Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?

 

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demon; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen. 

 

- Mark 16:1–8 (9–20) 

 

Yesterday we read that, at Christ's crucifixion, there were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joses, and Salome, who also followed Him and ministered to Him when He was in Galilee, and many other women who came up with Him to Jerusalem.  Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.  Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.  So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph.  Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen.  And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.  And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

 

 Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  As Christ died so close in time to the Sabbath, the burial customs of the Jews could not be completed.  So, therefore, my study Bible explains, these faithful women went as early as possible to complete the rites of burial.  Mary the mother of James is taught by some in patristic commentary to be the wife of Alphaeus, and this James was one of the Twelve (Luke 6:15).  But most hold that this is the Virgin Mary, who was in fact the stepmother of another James, called "the Lord's brothers (see Matthew 13:55; compare Mark 15:40, 47 from yesterday's reading).  The Virgin Mary appears in certain icons of the Myrrhbearing Women.  

And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  The stone had been rolled away not to make way for Christ's exit from the tomb; in His resurrected body, He needs no such accommodation (John 20:19).  It was, instead to allow the witnesses -- and we who hear and read the Gospel -- to look in and see that the tomb was empty.

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.  But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.   My study Bible comments that the specific mention of Peter is a revelation of a special care for the one who had denied Christ.  According to Theophylact, Peter would have said to himself, "I denied the Lord, and therefore am no longer His disciple."  But the command of the angel is a promise that Peter is forgiven.  That they said nothing to anyone does not mean the women never said anything; only that they kept silent until Christ appeared to them (verses 9 - 11).  

Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  That Christ appeared also in another form shows that His resurrected body transcends not only physical space and time, but also appearance as well.  My study Bible notes that He was sometimes recognizable to His disciples, while at other times He was not.  This second reference would seem to be to the disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."  This is called the Great Commission, and it is our Lord's final commandment given on earth.  It is meant to be lived out in the Church until Christ returns again, my study Bible tells us.  To make disciples cannot be done in the strength of human beings, but only in the power of God.  It notes further that the power of the Resurrection is not only for Jesus alone, but is given to all believers for Christian life and mission.  

"And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demon; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."   My study Bible says that new tongues is a reference to the ability to speak in languages one has not learned in order to edify others in worship (1 Corinthians 14) and also to preach the gospel (Acts 2:1-11).   To take up serpents is primarily a reference to spiritual battle against demons (Luke 10:19).  Therefore, my study Bible says, Chris tis promising to deliver believers from the powers of sin.  Moreover, it notes, this would include certain physical protection also.  St. Paul was bitten by a serpent and suffered no harm (Acts 28:3-6), and according to tradition, Barsabas Justus (Acts 1:23) was forced by unbelievers to drink poison and survived.  Nonetheless, as god's grace can protect believers form both physical and spiritual harm, to test God by deliberately doing harmful things to oneself is a grave sin (Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:7). 

So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.  My study Bible notes that the Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  This event is a fulfillment of the type given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11), and it marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  At the Incarnation, it says, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature. In the mystery of the Ascension, Christ brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body, revealing His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  In some icons of the Ascension, His white robes are tinted red to show the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world and the ascent of His life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see as well Psalm 24:7-10).   

 

Of these final verses in Mark's last chapter (Mark 16:9-20) it should be noted that there are two early manuscripts that do not contain them, but nearly all other manuscripts ever discovered do contain them.  They are canonized Scripture and, as my study Bible notes, are considered by the Church to be inspired, authoritative, and genuine.  We might also note here that Mark's Gospel is considered to be the first one written, and is also the shortest of them.  As we've read, we've seen the word "immediately" crop up many times, as it is very fast-moving, and unlike the other two Synoptic Gospels of Matthew and Luke, does not contain various elements reported there, such as Christ's birth, or the Sermon on the Mount.  But an interesting thing to note is that out of only 16 chapters, the last six concern themselves with the events that happened in Jerusalem.  What's significant about that is that it teaches us what was considered to be of most importance to our earliest Christian faithful in the Church.  These events of Passion Week, Crucifixion, death, and Resurrection form the great teaching of our faith in terms of the significance of the events of Christ's life and what they mean for us -- the gift of life that imparts to us the things Christ brings into the world in His divinity, and the Ascension in which He takes our humanity with Him into heaven, thus forming and including us in the great communion of saints both in heaven and on earth, together at once.  What this means for us is that we do not worship alone and isolation, but that we worship together with the angels and saints and faithful of all ages -- even as my study Bible comments on the changing form of Christ's resurrectional body:  that it transcends time and space and even appearance.  And we are to understand that all of these elements contained in Christ are a part of our communion, even as we partake from His cup in the Eucharist.  What remains most touching to us, however, are those who are faithful in their smallness and meekness and who come to mean so much through their faith:  the Myrrhbearing Women such as Mary Magdalene and others (even including Christ's Mother), the disciples who at first do not believe but then return to faith and to their apostolic mission, Peter who's given special mention by the angel at the tomb, Joseph of Arimathea who takes courage and goes to Pilate asking for Christ's body, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, even the centurion who comes to faith at the Cross and is known to us as a saint -- and so many more who are unnamed and unknown to us.  For we are taught that it is through the small that God works in the world, even through weakness.  St. Paul writes, "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;  and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord'" (1 Corinthians 1:26-31).  In an era of stupendous achievement, great armies and technologies, unimaginable world telecommunications, and power and control mechanisms that shape the world in ways like never before, let us each remember these words of St. Paul's and what we read in this short Gospel of those who would also shape the world even through their meekness and smallness.  For the power of God remains as it was, with Christ who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption -- for nothing else even in such an era can do this for us.  And let us remember that even today there are those small and meek around the world who suffer for the faith of Christ.  Let us therefore glory in the Lord.  The women in today's reading ask, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  And rightly so, for it is rolled away for us.

 

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

Last page from the Genealogy of Matthew depicting the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and Christ, illuminated manuscript:  From The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor, 1300-1307, painter Toros of Taron, p 35 (full manuscript)

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Elezar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.  

* * *

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

 

- Matthew (1:1–17) 3:1–6 

 

  The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Elezar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.   Today the lectionary begins readings in the Gospel of Matthew, and that Gospel begins with this genealogy for Jesus Christ.  My study Bible comments that Jesus means "O Lord, save," which refers to His role as Savior.  Christ means "Anointed One," the Messiah, the One who is filled with the Holy Spirit (see John 1:33).  Although the Son alone became a human being, God the Father and teh Holy Spirit work in Jesus Christ to save us.  We note as we begin Matthew's Gospel, that it is understood to have an orientation toward a Jewish audience, and clearly from Christ's lineage we know that He became a human being as a Jew, from the lineage of Abraham, the father of all Jews, and of David, Israel's greatest king and the prototype of the royal Messiah.  My study Bible explains that this genealogy reveals that the Son of God so identifies with the human condition that God the Son takes it all on Himself and becomes part of it.  It is very important to note that Christ's ancestry given here includes both righteous and wicked people, faithful kings and murderers, Jews and Gentiles, kings and peasants.  If we compare to Luke's genealogy (which runs from Jesus back to Adam (Luke 3:23-38), Matthew's list makes clear Jesus' descent from Abraham, with whom God established the Old Covenant of circumcision, to Jesus, the author of the New Covenant.  My study Bible notes that God promised to bless all the tribes of the earth in Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 28:14), and this promise is fulfilled in Abraham's greatest son, who is Jesus Christ.  While Jewish genealogical lists would normally include men only, the mention here of women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba) is unusual.  Each one was either a Gentile or a sinner:  the inclusion of these women, my study Bible comments, declares God's graciousness and prefigures the calling of the Gentiles into the Church.  Also, it underscores powerfully the role of women in the plan of salvation by God, and especially anticipates the special place of the Virgin Mary in that place.  David was made king through anointing by Samuel -- but through his psalms, David was revealed as a great prophet.  Therefore, David foreshadows both the royal and the prophetic nature of Jesus Christ (Psalm 110).  David was also an adulterer and murderer, and so he also functions as a type for all repentant sinners.  Joseph is named here as Jesus' immediate predecessor as Old Testament marriage laws confer hereditary rights on adopted as well as biological sons.  The church fathers teach that Mary also was descended from David.  In the original Greek language of the text, "of whom" (in of whom Jesus who is called Christ) is feminine, which refers to only Mary.  therefore Jesus is shown to be born of Mary, but not begotten of Joseph.  My study Bible also notes for us that Christ's ancestors are arranged in three groups of fourteen generations.  Fourteen is the numerical equivalent of the consonants in the name David, which underlines Jesus' descent from David.  It also shows the division of the leadership of the Jews, being under judges until David, under kings until Babylon, and under priests until Christ.  

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  My study Bible comments that the wilderness of Judea is the barren region which descends from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.  The preparation for the ministry of Christ begins with the call of John the Baptist, to repent.  Repentance accompanies faith, and it indicates a total about-face, my study Bible says.  The word in Greek for repentance (μετανοια/metanoia) means literally to change on'e mind, or more generally to turn around.  Repentance is, in the words of my study Bible, a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life.  It is the necessary first step in the way of the LORD.  It is accompanied by the confession of sins and the act of baptism (Matthew 3:6), and followed by a life filled with fruits which are worthy of this change (Matthew 3:8).

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  The text gives us a hint about John's ascetic life, which was conformed to that of the Jewish sects such as the Essenes, who lived in the wilderness and whose devoted purpose was to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God.  John's clothing sends us "signals" regarding his role as prophet, as it is typical of a prophet, and specifically that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  My study Bible comments that the monastic movement in the early Church was patterned after John's manner of life.  This also gives us clues about the significance of John the Baptist in the arc of the story of salvation.

 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.  My study Bible says that confession of sins is essential to baptism under both the Old Covenant and the New.  But John's baptism was a sign of repentence and the forgiveness of sins alone; it did not confer total regeneration or adoption as a child of God, as does Christian baptism (Matthew 3:11).

 

 One important thing we learn from today's reading is all about God's hand acting throughout history to reveal and manifest the plan of salvation, especially through the human history of those who bore faith into the world.  From Abraham, through David, to Christ, Matthew's genealogy gives us the depiction of salvation history, working in and through human beings as God's spirit calls each one.  In this genealogy are both sinners and saints, Jews and Gentiles, and as my study Bible points out, those from all manner of life in the context of the society, including peasants and kings, men and women.  There is a continuity through history in this depiction, with humankind as the locus of a kind of battleground for the world.  We really can't lose that perspective (which a modern world all too often either forgets or represents as some sort of political or cultural battle), because it is truly the background for all spiritual struggle as depicted in Scripture, whether we are talking about pagan gods and idol worship to the present day.  This battleground takes place within human beings, but is basically spiritual in nature, and that is why we must take care in learning to read the Gospels and the Old Testament on which all is based, the context into which the New Covenant was born.  Therefore to read the genealogy of Jesus is to understand the entire arc of the spiritual manifestation of Jesus as human being, both God and Man.  This is because Jesus depicts for us the reality of God's work in the world, ultimately born as human being in order to live among us and fully experience human life, to give us an icon or image of what and who God is, and to call us all to the transformation within that image.  In so doing, Christ "conquered death by death" as the Orthodox Paschal hymn tells us, befitting today's reading so soon after the celebration of Easter.  Death, in this context, means not only the physical death of human beings, but also the realm of evil, synonymous with death, and personified in the devil.  As we begin the Gospel of Matthew, we are taken to chapter 3, the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry -- which, just as the genealogy of Christ reflects an entire history which prepared for the birth of Christ, we understand is also "birthed" through the baptism of John the Baptist, and his role as the last and greatest of all of the Old Testament prophets.  Without John, we could ask, would there be a ministry of Jesus?  We, of course, leave that answer up to God, with whom, Jesus tells us, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).  But the story of salvation works through human beings, as we understand from today's reading, and we cannot leave out the specific significance of John and John's role in this story, the one who would become the model for monasticism, as he was devoted to the Kingdom of God and its coming through Christ.  We are meant to understand the incredible significance of human beings, and their specific roles in the coming of the coming of the Kingdom of God, and in the ways in which God manifests God's work in the world, in and through God's creatures and creation.  We are not simply decreed a Kingdom from on high through celestial messengers, neither are human beings simply slaves of the divine, but there is quite a different economy going on here.  We are the center of the struggle for the world, as we human beings become the bearers of its "good news" or those who reject and participate on the "other side," so to speak.  The great spiritual battleground for the world and the cosmos, even the whole created order, is in the center of human beings, for we are the ones who participate in its reality or choose to reject it for ourselves, a constant struggle going on in the midst of our lives at any moment in time.  So, here we are, in what might be thought of as the center of human history, the moment we await Christ's Baptism in the Jordan at the hands of John the Baptist, the one who announces the preparation for Christ to the world.  Are you ready?  For that center is always within us, to receive and to prepare, to repent and to look toward Christ, to become "like Him" as He images for us what it is to be a bearer of the kingdom of heaven.

If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light

 And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."

- Luke 11:27-36

Yesterday, we read that Jesus was casting out a demon, and it was mute.  So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; sand the multitudes marveled.  But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons."   Others, testing Him, sought a sign from heaven.  But He knowing their thoughts, said to them:  "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls.  If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub.  And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.  When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace.  But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.  He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.   When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  And when he comes, he finds it 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." 

And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!"  But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"  My study bible notes that these words are read on most feasts of the Virgin Mary.  Jesus is correcting the women from the crowd, not by denouncing his mother, but rather by emphasizing her faith.  People are blessed in Gods' eyes, says my study bible, if, like Mary, they hear the word of God and keep it.  The Greek word which is translated, more than that, is translated "Yes indeed" in Romans 10:18.  This word is a correction by amplification, not by negation.   This passage reinforces what we read in chapter 8, when Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were waiting outside to see Him.  His response: "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it" (8:21).

And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation.  It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.  For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.  The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.  The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here."  The sign of Jonah to the Ninevites was preaching to them for repentance.  The Ninevites are great examples of repentance as response to Jonah's preaching.  Further, Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days, prefiguring Christ rising from the tomb (Matthew 12:40).  In contrast to the Ninevites and their king, the leadership of the Jews fail to repent in response to something far greater than Jonah:  Christ's preaching and Resurrection.  The result is judgment.  The Queen of the South, a foreigner like the Ninevites, came to hear and praised God for the wisdom of Solomon, recognizing the presence of the God of Israel for such blessings.  She too will be a judgment against those already prepared for the Messiah by tradition and knowledge, who reject Christ's wisdom and the presence of the Kingdom (see 3 Kings 10:1-10).

"No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.  The lamp of the body is the eye.  Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light.  But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light."  Here, as elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus uses the metaphor of light as an essential need for those who would not walk in darkness.  In John 8:12, Jesus teaches, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  Here He teaches all of us that we can be "sons of light" by bearing that light within us.  Not only does it give light (like a lamp) to those who are around, but also illumines the mind, which is the spiritual eye of the body, and guides 'how we see.'   But if this eye of the mind is bad and full of darkness, then so will be the fullness of the life we lead.  This is where we must take heed about what we put our faith into, which guides how we see.  If we choose to live by the light that shines through Him, we expect illumination over all that we are and think and how we see.

What is light, and what is the eye?  This is an important part of Christ's preaching.  It is found in the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, and clearly was preached elsewhere throughout Christ's ministry.  They are themes He returns to again and again.  The light that illumines the eye is the light that we need so that we won't walk in darkness, and we won't stumble.  We'll know where we are going.  There is a deep emphasis on the spiritual nature of our faith and its working within us.  This is a light that illumines the mind; if the whole body is lit by this light of the eye, then Christ is teaching us that it is a light that is meant to be thrown upon all of our lives, everything that we are, allowing us truly see.  In Luke chapter 6, as He does in the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches us to be aware of the "plank in our own eye" so that we may see clearly enough to remove the speck in another's eye (6:42).  It is this same light that illumines our imperfections and blindness so that we may truly see what we are about, in order to help others.  This is a journey that is meant to be lifelong.  To illuminate the entire body is the work of our lives, in His faith and in His light that allows us to see light (Psalm 36:9).  This is what it is to truly be His family, children by adoption, to seek to know and keep the word of God.  To reject the light, He says, is to risk judgment.   In John's Gospel, He tells Thomas, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:29).  None of what He teaches is ever about proofs.  No one is forced to believe.  He is looking for a connection of love, the capacity for spiritual perception, the desire for the life of light.  This is an ongoing journey, in which the light teaches, illumines, and changes us as we come to terms with the things which block that light.  Let us go forward in its grace with thanks.