper entrusting to God and to God's provision, whether in their own lives or in the greater story of the salvation of the world (John 3:16).  Jesus, of course, goes to the Cross, showing us all what it means to sacrifice for love.  We are now concluding the period of Lent (next week for the Orthodox), a traditional time of the practice of sacrifice, of fasting.  Let us consider these passages and what it means to learn to make choices based on discernment, to sacrifice or give something up because we are essentially investing in something better, greater, that commands a deeper and greater love and loyalty.  This is the substance of what it means to choose, especially when we come to a crossroads.  A marriage is similar; there will be sacrifices we're called to make for the sake of a marriage, or of a child, or an elderly parent.   There will be times when an investment in where God leads us becomes the risk we take, the worthy sacrifice for something more beautiful, more good, more true than whatever other appetites or desires would call for.  This is why we learn discipleship, so that we may become the "sons of light" Jesus names in yesterday's reading, above.  Let us walk in His light, even when it is difficult and there are hard choices to make, for we know the road and the Kingdom it leads to. 

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it

 

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 

- Matthew 16:13-20 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Jesus asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  My study Bible comments that "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, for it is the question that defines Christianity.  It says that Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality, as it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.  This position effectively excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith, as Jesus indicates in His response (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is equivalent to the Hebrew title "Messiah."  My study Bible also asks us to note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself.  He does this to identify these incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Peter/rock is a play on the word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).  This particular rock refers not to Peter per se, according to St. John Chrysostom, but to "the faith of his confession."  The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades is a reference to the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible says, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering the gates of Hades, Christ opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous.  So also, the Church shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  There are only two mentions of the term church in the Gospels; here and in Matthew 18:17.  This Church is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly.  

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ."  My study Bible says that the term keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority that will be given to both Peter and the other apostles after the Resurrection (see Matthew 18:18; John 20:23).  Peter was not a leader over the others, but among them.  This was confirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and where Peter advised, but James presided.  My study Bible says that claims in later centuries shouldn't be confused with the New Testament witness regarding Peter, nor should the role of Peter be diminished in opposition to those claims.  Binding and loosing is, again according to St. John Chrysostom, a reference primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" (see also John 20:23).  But it also includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles, my study Bible notes.  It says this authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church and continues in effect to this day.  

If we look at this place where Peter's confession is made -- and the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God -- we find that it is a place of Gentile civilization.  It was established during the Hellenistic period by Alexander the Great and dedicated to the god Pan, previously having been dedicated by local peoples to the god Baal (a form of Ba'al dedicated to luck), and later it became a part of the Roman Empire, as is reflected in its name for Caesar by Philip.  Pan was the god of wild places, or what one might call wilderness or desolate places, and there was a great road nearby upon which marched countless armies in the history of conquering and war in this region.  So perhaps into this place, previously dedicated to Ba'al (a form of the god for Luck), and Pan, and now under the Romans and near a great road that connected the kingdoms of the world and the conquering armies of history, it is fitting and appropriate that somehow the birth of the true faith in Christ should take place.  Jesus calls Peter's confession the rock upon which He will build His Church, made by the appropriately-named Peter (whose name means "rock").  For, after all, Christ is "the stone the builders rejected" which became "the chief cornerstone" (Matthew 21:42, Psalm 118:22).  So, in this place previously dedicated to seemingly all that is the opposite of Christ the Son and Logos, both ancient worship and the conquering armies of history and also of empires of the time of Christ, we have the birth of the Church.  It is fitting in the sense of all that was rejected in the concepts of the history of this place, which was anything but the gracious and humble Christ, dedicated to the will of the Father, and opposed to all manner of manipulation and materialism, we have the birth of the Church which will replace all of that and turn its values upside down.   The empires and ancient gods will come and go, and armies and conquerors as well, but the Church -- based in the rock of faith in Peter's confession -- remains.  And this is our conquering Savior in action.  For His Church is founded in a place whose very foundations stand in opposition to Him (we can see, in some sense, those ancient concepts and values rooted in the temptations put to Him in the wilderness, in Matthew 4:1-11).  He is One who is the rejected stone which becomes the head of the corner, the One who "scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts," who "put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.  He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty" (Luke 1:46-55).  He is the One who is always making all things new, turning the values of the world upside down, and replacing the powerful; He is the "stronger man" who storms the house of the strong man and plunders all his goods, the only One who can say without arrogance or pride, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters" (Luke 11:20-23).  In this place once dedicated to the worship of the demonic, to the conquering power of all kinds of armies, Jesus begins His Church.  In the Holy Spirit, the "leaven" of the Church will continue to transform and make its way through our world, through our values, through all that might be opposed to it.  The world might be far from perfect, but we are armed by the One who dares establish His Church here, armed only with the rock of faith that carries us forward, and the Holy Spirit who continues His work (fitting to think about in this week of Pentecost).  Let us consider what we do when we sign on to this rock of faith, when we engage with the Spirit of truth, when we ask Him to build up our lives no matter what environment we come from or what needs transforming and changing.  He is the One who takes it all on, and continues to work with us and in us and among us, and even the gates of Hades can't prevail against it.  He is the One who storms Hades to free us, against whom even death cannot prevail.  

 

 

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it

 

 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.  And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.

 

- Matthew 16:13-20 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Jesus asked that He would show them a sign from heaven.  He answered and said to them, "When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.'  Hypocrites!  You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.  A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."  And He left them and departed.  Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.  Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread?  Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up?  Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?  How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?  -- but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

 

When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"  So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."   My study Bible comments here that "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question a person can ever face, for it is the question that defines Christianity.  It says that Peter's correct answer to this question prevents the Christian faith from being seen as merely another philosophical system or path of spirituality, for it names Jesus as the one and only Son of the living God.  This position excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  Peter's understanding cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is the equivalent of the Hebrew title "Messiah."   Let us note Jesus' astonishing statement to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."  This is a statement that implies even God the Father's revelation to human beings.  My study Bible also remarks that we should note that Christ first draws out erroneous opinions about Himself here ("Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets").  He does this to identify these incorrect ideas, as a person is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."  Peter/rock is a play on the word for "rock" in both Aramaic and Greek (petros/petra).  According to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, this rock refers not to Peter per se, but rather to "the faith of his confession."  The true Rock is Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 10:4), and the Church is built on the faithful confession of Christ.  The gates of Hades are understood to refer to the powers of death.  In the Old Testament, my study Bible comments, gates suggest a fortified city (Genesis 22:17, 24:60; Isaiah 14:31).  By shattering its gates, it is Christ who opens the stronghold of death to set free the souls of the righteous; this happens through Christ's Passion and experience of death.  My study Bible adds that so also, the Church shall not be stopped in her proclamation of salvation.  Furthermore, there are only two places the term church is mentioned in all the gospels:  here and in Matthew 18:17.   This Church, my study Bible explains is the true Israel and the Body of Christ; her citizenship is heavenly.

"And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  My study bible comments that the term keys of the kingdom refers to a special authority that will be given both to Peter and to the other apostles after the Resurrection (see Matthew 18:18, John 20:23).  Peter, it explains, was not a leader over the others, but rather among them.  This truth was affirmed at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) where the apostles and presbyters met as equals, and where Peter advised, but James presided.  My study Bible comments that other claims in later centuries must not be confused with the New Testament witness regarding Peter, nor should the role of Peter be diminished in opposition to these claims.  To bind and loose is a reference primarily to the authority "to absolve sins" according to St. John Chrysostom (see also John 20:23), but this also includes all the teaching, sacramental, and administrative authority of the apostles.  This authority was in turn transmitted to the bishops of the Church and continues in effect to this day.

Today's reading invites us to think about authority.  What constitutes authority in the Church, and in the wider body of the Church as a whole?  Certainly the role of faith cannot be diminished, as today's reading continues on that theme that has been central of our recent readings in Matthew.  But let us also note discipleship as an important factor as well.  These men are the ones who have been with Christ from the beginning.  They have invested their lives in His ministry and teachings.  So we have a combination of both faith and discipleship, each growing together in these apostles.  We tend to divide faith and works, and especially the discipline of following Christ's teachings and the practices of the Church.  But in Peter, the two meet, and when we define these things properly, they go hand in hand, and must not be separated.  Each "needs" the other for wholeness.  In the Epistle of James, he writes of Abraham, "Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?  And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, 'Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.'  And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only" (James 2:22-24).   While we may consider that "works" includes prayer, almsgiving, and fasting, we must understand that the work of discipleship is the constant fashioning of our own character through the discipline of the teachings of Christ, and the spiritual heritage we all share through the Scriptures and also traditions of the Church.  We might have the greatest faith, but without humility of character before God, what good is our faith?  If we are not aware that God is at work in us, that we will all come to times when repentance is necessarily, how much fruit do we bear of our faith, and even more importantly, how can we grow in our faith?  For even Peter himself will be chastised for his lack of faith, his reliance upon himself, his lack of awareness of his own weakness in a time of temptation.  In fact, in our very next reading, Jesus' discipline will be given with a rebuke to Peter, with the remark, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23), when Peter cannot accept Christ's prophecy of His Passion.  In chapter 26, we'll read Jesus' prophecy of Peter's denial of Him, Peter and the other disciples' failure to remain awake and pray with Christ in the garden, the mistake of defending Christ with a sword, and finally Peter's denial that He even knew Christ (see Matthew 26:31-75).  These are failures in a time of tremendous demand, confusion, temptation, pressure, even terror.  But leadership and authority are tested through such times, and Peter's repentance, restitution, and leadership will continue.  It is in this disciplining of faith through the transformation of character that real leadership and authority are honed, built, tested, and grown.  And this, also, can be the story of our own lives of both faith and discipleship as we seek to bear Christ's cross into the world, and participate in our own ways in His Passion, death, and Resurrection.  We look to leadership for these qualities of both faith and discipleship, developed through experience, honed through appreciation and reception of what has come before, and maybe most importantly developed through the humility of service.  Peter has revealed a tremendous secret through faith:  the identity of Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the living God."  But the character Jesus reveals about this disciple, by changing his name from Simon Bar-Jonah to Peter, is one that will continue to be hewn in the fire of faith, of experience and difficulty, and in the challenges that lie ahead.  Like a statue that is formed from a hunk of stone, Peter's identity will continue to be refined and built, tested and challenged, through many experiences of sacrifice and courage to come.  So it is with us, faith plus discipleship must carry authority and leadership, and so we look today to the Church to continue her work of building up living stones.

 

 

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.

Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!

 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, after preaching in the synagogue at Capernaum, Jesus arose from the synagogue 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.  My study bible says it's about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide.

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 was the tradition position for teachers.

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 of Milan, who sees the spiritual meaning of the command to launch out into the deep 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.   Note how Simon Peter's action is obedience to the word of Christ.  My study bible comments that the Lord draws people to Himself by things that are familiar to them.   The Lord drew the Magi with a star (Matthew 2:2), He would draw tax collectors by a tax collector (5:29), and here Christ draws the fishermen with fish (see 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

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!"   My study bible tells us that Peter's cry in the face of divine power is not a rejection of Jesus (contrast 8:37).  It is rather that Peter has been suddenly cast in the light of Christ -- with the effect that holy people such as he become keenly aware of their own unworthiness  (compare Isaiah 6:5, Revelation 1:17).

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 notes that this great catch of fish is an image of the apostles bringing mankind to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  It also fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 16:16.   Let us be aware, also, that these men who forsook all and followed Him were all  disciples of John the Baptist, who directed them to Christ (see John 1:35-42, in which the unnamed disciple is John Zebedee, author of the Gospel which bears his name).

Luke gives the setting for today's reading as the Lake of Gennesaret, otherwise known as the Sea of Galilee.  Some give a definition for Gennesaret as coming from the Hebrew for "garden of the Prince."  The entire region was known for its tremendous fertility -- both in terms of agricultural produce and its abundance of fish.  This setting of the Prince's Garden gives us a feel for the theological truth hidden in the story.  Christ is the true Prince, the Son of God, as opposed to the "prince of this world" -- or any other prince or ruler of this world.  As such, illustrated in today's story, it is He who truly sets the world right, brings its healing, helps our world in ways in which only He as Creator is able to bring about fulfillment of potentials and possibilities, the fertility hidden in creation and known only to Creator.  The abundance of the catch of fish, taking these fishermen so completely by surprise, and stunning Peter into confession before Christ, is possible via the wisdom and knowledge presented by faith in Christ.  To launch out into the deep is to wander into depths with which we are not familiar, at the command of Christ.  It is to take a risk, that great risk of faith, which sends us out into depths we don't yet know how to negotiate, into which we can't easily peer or see beyond a certain level with we're already experienced, and into the darkness of what is hidden from us.  We risk all kinds of things; perhaps that others might laugh at us, or shun us, or think we're crazy.  We might have to stand up to somebody, or maybe we'll be called to get wise to ourselves.  Whatever it is, we engage with life:  the real and true life and struggle of faith.  It is in those times when, for the sake of our faith, we simply let go and trust -- and venture out into the waters to which we're sent.  Faith, in the root of the word in the Greek of the Gospels, means trust, and we should never forget that it always involves trust.  We need to discern where we put that trust and in Whom we put that trust.  But when a prayerful life yields a command, a depth of openness to God such as Peter displays clearly here, and a word that is given in truth, then we follow in faith and in trust.  We may not know quite where we are going, and the outcome may be something entirely different from what we expect, but that is the life of expansion, abundance, and deep waters that Christ holds for us.  And in this is real discipleship, particularly when we think we are unworthy of, and unprepared for the journey, but we are nevertheless called.  Let us consider faith, uncertainty, and risk -- and what it means to truly open ourselves to His light and wisdom beyond our understanding.

For this purpose I have been sent

 Now He arose from the synagogue 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.

- Luke 4:38-44

Yesterday we read that, after speaking in the synagogue at Nazareth and being rejected there by his townspeople, Jesus went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, 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 demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

 Now He arose from the synagogue 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.  This passage tells us that Simon Peter is married, and that his family home in Capernaum becomes a kind of headquarters for Jesus' ministry in Galilee.  1 Corinthians 9:5 also indicates the activities and participation of Peter's family in ministry after Jesus' Ascension.  Regarding the fact that Jesus rebuked the fever of Peter's mother-in-law, my study bible quotes the commentary of Cyril of Alexandria:  "That which was rebuked was some living thing unable to withstand the influence of Him who rebuked it, for it is not reasonable to rebuke a thing without life and unconscious of the rebuke.  Nor is it astonishing for there to exist certain powers that inflict harm on the human body."  That Peter's mother-in-law immediately arose and served them tells us also of her participation in the ministry of Christ; her restoration is to her rightful place.

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.   Healing and exorcism come under the same umbrella.  Once again, as in yesterday's reading (see above), the demons recognize Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God!  And again, Jesus, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak.

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.  Jesus' primary mission is to preach the kingdom.  My study bible says that miracles and healings testify both to the truth of the message, and also to the identity of the Teacher (see 5:24).  The same pattern will also be true of the Church (Acts 4:29-30). 

 Once the mission and ministry of Jesus has begun, His acts speak for Himself.  They speak for the Kingdom He is bringing into the world, and when He is not ready to yet directly reveal His identity as the Christ, it is His acts that speak of this identity as well.  Well-noted in the Gospel, as we have read already, is His refusal to allow the demons to speak and identify Him.  Rather, it is His action of speaking, preaching, healing, exorcism, and ministry that speaks about Him, and speaks to the presence of God in the world.  He allows His actions and ministry to do the talking when it comes to identity.  In yesterday's reading, the people marveled that He gave a word with authority and power, and gave commands to the demons in the same way.  It is this acting, speaking, preaching, healing, and commanding with authority and power that also speaks to Jesus' true identity.  In all ways, Jesus will allow His ministry itself to speak for Him, before He reveals His identity to the disciples and to others.  It is not the expectations of the world that count; it is the mission, as given by the Father.  We should think about Jesus' way of being in the world and presenting Himself as a guide to our own lives.  How do our actions speak about who we are?  Do we live a prayerful life, as He did, following what we find in faith to do -- and the ways in which we need to act?  This is His center:  a life fully lived in conjunction with the will of the Father, where what He does speaks of Himself and also represents the Father in the world.  Our integrity also can depend on such a way of life, where what we do speaks for us, so long as we find guidance in the same ways that Christ does.  He doesn't act simply to follow an image, or a social code.  He doesn't speak about Himself in the ways we'd expect someone seeking fame or renown to do, as in a modern public relations campaign.  Instead, He lives.  He acts, breathes, thinks, preaches, and works in accordance with the ways He is direct to, in faith and relatedness to the Father.  Let us consider running our own lives in this same way, a kind of integrity from the inside out, rather than the outside in.  Let us truly live, and glorify God in so doing.