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

 

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

 

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

 

- Matthew 4:18-25 

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men

 

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

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

 

- Matthew 4:18-25 

 

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

 

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

 

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

Perhaps the most remarkable thing to note in today's reading is the "immediate" quality of this new ministry, this beginning of Christ's public ministry.  The text seems to emphasize its explosive and remarkable growth.  The disciples follow Him immediately in response to His call to "Follow Me."  The rapidity with which His fame spreads not only through Galilee, but through every region of Israel people is remarkable, among all the Jewish communities even in the nearby Gentile areas.  This is significant, because it, in fact, mirrors the rapid spread of Christianity that would occur after Pentecost.  My study Bible correctly points out, however, that the people aren't responding so quickly to Christ's call to repentance, but rather to His healing miracles, including exorcism.  On display is His healing power, giving people something they desperately want.  But Jesus is all of a package, and we can't separate His message from His Kingdom and from the rest of His ministry.  In time, this will prove the case, and the "fickle multitudes" as my study Bible calls them, will show their character.  However, there is another thing we must note that is important in this context both of character, and also Christ's calling to the disciples.  He speaks to these fishermen by calling them not to an amorphous set of principles or values, a mere "belief" system, but to a vocation.  And perhaps most importantly, the vocation to which they're called, their new life in Christ, is one that accentuates and develops something they are already trained to do.  Jesus speaks to them in a language they understand from their own lives as fishermen, telling them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  (By the way, the Greek word translated as "men" means people or humanity, human beings.)   This gives us an insight to key issues of both identity and our places in God's Kingdom, how we are called to the kingdom of heaven which is at hand.  Christ's power transforms.  Our proximity and our faith (or perhaps one should say our "faithfulness") works to give us new identity, but within the parameters of a kind of transfiguration.  We remain the same person, and yet we are changed -- and from the inside out.  They will not simply become fishers of men because they go around collecting followers for Jesus, bodies to populate this new movement.  They will become fishers of men by becoming disciples of Christ, living with Him, learning from Him, growing in understanding, and being transformed themselves through this process of faithful living and trust in Him.  What we should always remember is that we, like the fishermen, are called toward something.  We are called on a journey of repentance, meaning "change of mind."  It is a journey of transformation, in which all that we are, all that might be constituted as part of "mind" -- and beyond only the intellect -- is changed, transfigured, turned around.  We don't become someone else, but we are drawn out of our circumstances and given a deeper and truer sense of who we are, and the image in which we have been created, in this communion that constitutes the kingdom of heaven.  This is the immediate response, a deep recognition of where the heart truly is, and where we find the one thing -- the One Person -- in whom we can deeply trust to show us the way.

 

 

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.  

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

 

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

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

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

 

- Mark 1:14–28 

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men

 

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

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

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

 

- Mark 1:14-28 

 

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

 

Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent, and believe in the gospel."  My study Bible comments that Mark's written emphasis on John being put in prison before Jesus begins preaching reveals that a key purpose of the old covenant -- to prepare the people for Christ -- had been completed (Galatians 4:1-5).  Once Christ came, the time of preparation was fulfilled.  To repent, my study Bible explains, is to do a total "about-face."  In Greek the word literally means to "change one's mind."  It adds that repentance is a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart -- a complete reorientation to a life centered in Christ.  

And as He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  When He had gone a little farther from there, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the boat mending their nets.  And immediately He called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went after Him.   As Jesus begins His public ministry, He also begins to gather His disciples, workers for the Kingdom who will become fishers of men.  Note these first disciples are two pairs of brothers.  These first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist (John 1:35-42).  Therefore they were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  My study Bible says that although illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.

Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught.   My study Bible comments that the word immediately occurs almost forty times in Mark's Gospel, nearly all of them before Christ's entrance into Jerusalem.  The sense of urgency adn purpose as Jesus journeys toward Jerusalem to fulfill His mission of redeeming the world helps make Mark's account not only the shortest, but also the most direct of the four Gospels.  

And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit.  And he cried out, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him.  Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, "What is this?  What new doctrine is this?  For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."  And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.  Almost "immediately," we might say, when Christ begins His public preaching His true authority becomes apparent and shines forth through His ministry.  He speaks and acts from Himself.  That authority them manifests in today's reading when the unclean spirit is rebuked by Jesus.  It is astonishing to the people that without authority such as would be conferred through the religious establishment of which He is not a part, Jesus speaks, acts, and even exorcises demons with authority.  Note, however, He does not want His identity as Messiah to be known.  My study Bible says that the reasons for secrecy are foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  These reasons include the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders; the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leader; and Jesus' desire to evoke genuine faith not based only on marvelous signs. 

 

 If we examine Jesus' calling of the first disciples, as told by Mark, there's an interesting sort of poetry at work, if we may describe it that way.  Jesus takes what already exists but transforms it.  The poetry of His appeal to these fishermen brothers is revealing:  "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  In this sense of poetry, Jesus uses evocative language for us to understand that in His service and in our devotion to Him, He is working to transform us, to give us new life, in a sense.  These men understand their own work as fishermen, but Jesus gives them an image to understand their transformation in the life that He offers to them.  We can see it as a metaphor for our own lives and the influence of Christ upon us.  If we have a talent for something, Jesus can take that and transform it into use for service in the Kingdom.  Even if we have negative tendencies toward certain passions, like anger, Jesus can take that and transform it also:  into, for example, a passion for true justice, a desire to express compassion or heal, a desire to prevent unnecessary harm -- and teach us to act for the Kingdom, not to contribute to destructive circumstances.  Jesus takes us and transforms the possibilities and potentials within us, and this is the correct framework for understanding the Kingdom and its work in the world.  So often in a modern setting, we get prescriptions for success in a worldly sense.  There is the idea that if we live a good life we will be blessed with abundance in a worldly, material sense.  But Christ's message of the Kingdom is not something that simply sets the world in order on the terms that the world offers; it is, instead, a transformational message.   The action of the Kingdom and its work in us is one that transcends and changes our values; it gives us a blessedness that is not the world's concept of blessedness, but something that reaches far deeper into us and asks us to change ourselves.  See, for example, the blessedness of the Beatitudes as proclaimed by Jesus (Matthew 5:1-12).  There is another poetic transformation to read here, as in today's reading two sets of brothers become disciples for the Kingdom.  They begin life as earthly brothers, but in Jesus' work they become another kind of brother, even as they leave behind an old way of life and their father working with the hired servants.   See Mark 3:34, 10:29.  They become brothers in the sense in which we are capable of being children of God by adoption, even as Christ is Son.  We become mother, brother, sisters through devotion and service, by sharing the communion of love which Christ brings into the world.  Everything is transformative that is done in Christ and by Him, especially for the purposes of the Kingdom (Revelation 21:5).  And there we get to the fuller and deeper meaning of "metanoia," the Greek word for repentance, that truly means a changing of the mind, a transformation of what we think we know and understand, our orientation to life.  As Christ speaks with authority even over the unclean spirits, let us consider His authority in us and over our lives, and where He might take us into the future.

 

 

Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men

 

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

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

 

- Matthew 4:18–25 

 

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

 

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  My study Bible asks us to note here that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and so were prepared to accept Christ immediately (see John 1:35-51).  Although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion (as opposed to the scribes and Pharisees, for example), these "people of the land" whom Jesus calls will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  My study Bible remarks on this passage that the crowds do not swarm Jesus when He commands repentance (verse 17), but only when He begins to heal and work miracles.  This fact shows that the people misunderstand the true nature of His Kingdom.  It also shows Christ's concession, as Theophan comments, "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the fickle multitudes.

It's remarkable how the text records a phenomenal acceleration in the fame of Jesus, how it went throughout all Syria, and great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  What this means is that almost immediately, He would have drawn the attention of the religious leadership in Jerusalem.  Of course, packed into one verse is the phrase that He went about all Galilee, and from there His fame spread.  In the following chapter (indeed, in our next reading) Jesus will preach the Sermon on the Mount, meant for a great multitude indeed.  But our study Bible, which records the traditional perspective understood and accepted through the centuries, quite sensibly comments that the people do not respond when Jesus preaches repentance.  Rather, the great multitudes gather and His fame spreads when He begins to heal and to work miracles.  Theophan comments that He does so in order to "give credibility to what He teaches," reminding us of the time He had forgiven the sins of a paralytic who was brought to Him by being lowered through a roof by his friends.  In Mark's version of the story, Jesus understands that the scribes criticize in their hearts, asking, "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  Jesus replies by asking, "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins"—He said to the paralytic, "I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house."  Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, "We never saw anything like this!" (see Mark 2:1-12).  We notice in this passage that the original dispute was over the forgiveness of sins, directly connected to the issue of repentance, but it became an occasion for a display of His power to heal.  So it is with the effects of His ministry:  it is the physical healing that gives credibility to what He teaches, as Theophan notes.  In today's world, we see sin in a way that is not as powerful as the scribes understood forgiveness to be.  Perhaps we don't see sin as the crime against community that was understood through the Mosaic Law.  We might understand it better if we thought about public penalties for crimes in the law of the state, such as murder or theft.  While the scribes understand that only God has the power to forgive sins -- and in our faith, this power is extended by Christ to the Church -- in our present day we understand that only the state has the power to assign or revoke guilt of a crime and evade the penalties that result.  But in a time that celebrates sin and even, to some extent criminality in popular media, we might consider sin in a deeper sense by recognizing its communal effects.  One person's selfishness or hostility can affect a whole family and several generations to come with repercussions, hardships inflicted, patterns of behavior taught.  A crime of theft in an organization can set back all those who are employed or benefit from the institution.  A person who harms a spouse or a child commits a crime against a family, for the whole of the family becomes impacted in one way or another, and the effects spread outward from there.   From the beginning, our spiritual history in Scripture has taught us that the first sin had repercussions that we, as community, inherit as the conditions or environment in which we live, and so it continues.  Unfortunately, community then as now does not respond to a call to repent with this depth of understanding of how sin impacts us all and those whom we love and care about.  In this context, we must view Christ's physical healing as on par with the spiritual and soul healing offered via repentance.  The care of spirit and soul is not something we should dismiss lightly, and possibly the scribes -- who do not understand who Christ is -- have something to contribute to we moderns in this respect.  A materialist or literalistic understanding of life cannot convey to us the meanings present in our faith, the understanding that we all act in community for good or ill.  But Christ's healing mirrors the healing He offers through salvation and redemption, for this is our Savior vividly giving credibility to what He teaches.  Let us understand His mission of repentance and redemption, otherwise we miss the whole point in our blindness to what He offers.   The disciples were those capable of grasping this mission, for to be "fishers of men" is to address the hearts and minds of those who can accept healing at this deepest and truest of levels.  It's not the great crowds in the Gospels who get it right, but those who can hear the message, for whom the fishermen will be sent.  Mark's Gospel tells us of the first mission for which the apostles will be sent out:  "So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them" (Mark 6:12-13).  The anointing with holy oil and healing remains a part of the gospel and the mission of the Church, but it is an integrity of body, soul, and spirit which is the full healing message of Christ.

 

 

Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?

Deesis mosaic, 13th century.  Haghia Sophia cathedral, Constantinple

Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."  And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

- Matthew 20:17-28

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught:  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.  Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.  And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.'  So they went.  Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.  And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing idle here all day?'  They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.'  He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'  So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'  And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.  And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'  But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong.  Did you not agree with me for a denarius?  Take what is yours and go your way.  I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.  Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things?  Or is your eye evil because I am good?'  So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen."

Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify.  And the third day He will rise again."  My study bible comments here that Christ's repeated prediction of His Passion is meant to encourage and strengthen the disciples:  after Jesus is in Jerusalem they will face the terrifying events to come.  According to Theophan, it is as if Jesus is saying:  "Think on all these [words and miracles], so that when you see me hanging on the Cross, you will not imagine that I am suffering because I am powerless to do otherwise."

Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.  And He said to her, "What do you wish?"  She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."  But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask."   My study bible calls this question for temporal power and glory unfitting for a disciple, and says that it shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  Here, Matthew tells us that it was the mother of Zebedee's sons who made this request.  But Jesus' responses is in the plural you (in the Greek text), when He says, "You do not know what you ask . . .."  Mark 10:35 clearly indicates the involvement of John and James as well.

"Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."   Jesus refers to His Crucifixion as a cup and His death as a baptism.  My study bible says that the Cross is a cup because Jesus drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is baptism, as He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Jesus' prophecy of John and James participating in the same cup and baptism shows the life of persecution and martyrdom they would lead after Pentecost.   That these places of honor requested by the mother of Zebedee's sons (and John and James themselves) is not Christ's to give doesn't mean that He is lacking in authority.  Rather, my study bible points out, it means that they are not Christ's to give arbitrarily.  Instead, these places will be given by Christ to those for whom God has prepared them.  St. John Chrysostom, additionally, teaches that to sit as equals on the right and left hand of Christ in His Kingdom belongs to no one -- for there is none who could occupy such a position.  Regarding the highest places of honor given to human beings, in the icons of the Orthodox Church it is universally depicted that the Virgin Mary (most blessed among women, Luke 1:28) and John the Baptist (greatest born of women, 11:11) hold these places.

And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave -- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  For many, my study bible says, is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

What does it mean to accept a place of honor?  We have to think about this in terms of Christ's answer to Zebedee's wife Salome, the mother of the apostles James and John.  Jesus makes it clear that the places of honor in His Kingdom are not about favoritism.  They are not about doing political favors.  Neither are they even about how close Jesus might be to one disciple or another in a worldly sense (for these men are surely His friends, and one of them -- John -- will be the one to whom He entrusts the care of His mother at the Cross; see John 19:26).  Jesus makes it very clear that the positions of honor which may come in is Kingdom are those for whom God has prepared such places.  This authority does not rest only in Jesus, but rather in the will of the Father and -- perhaps even more importantly -- within the grand scheme of salvation for an entire cosmos.  This "event" therefore, of honor in the Kingdom, involves much more than a temporal sense of Jesus' ministry.  It involves all who are to come, and all that is to become in the salvation plan of God.  Moreover, it involves spiritual judgment, even the ultimate judgment in the hands of Christ.  Therefore, when you or I speak about honor, about whom we should honor in our hearts and in our lives, about how we ourselves might find honor in our lives, let us consider first of all to Whom it is that Jesus turns when He's asked about places of honor.  He makes it clear that all things rest in the hands of God, and it is to God that all must turn in honor in order to realize honor.  That is, there is an entirety to the plan of salvation not only for this world and all of the people in the world, but in terms of the entirety of a cosmos,  a created order of things, the full range of time and space and all that is within it.  Honor, in short, comes only from the One who has such a perspective, and we don't know what roles we may play in such a purview.  Consider, for instance, the long-range effects of one person's choice and another's.  We don't really know where such things will lead.  We don't know the depth of commitment in their hearts to God, nor their actual level of participation in the life of God.  Who can know these things?  Only God can know such things.  But there is one thing of which we can be certain:  that is that Jesus turns the attention from the places of honor to what it takes to fulfill that honor and to live that honor.  That is, He focuses their attention upon the cup of His Crucifixion, and the baptism of His death.  These are the things that are asked of Jesus in the fullness of the story of salvation and in His role in it.  Can they be prepared to drink that cup and accept that baptism for themselves?  Will they participate in the same honor in which He will play that role?  The answer is surely yes, as James Zebedee will be the first of the apostles to be martyred (Acts 12:1-2), and his brother John will go on to a life of exile and persecution, to care for Christ's mother, and to have attributed to him one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  Each one will fulfill the cup and baptism asked of them as well.  But the answer of Christ, and this question posed to these disciples, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" is really a question that applies to each of us.  It is, moreover, a question to be asked throughout time of all who would follow Jesus.  This is because, to one extent and another, we must all be prepared to follow in Christ's footsteps -- but even more importantly, to participate in His life.  We do this through the sacraments, through the Eucharist and the commemoration of His life and Incarnation, through our understanding of His Ascension, and even as we await His return.  We participate in the same sense in which the rich man was asked to give up His possessions to receive eternal life (in this reading).  It is not that we each must follow some pre-ordered prescription of what we must do.  It is, rather, that as we move forward in faith in Christ, and grow in that discipleship, there will be cups and baptisms that are asked of us, and that this is the way of the Cross, to which each of us is called.  We are called to become what we must be in Christ's image of who we are, and that image is shaped, formed, and transfigured in the life He offers.  What that means for each one of us is specific to each, as St. Chrysostom has commented on the story of the rich young man.  But it is indeed the way of the Cross.  It is, indeed, the call for humility and especially for us to honor the very place -- or rather, the Person -- from whom all honor comes.  Jesus goes on to set the record straight with the rest of the disciples when He contrasts the "Lordship" of the Gentiles (and worldly power) with the kind of Lordship He exercises.  His power is in the reality of the love that is the substance of God, and all power and authority extends from God who is love (1 John 4:7-8).  In that understanding, it is the One who will lay down His life for His friends in an expression of the greatest love to whom we turn to define "honor" (John 15:13).  In the icon above, a mosaic made in the 13th century on the wall of the Hagia Sophia Church in Constantinople, we see a scene which is called in Greek "Deesis" (which means prayer or supplication).  It shows the risen Christ, the Almighty.  Closes to Him are Mary ("blessed among women") and John the Baptist ("among those born of women no one greater").  Both bow to Christ in the position of prayer.  Let us consider those whom we join when we do the same, and enter into the honor of those who honor God with their lives.

Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men

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

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

- Matthew 4:18-25

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

 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.    We remember that Jesus has made Capernaum His new home (see yesterday's reading, above), and so He walks by the Sea of Galilee in this headquarters town for His ministry.  My study bible comments that these first disciples had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and so were prepared to accept Christ immediately (see also John 1:35-42).   Although they were illiterate and unlearned in religion, these "people of the land," my study bible says, whom Jesus calls, will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  These great multitudes followed Jesus, my study bible points out, not when He commands repentance, but rather only when He begins to heal and work miracles.  This shows that from the beginning the people misunderstand the true nature of Christ's Kingdom.  It also shows, as Theophan comments, Christ's concession "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the fickle crowds.  (See yesterday's reading, above, for Christ's immediate ministerial call to "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.")

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

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

"Christ the Healer" mosaic

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

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, 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 lets us know that these first disciples -- two sets of brothers -- had already heard the preaching of John the Baptist, and therefore they were prepared to accept Christ immediately.  They are not great scholars of religion nor experts in the Scripture, but they are those faithful who will live the discipleship of Christ.  My study bible calls them "people of the land" who are called by Jesus, and who will be revealed at Pentecost to be the wisest of all. 

 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.  My study bible remarks upon the fact that the crowds do not swarm Jesus when He commands repentance (verse 17, from yesterday's reading, above), but it is when He begins to heal and work miracles that the crowds come.  It shows that the people misunderstand the real nature of His Kingdom.   It also shows, in the words of Theophan, that Christ gives concession "to give credibility to what He teaches" among the multitudes whose fickle attitude will be a hallmark of the Gospels.  Here Matthew compresses the action of Christ's early ministry into a few verses, so that we understand the broad appeal He effects across the territories of the people of Israel, as His fame spreads everywhere from Galilee.

In the healings that Christ does of the crowds who bring the ill to Him, we see literally great affliction.   The language of the text tells us of oppression (literally, in the Greek word for affliction).  Their torments could could also be translated as "torture."   Their diseases usually would considered to be incurable.  Let us also note the lack of control over their own lives that is implied in the several afflictions listed:  to be demon-possessed speaks for itself.  But also the word translated as epileptic could be literally translated as "lunatic" as it means to be controlled by or under the influence of the moon.  (It was considered that the disease waxed and waned with the moon.)  To be paralyzed is also a kind of involuntary binding and control, an oppressive affliction.  Each of these could be understood as a type of imprisonment, the torment the pain of torture in a prison.  The language speaks to us of a need for liberation, or more specifically, for a liberator -- a redeemer.  It tells us about the action of Christ, which is to set free.  Let us note that it also does so in the context of spiritual battle, as the "demon-possessed" are among those brought to Christ.  It is how we understand Christ's ministry overall and how we understand the work of the "prince of this world," the devil by whom Christ was tempted in this reading, just before He began His public ministry.  There is the power that truly liberates, and then there is the power that oppresses and enslaves and tortures.  Hidden  behind and within all things seems to be this choice, between one and the other.  Of course, even the elements of those things which are brought for Christ to healing have a kind of spectrum in today's reading.  Once Christ's fame spreads, the more serious afflictions are brought to Him for help.  But all of it tells us something about healing and the actions of Christ.  As we understand that the very Incarnation itself is meant to heal, by bringing all the elements of the world and our worldly lives into union with Creator, so we should see in this text Christ's actions in conjunction with that reality.  What He is becomes expressed through His work and action in the world.  He has come to heal and to liberate, to save.  Even His preaching comes under the context of healing and freeing, for as He is the truth (John 14:6), so also He will teach, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).   For every aspect of Christ's being, so His work in the world also reflects that identity.  This is consistent with an important understanding of theology:  that God's mercy (that is, God's work in the world) reflects God's being.  We cannot know God in God's fullness of being.  We are not divine Persons like the Persons of the Holy Trinity.  But we can know God in what are called God's "energies" -- that is, in God's work in the world.  Christ's ministry exemplifies this perfectly.  So it is the same with love as expressed through ourselves and others in the elements of our world.  We can talk about love all we want, but love is more than simply a feeling or emotion.  Love needs expression through action.  Whether that action is prayer or sympathy or particular actions to alleviate suffering or effect healing in other ways, to work at discipleship and to learn to be "pure in heart" is to live from the inside to the outside.  That is, to live a life that reflects a heart that seeks discipleship and to be transformed in that discipleship to be more "like Christ."  If that all seems to complicated, consider this:  what is the purpose of repentance, Christ's first word of ministry?  A repentance is a turn around, a literal "change of mind" in the Greek but which implies a true change of heart and orientation -- and one which is expected to affect how we engage and interact, our actions in the world.  Christ repeatedly emphasizes the heart, and does so, as He says, because it is the heart that creates the action:  "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things" (Matthew 12:35).  This is what Christ's ministry is for, so that we become the disciples who in turn may become more like Him.   This is what it is to be truly healed, redeemed, liberated, saved.   The fickle crowds seek the healing He offers -- but it is discipleship that brings us the freedom He offers.