O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will

 

 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  

 

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

- Matthew 26:36–46 

 

Saturday's reading described events at the Last Supper, the Passover supper of Jesus and the disciples. And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.  For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.  But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter answered and said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times."  Peter said to Him, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And so said all the disciples.

 

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go and pray over there."  And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch with Me."  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."  My study Bible says that when Jesus speaks of this cup He's referring to His impending death.  As a human being, He wishes He could avoid it, for it is the mark of humanity to abhor death.  Jesus prays if it is possible that this cup be taken from Him, and thereby gives us full proof of His human nature.  Nonetheless, my study Bible says, He is without sin and He completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's divine will.  

 

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "What?  Could you not watch with Me one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."  And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.  So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.  Then He came to His disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."  My study asks us to note Christ's words and their importance: "watch and pray."   It says that this is the key to Christian spirituality and our struggle against temptation.  By this, Christ's human soul is strengthened, and He faces death with divine courage.  In contrast to the Lord's vigilance, the disciples sleep.  My study Bible explains that, since body and soul are united, the spirit is paralyzed by a lethargic body.  But a willing spirit, which recognizes the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power.  

 

 Jesus knows where He is going, He knows why He is going, in His divinity He will complete the mission of the Incarnation.  But nevertheless in the fullness of His humanity He asks that the cup pass from Him if it be possible.  For those of us who have struggled with our own temptations against the courage required in personal spiritual choices, Jesus gives us all hope.  For our Lord knows where we go, and how hard we struggle, even -- or maybe especially -- against things we know must happen, or we must find the courage to take on.  My study Bible says that "a willing spirit, which recognizes the weakness of the flesh, struggles against its weakness, relying on God's presence and power."  Personally, having struggled in difficult times, I have found this to be true on many levels and in various circumstances.  The times I didn't think I had the wherewithal to face a difficult choice, or to undertake a difficult task, I found that in prayer there was renewed energy to do so, even creativity to find better solutions than I had understood were available to me.  Many times when in Church during the Divine Liturgy, it is there that I have found the ease in my mind and heart that allowed me to pray for God's forgiveness of others who had hurt me very deeply.  Otherwise, this was indeed very difficult.  But Jesus gives us courage in showing us that even He struggled with what He had to do.  Our example is not one that is without struggle, of some sort of "perfection" in stoic virtue, but rather One who grapples with the deepest, strongest, most difficult temptations and pains of life. This is the Christ who is with us always, in all the things that we have to do.  We should try to understand that in prayer, and in seeking guidance that leads us through our lives, if we like Christ seek to follow the things He wants for us and the ways in which He wishes us to conduct our lives, then the power of such a prayer is already accompanied by Christ, by His grace.  These are the times to consider and to seek discernment about what path we're on, whether or not we're pleasing God or seeking to find God's will, even before our own.  For the One who has already struggled is there with us, has gone there before us, and would not assign us to something or somewhere He has not already gone before for us.  Such a thought should prepare us for life and emphasize that as adopted children, we are part of a heritage that guides our steps and gives us purpose, even as we seek His way through our world.  In life there will always be things that are difficult, but the One who leads us finds us meaning and value and substance, leading us to share in His virtues, even as He voluntarily shares in our struggles and difficulties and pain. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."

 

And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.  Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."

 

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.

 

- Matthew 26:1–16 

 

Yesterday we read Jesus' culmination of all of His discourse to the disciples on end times.  (For the entirety of this discourse, begin with the reading from Thursday last week.)  In yesterday's reading, He spoke the parable of the Final Judgment: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.  All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.  And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?'  And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'  Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:  for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.'  Then they also will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?'  Then He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'  And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, that He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified."  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.  But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."  Jesus has just given His final parable of judgment, in which He spoke of Himself as Lord, the Son of Man, who at His return will come with glory and in the company of all His holy angels, and judge the nations.  But here, He returns to the present day, and the contrast no doubt was startling to His disciples.  He has repeatedly told them of His death (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19).  Here He affirms to them that this will be happening very soon, and St. Matthew follows up with the plotting of the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders at the palace of the high priest, Caiaphas.  My study Bible comments that Jesus is delivered up to His Passion by His accusers, and yet He goes willingly.  Unless He had willed to go, it adds, His accusers could never have taken Him.  After His Resurrection, many saints imitated Christ by willingly going to martyrdom.

 

 And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.  But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?  For this fragrant oil might have been sold and given to the poor."  But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman?  For she has done a good work for Me.  For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.  For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.  Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."  My study Bible comments that Jesus accepts this honor from the woman in her newly found faith.  In particular, He accepts it as a sign of His coming burial.  My study Bible cites also St. John Chrysostom, who notes that in principle, the disciples weren't wrong; that is, mercy shown to the poor is more fitting than outward signs shown even to God (Matthew 25:40; James 1:27).  But they did not understand that once the gift was given, it was a greater mercy to accept it with love.  St. Chrysotom is quoted as follows:  "If anyone had asked Christ before the woman did this, He would not have approved it.  But after she had done it, He looks only to the gift itself.  For after the fragrant oil had been poured, what good was a rebuke?  Likewise, if you should see anyone providing a sacred vessel or ornament for the walls of the church, do not spoil his zeal.  But if beforehand he asks about it, command him to give instead to the poor."   Because of her fervent faith, Jesus promises perpetual memory of this woman.  My study Bible reports that there is no consensus among patristic opinion as to her identity in relation to accounts of similar events found in Mark 14:3-9; Luke 7:36-38; and John 12:1-8.  Some say there were three different women in these four accounts, and others that there were only two.  My study Bible additionally comments that Simon the leper must have been healed by Jesus earlier, for lepers were forbidden to live in towns.  There are those who believe that this man was the father of Judas Iscariot.  

 

 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?"  And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.  So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.  Here Judas, on his own initiative, seeks to betray Jesus.  My study Bible indicates that his motives have been greatly debated, but according to patristic commentary, and liturgical hymns in the Church, greed was the primary motivation.  My study Bible says that this is revealed in John 12:4-6, where Judas was particularly upset about the "waste" of myrrh in the preceding story because he was a thief (see also 1 Timothy 6:10).  My study Bible adds that the phrase one of the twelve is not used so much to identify Judas, who was already known to St. Matthew's hearers, but to emphasize the depth of betrayal -- that it was one of Christ's closest followers.

 

 One thing we might note regarding the story of Judas' betrayal of Christ occurs in St. John's reporting of this event described in today's reading.  In his telling of it, St. John reveals a detail that's not in St. Matthew's account.  In John's Gospel, we read that it was Judas who spoke against the woman.  So, it's possible to read this story in which Jesus offers a rebuke for that criticism as something which Judas was unable to bear without resentment or humiliation.  It takes on perhaps a greater potential revelation of character if we presume that it is correct, as some report, that Simon the Leper was Judas Iscariot's father, and so, in that sense, this rebuke happened in his family home in the presence of family and neighbors, adding to that sense of indignity.  If these things are true, it teaches us a lesson about the temptations to anger when we're in the wrong.  For Jesus has just gotten through teaching the disciples (and we the faithful) that He is the judge of all.  He will return, in fact, to judge all, to reconcile all things.  Therefore, when a rebuke comes from Christ, it's not only the truth from the wisdom of His absolute perspective, but it's also an act of love.  In Revelation 3:19, we read that the "One like the Son of Man" declares, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent."  If we are to be someone's disciple, or even a child, a loving rebuke is doing us a service.  It's teaching us how to become the persons we need to be, and how to live in proper and right relation to God, even to love itself.  Perhaps only love itself can truly see what Jesus sees.  For He sees this woman's great act of love in her gift of this fragrant oil and her anointing for His burial.  While it is Christ the Anointed who anoints us with the gift of grace and the Holy Spirit, and all the things made possible through grace, this woman -- perhaps singularly in all the stories of the Gospels, as Jesus notes of her -- returns that love in this anointing with the expensive oil, in an outpouring of extensive, and extravagant, love.  If it's true that Judas simply cared for the treasury, for he kept the money box and would take money from it, as St. John writes, then a person with this kind of material focus may be unable to understand the language and the gift of love as Christ does.  So often it takes an experienced heart to understand another that speaks its own language, so to speak, and Christ as God is love, and the author of love.  St. Paul writes to the Ephesians that he prays "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:17-19).  Perhaps it is through such a width and length and depth and height that Christ sees the great love and gift of this woman, and understands that it as deserving of a timeless monument to her memory:  "wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."   May we all learn to live such love as only Christ can see, and become like Him in the way that she mirrors and reciprocates.  For therein is our true goal of loving union with Christ our Bridegroom.

 

 

He who endures to the end shall be saved

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

 

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

 Yesterday, we read Jesus' last words in His final public sermon, which was a great critique of the scribes and Pharisees.  This takes up the whole of chapter 23 of St. Matthew's Gospel (for the first two readings in this chapter, see the readings from Monday and Tuesday.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  My study Bible explains that Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.  

 

 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars."  Thus begins Jesus' discourse on what are often called "end times," which in tradition began with Christ's Incarnation and continue through the present age as we await His return and judgment.  My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that no precise chronology can be determined (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Luke 21: 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Book of Revelation).  Our Lord's emphasis through this discourse is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue, rather than on constructing timetables of things which have not yet happened.  Here in St. Matthew's account, the end is described in several stages, which encompass the initial sorrows (described in today's reading), the great tribulation (verses 15-28), and the coming of the Son of Man (verses 29-31).   The period of the great tribulation, my study Bible teaches, includes the entire Christian era and is not limited to the final years before Christ's return.  Here in these beginning teachings on the end times, Jesus has given the most emphasis to warnings against deception.  Of particular emphasis, my study Bible says, is the warning against following a false Christ, which Jesus will stress again (verses 11, 23-27).   

 

 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved."  According to my study Bible, the wars here refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but they also include subsequent wars.  It notes that wars are not a sign of the imminent end, but rather the opposite.  As Jesus indicates, it tells us that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).  

 

"And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel, and indeed, persecutions against the Church often increase the number of souls being converted.  It cites St. John Chrysostom, who marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed except the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

 

Jesus gives us a kind of arc of history in speaking about end times; that is, the time of the whole Christian era.  Certainly we understand wars and rumors of wars, and we know about persecutions.   Jesus says, "And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold."  Jesus describes a world in which increasing conflict takes place at all levels, from the international ("nation will rise against nation") to the individual and within communities.  Betrayals, offenses, hatreds will take place.  And the deceit of false prophets continues a kind of violence against the kingdom of heaven and to natural order that would be the way of God.  And in that vein, a key phrase is when Jesus tells us that "lawlessness will abound" and "the love of many will grow cold."  These things are antithetical to the order established by God, the aims of our faith, the intentions of God we understand from the whole of the Holy Bible.  Lies and deceptions form yet another kind of violence in the midst of the other violence we understand, and famines and pestilences and earthquakes show that even the natural physical world is disrupted from its proper order, a kind of interior violence even affecting the world which was created to sustain and support human life in which God established a garden for the first human beings.  Without love and righteousness there can be no peace.  We may not have experienced in our lives such levels of total breakdown of norms which are necessary for human flourishing, nor experienced a universal kind of war of all against all such as is depicted here.  Fr. Stephen Freeman refers to this process of "breakdown" as a kind of entropy in this article, and one must conclude that this seems correct.   But many people at this time are certainly wondering where the world is headed, and we can observe what often seems to be a breakdown of natural order, even rational behavior.  Jesus speaks with a prophetic understanding of the effects of such chaos when He tells us that "he who endures to the end will be saved."  For in the midst of the evil of chaos and this breakdown of the true natural order of things (that is, the desired order established by God in creation), we are taught that it is faith that makes the difference, and it is in our faith we must nevertheless endure.  For Jesus says, "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  In the midst of whatever difficulties we find in the world, whatever chaos or violence, or deceptions and lies, we have something important to do.  We have been given a mission from Christ to witness His gospel.  If things sometimes feel overwhelming and we cannot understand where they are headed, we need to recollect who and what we are, and find this place in prayer where we're given the grace of God to know what we are to be about.  God gives us the grace not to despair, but to continue in faith and in the mission of the Church.  For He has told us all ahead of time, and He teaches us to endure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized

 

 Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "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; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."

 

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may it, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 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."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

- Mark 10:32–45 

 

Yesterday we read that, as Jesus was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"  So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments:  'Do not commit adultery,' 'Do not murder,' 'Do not steal,' 'Do not bear false witness,' 'Do not defraud,' 'Honor your father and your mother.'"  And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack:  Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me."  But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!"  And the disciples were astonished at His words.  But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!  It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."  And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, "Who then can be saved?"  But Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  Then Peter began to say to Him, "See, we have left all and followed You."  So Jesus answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time -- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions -- and in the age to come, eternal life.  But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

 

  Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed.  And as they followed they were afraid.  Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him:  "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; and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him.  And the third day He will rise again."  This is the third time Christ predicts His Passion to the disciples.  Now they are clearly going to Jerusalem, already in Judea and on the road going up to the Holy City.  The disciples are amazed because they know the hostility of the religious leaders in Jerusalem which Jesus has so far avoided, and they are afraid.  These repeated predictions of Christ's Passion were intended to encourage and strengthen the disciples for the terrifying events they will face there, my study Bible says.  It adds that it also confirms that Christ was going to His death of His own will and choosing.  We must remark upon the detail that Jesus gives them; they are prepared for all the humiliation and rejection He will face. 

 

 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him, saying, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask."  And He said to them, "What do you want Me to do for you?"  They said to Him, "Grant us that we may it, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left, in Your glory."  But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you ask.  Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"  They said to Him, "We are able."  Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink the cup that I drink, and with the baptism I am baptized with you will be baptized; 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."  And when the ten heard it, they began to be greatly displeased with James and John.  My study Bible calls this quest for temporal power and glory unfitting for a disciple, and it shows an earthly misunderstanding of the Kingdom of God.  It seems quite likely that James and John (and their mother, as reported in St. Matthew's Gospel) expect that this travel to Jerusalem will culminate in Jesus the Messiah establishing a worldly kingdom for Himself.  Thus they ask for the highest places in that kingdom they imagine, on His right and on His left, and speak of a worldly glory.  My study Bible notes that Christ calls His Crucifixion a cup and His death a baptism.  It explains that the Cross is a cup because He drank it willingly (Hebrews 12:2).  His death is a baptism, for He was completely immersed in it, yet it cleansed the world (Romans 6:3-6).  Christ's prophecy of John and James participating in this same cup and baptism is a prediction of the life of persecution of martyrdom they would lead after Pentecost.  St. James will become the first to be martyred among the apostles (Acts 12:1-2), and St. John will go on to a long life of persecution and exile in the early Church, giving us one Gospel, three Epistles, and the Revelation.  My study Bible also explains that Christ declaring that the places of honor in the Kingdom are not His to give does not mean that He lacks authority.  It means, instead, that they are not His to give arbitrarily.  Instead, He will give them to those for whom God has prepared them.  Moreover, according to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible says, no one could possibly occupy such a position.  Regarding the highest places of honor that can be given to human beings, the icons of the Church universally show the Virgin Mary (the most blessed among women; Luke 1:28) and St. John the Baptist (the greatest born of women; Matthew 11:11) holding these places.  

 

  But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, "You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.  And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."  This is another repeated emphasis by Christ on what constitutes greatness in His Church and the Kingdom, and in particular the use of worldly power for those who will become responsible for His flock.  See also the readings from Monday and Tuesday.  For many is an Aramaic expression which means "for all."

 

The transformation (or perhaps we should say transfiguration/metamorphosis) of Sts. James and John Zebedee is a remarkable illustration of the power of the Holy Spirit and the effects of Pentecost that will manifest in the Church after Christ's Ascension.  They will go from the two who request Christ's highest places in what they imagine will be a popularly-expected worldly kingdom presided over by the Messiah, to the two great apostles who will suffer and sacrifice so much for the Church.  St. Mark tells us that Christ gave them the name "Sons of Thunder"  (Mark 3:17), and the truth of this name is borne out in their subsequent histories in the early Church.  Thunder would be the apt description of the effects of their own voices for Christ and evangelization.  St. James was a powerful (and perhaps even "fiery") orator for the Church, hence the first target of the wrath of Herod Agrippa against the early Christian movement.  St. John, of course, became a prolific spokesman in that he produced so much of the word we are given in the New Testament.  His Gospel, Epistles, and the Revelation remain for us among the most powerful inspired Scripture in existence, to this day studied, read, debated, and treasured in the Church among the faithful.  So much of St. John's writing determines what we understands about Jesus, and in particular his Gospel is the Gospel of love, and it is his words that teach us that God is love (1 John 4:8).  These men would truly go on to the cup and baptism of Christ, and lives of great sacrifice as well as great service.  We can understand the fulfillment of the name given to them by Christ in their subsequent histories in the Church, the "thunder" of their advocacy of the gospel reaching far and wide and even into today's world through the widespread dissemination of the New Testament through the internet and the world.  So we are given two great examples in today's reading, both of the power of the Spirit and Christ's ministry, and the transformational power we find in the Church, and which continues to create saints -- great and small -- today.  It is this power evident in these men that works to help all of us today to manifest the fruits of the Spirit, and to rely upon the power of God even to work through our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).

 

 

 

 

Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons

 

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

 

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

 

- Mark 3:7-19 

 

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

 

  But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.  And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.  So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.  For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.  And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God."  But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.   My study Bible notes that Jesus withdrew both because the Pharisees were planning to destroy Him (though it was not time for Him to die; see Saturday's reading, above) and also in order to preach in other places.  Once again we note Christ's urge to secrecy regarding His identity which the unclean spirits know; He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. 

 

 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted.  And they came to Him.  Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:  Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.  These men are to be His chosen disciples (that they might be with Him), and also His apostles (that He might send them out to preach).  These two terms are used interchangeably for the twelve.  Disciple means "learner," and apostle means "one sent out."  Jesus gave them power to perform miracles, my study Bible says, while He performed them by His own power.  The names of the Twelve are not the same in all lists, for many people had more than one name.  

 

We notice how Christ's ministry unfolds.  A great multitude now follows Christ from all over the territories where Jews live in the region: from Galilee, and from Judea and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon.  These are Jewish territories such as Judea and Jerusalem, places of mixed populations like Galilee, and also Gentile territories of Tyre and Sidon.   These come to Him and have all heard of Him and the things He does; His reputation now means His very life is threatened with all those who crowd in simply to touch Him.  It also seems to be getting harder to keep His messianic identity secret, as the demons reveal who He is when they cry out.  All of this is happening at the same time the religious authorities grow more hostile to Him and plan to destroy Him, together with the Herodians (see yesterday's reading, above).  The Herodians are the supporters of Herod's regime, which is nominally Jewish but rules for Rome.  So the state power now also has taken notice of Him.  Amidst this mixed bag of responses to Christ's ministry, Jesus takes a bold step forward.  He goes up on a high mountain, indicating an encounter with God, and a signal that nothing Jesus does is without the close and prayerful collaboration with God the Father, and He unfolds a new movement within His ministry.  His growing popularity seemingly becomes a signal that it is time to spread, or perhaps more significantly, to share His power and distribute it (as eventually the Eucharist will be distributed).  From among His disciples He chooses twelve.  Significantly, of course, this is the number of the tribes or patriarchs of Israel.  These twelve will live with Him (and thereby be His disciples, learning everything from Him at close quarters), and eventually be sent out on missions by Him, carrying His word and -- again significantly -- His power out into the world.  It would seem at this point to go without saying that wherever Christ power extends, wherever His name and His reputation become known, there also opposition will spring up as well.  This remains true today as it was then, and we should take it as a given as a part of the Church.  For, as we can see, despite the opposition, Jesus presses on, and so this is His mission.  He continues to expand.  It's notable to understand, as my study Bible remarks, that Jesus shares His power with His chosen disciples (who become also apostles).  That is, my study Bible noted that Jesus used His power to perform His miracles, and whatever the disciples will do, it is through Christ sharing or distributing His power through them.  Also included in today's lectionary reading is a passage from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians.  St. Paul speaks of his coming to Corinth, and writes, "But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power. For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power. What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?" (1 Corinthians 4:19-21).  Here St. Paul's letter seems to affirm for us this property of power -- shared by Christ -- as being the true marker of the kingdom of God.  In the case of what Christ distributes to the disciples who will become apostles, the emphasis is more on the authority He conveys to them to have power to command the demons to be cast out of those whom they afflict, but the effect of the two statements is the same.  There is a power to the word that St. Paul alludes to, and it is not merely in the repetition of words or the statements people make.  It is something -- just like the authority Christ gives to the apostles -- which carries the Kingdom with it.  Let us ponder this authority and power -- and the palpable presence of the Kingdom -- as we continue through Lent, and prepare for Easter and Resurrection ahead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take heed that no one deceives you

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

 

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.  Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

 

- Matthew 24:1-14 

 

Yesterday we finished reading chapter 23 of St. Matthew's Gospel.  The entire chapter was taken up by Jesus' final sermon, a lengthy indictment of the hypocritical ways of the scribes and Pharisees.  We began reading that sermon in Wednesday's reading.  Yesterday, we read that Jesus taught,  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your father's guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation."

 

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans during the Siege of Jerusalem.  This prophesy is quite literally true; all the remains today of the temple is one retaining wall of the temple, known as the Western Wall (formerly called the Wailing Wall).  Note ways in which this prophecy is connected to Christ's condemnation of the practices of the Pharisees and scribes in yesterday's reading, above.

 

 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  My study Bible comments that the Scriptures describe the end times in a variety of ways, so that there is no precise chronology that can be determined from them (see Daniel 7 - 12; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10; and the Book of Revelation).  It notes that Christ's emphasis is on watchfulness and the practice of virtue, rather than constructing timetables of things that have not yet happened.  Here in St. Matthew's account, the end described encompasses the initial sorrows (in today's reading), and in our following readings will cover the great tribulation (verses 15-28), and the coming of the Son of Man (verses 29-31).  The period of the great tribulation, it is important to note, includes all of the Christian era, and is not, as some teach, limited to the final years before Christ's return. 

 

 And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many."  Christ warnings against deception are given the most emphasis here, stated first.  Of particular importance, my study Bible says, is the warning against following a false Christ, which Jesus will stress again in verses 11, and 23-27.

 

"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows."  My study Bible notes that the wars mentioned here refer first and foremost to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but also certainly include subsequent wars.  Wars are not a sign of the imminent end, it says, but of the opposite -- that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).  

 

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  My study Bible comments that all these calamities and all this opposition cannot stop the spread of the gospel, and indeed it has been seen that the persecutions against the Church often increase the number of those being converted.  St. John Chrysostom marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they could not prevail over twelve Jews unarmed with anything except the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

 

 My study Bible comments that Jesus' most significant emphasis, in this prophecy of "end times," is a warning against deception.  As we live in an age of great manipulation of images and of information, with ever increasing development of new tools for doing so through popular communications, we should especially pay heed to such warnings.  If we as human beings and followers of Christ always needed to be on our guard against false christs and false prophets, then perhaps we need do so now and in the future more so than ever.  One can only imagine that the capacity for deception and manipulation will only grow with newer and more powerful technologies.  Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) our means of perception as human beings remains perhaps the same as it ever was.  We don't have automatic faculties for knowing what is true and what is phony.  Every day on popular media such as Facebook or TikTok or YouTube, one can see manipulated images created by the new versions of AI (Artificial Intelligence) software which grow exponentially with investment and development.  It seems inevitable that much of our daily business and commerce will be done through various forms of this software, even as it grows in applications for various service interfaces, including decision-making.  The point of recounting these modern phenomena is not to frighten people or make readers more worried for the future, but to point out that Christ's words and warnings about potential deception may grow in significance as we enter into the technological developments of today and the years immediately to come.  Jesus is, in this sense, more prescient than ever, and His words carry an even greater significance for us.  Our response to such phenomena requires us to hold fast to the things of faith with every effort we can muster, and this most certainly includes faith and prayer practices.  For in a world increasingly overtaken by disinformation and false stories generated for clicks and likes (and possibly through bad actors who seek to foment dissension and rancor within our societies), we truly need to hold fast to Christ's light that leads us through a world in which temptations and manipulation have always played a role as stumbling blocks for us.  We need to shore up our faith and prayer practices if only to meet the powerful tools that may mislead us in the future, into believing false things that do not serve the purposes of God, and turn us more and more against one another so that we don't see where the true interests of our faith lie, the narrow and difficult way of the Cross for us.  We need to focus on that life of the soul and the light of Christ which so eluded the Pharisees in their blindness and hypocrisy, focused so heavily on the external forces of worldly power and authority.  All of these new distractions have the effect of pulling us ever more vigorously into the world of competition and competing narratives, including by false actors who do not share our best interests, and certainly not those of community nor love as Christ would have it.  So, our response is to hold fast to things He said, and to "endure to the end" in so doing.  All of the things Christ has prophesied in today's reading are things many of us observe seemingly growing around us:  wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation, earthquakes and other natural disasters, and sorrows abound.  Christians remain under persecution in various parts of the world, and this phenomenon is more frequent than most people know.  Over the past century there has been a dramatic reduction of Christian populations through persecution, especially in the Middle East (estimates claim Christians formed 20% of the population of Middle Eastern countries a century ago, down to perhaps 5% now).   Even in the nations which claim freedom of religion, those who call themselves Christians may find themselves the object of hatred.  Offenses, betrayals, hatreds seem to come up out of nowhere at times.  And this is the place where Christ says that "false prophets' can arise to deceive.  Perhaps His most ringing words for us today teach us that lawlessness will abound, and with that the love of many will grow cold.  As once-common notions of civility disintegrate, even communal understanding of the basic respect for shared humanity becomes more fragile.  We are here in the world to "endure to the end" carrying our Cross, and the light of Christ with us and within us.  Let us make every effort to do as He says, in all the ways available for our faith.   Even so, through the same technology and communications, we can see as well that the gospel of the kingdom is increasingly preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and so we go forward in His name.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then they all forsook Him and fled

 

 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.  Now His betrayer had given the a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely."  As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.  And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me.  But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  Then they all forsook Him and fled. 

 

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body.  And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked. 

 

- Mark 14:43–52 

 

In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus said to disciples following their Passover meal (the Last Supper), "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise. Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to  be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will but what You will."  Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand." 

 

 And immediately, while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.  Now His betrayer had given the a signal, saying, "Whomever I kiss, He is the One; seize Him and lead Him away safely."  As soon as he had come, immediately he went up to Him and said to Him, "Rabbi, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.  Again, the text emphasizes the depth of betrayal by Judas, repeating that he is one of the twelve (see also verse 20).   The fact that a kiss is needed to signal the mob, my study Bible notes, is a commentary on those who comprised this mob.  The Jewish leaders and even the most common people would have recognized Jesus.  This shows that the soldiers were mercenaries, sent by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, a group which included Romans according to St. John's Gospel (John 18:3).  

 

Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.  And one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.  Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me?  I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize Me.  But the Scriptures must be fulfilled."  Then they all forsook Him and fled.   In John 18:10 St. Peter is identified as the one with the sword.   My study Bible comments that he still does not understand that Christ is going to His death willingly, so that salvation for mankind would be fulfilled.  That His death was foretold in the Scriptures served to strengthen the disciples at their hour of greatest need.  

 

Now a certain young man followed Him, having a linen cloth thrown around his naked body.  And the young men laid hold of him, and he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.  My study Bible reports that to flee naked is a great shame and humiliation (Ezekiel 16:39; Amos 2:16).   Some teach that this young man was James, the brother of the Lord (Galatians 1:19), while others claim he is the apostle John, who was the youngest of the twelve.  Most others, my study Bible says, believe this was Mark, the author of this Gospel, as it was a common literary device for a writer not to give his own name (see Luke 24:13; John 21:24).  The other Evangelists do not report this incident.  They would not have been inclined to humiliate Mark, whereas Mark would have been more likely to relate such an event concerning himself.  

 

The humility of Mark possibly describing himself as the one who fled naked teaches us something about the disposition of the apostles, particularly as they went out into a hostile world to preach and teach.  This attitude of humility, even to the point of describing events that happened to himself in a way that is not just humble, but in fact humiliating and shameful, once again teaches us something powerful about our faith and especially these earliest founders of our Church.  Even such horrific events, this story seems to say, as the betrayal of Jesus by one of the twelve, does not stop our need for obedience to Christ's commandments even down to the smallest consideration for the attitude He asks of us, especially in those who are charged with spreading the gospel message.  The Gospels do not shrink from presenting the disciples even in incidents that reflect mistakes of perhaps the most serious -- and even embarrassing and humiliating --kind.  In today's reading, not only is the story of the young man fleeing naked present, but also the story of the one who wielded the sword and cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus replies to His disciple with a rebuke:  "Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?" (see Matthew 26:50-55).  Notice also that today's reading tells us that once His disciples realize that Jesus goes voluntarily, then they all forsook Him and fled.  There are other incidents as well which show the apostles in even embarrassing or humiliating light, such as St. Peter being rebuked by Christ telling him, "Get behind Me, Satan!" (Matthew 16:23) and, of course, his denial of Christ as prophesied by Jesus, after his protests to the contrary (as we will read in the continuation of this chapter; verses 66-72).  There are a number of times when the disciples are presented as completely missing the point of what Christ is trying to tell them, and also somewhat failing in their faith.  We must be not only entirely grateful that our faith admits to our weaknesses as human beings, with a ready understanding that it is up to us to remain humble and return to Christ when we fail, with full offering of love and forgiveness accompanying repentance, and also remedies for sin which involve penitence which is therapeutic in nature.  In short, our faith offers to us a realistic picture of who we are and how we are nonetheless to practice our faith, and to rely on Christ, even in the most difficult of circumstances.  In the Revelation, the Lord says, "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.  Therefore be zealous and repent"  (Revelation 3:19), but all of this is within the realm of love, and the invitation that follows:  "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Revelation 3:20-21).  We are imperfect creatures, meant to be "learners" (the literal meaning of the word translated as disciples), and we're burdened by a world filled with all the effects of sin and evil.  But we have a greater good and salvation in Christ who loves us, and the great and overcoming grace of God.  Let us also learn to be humble, and to serve God's loving commandments for us all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night

 

 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

'I will strike the Shepherd,

And the sheep will be scattered.'

 "But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise. 

 

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to  be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will but what You will."  Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

 

- Mark 14:27–42 

 

Yesterday we read that, on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat of the Passover?"  And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.  Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?"'  Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us."  So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as he had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.  In the evening He came with the twelve.  Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me."  And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?"  And another said, "Is it I?"  He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise.  Jesus quotes from the prophet Zechariah (see Zechariah 13:7).  Jesus makes another prophecy of His own regarding His disciples, and especially St. Peter, that they all will be made to stumble "because of Me" this night.  For St. Peter in particular, Jesus also has very detailed words, that "even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."

 

 Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  Gethsemane means "oil press," and it is the name for this orchard of olive trees which is at the foot of the Mount of Olives.  Jesus has intentionally come to a place known to his disciples, including his betrayer Judas.  See John 18:2.

 

 And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to  be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will but what You will."  Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."  Abba, my study Bible explains, is the Aramaic familiar form for Father.  It's equivalent is "Papa," and it indicates Christ's intimacy with God the Father.  This cup refers to His impending death.  In accordance with Christ's divine nature, my study Bible says, He goes willingly to His death.  But as a human being, He wishes He could avoid it, as it is the mark of humanity to abhor death.  He prays that if it were possible, it would be taken away from Him.  My study Bible calls this abundant proof of His human nature.  At the same time, nevertheless, He is without sin and completely subjects and unites His human will to the Father's divine will.  

 

 In the context of today's reading, and yesterday's reading and commentary in which the focus was betrayal, perhaps it is a good idea to extend that commentary and consider, from today's reading, the effects of sin.  Sin doesn't happen in a vacuum.  It is not simply a one-time act which has no extended effects and is forgotten about.  Even when we repent of our sin, sin can still have continuing effects in our world and upon others, and within community.  A father who commits a crime, and goes to prison -- even doing his time and fully repenting of the crime -- still has effects upon his children and family because of the consequences of the sin.  The children grow up with a missing father, and they will have to reconcile themselves to the reasons he was gone from them.  There might be extended problems with money, with support for a family and a spouse.  We can imagine the possibilities.  In terms of the theology of the Orthodox Church, this is how the problem of "original sin" is viewed.  Subsequent generations are not guilty of the sin, but they are faced with the consequences of the sin, and must cope with the conditions created by the sin they're not responsible for.  This is how the "fallen world" is understood.  So, let us take a look once again at this sin of betrayal by Judas, and consider the long-term secondary effects of his act.  Of course we know of Christ's Crucifixion to come.  We know, as Jesus predicts in today's reading, that the disciples will be made to stumble this night.   This word for "made to stumble" is literally to scandalize in the Greek (from σκανδαλίζω/skandalizo), which is a word that derives from a hunter's trap; i.e. to "trip up."  They will all stumble because of Him, He says.  But even as Jesus goes to the garden of Gethsemane deliberately, knowing He will be betrayed by Judas this night, He is prepared for the effects of betrayal, and predicts to the disciples that they will "fall away" from Him (another possible meaning of skandalizo).  This falling away is a stumble or sin itself on the part of the disciples, but Christ understands the effects of what He is walking into, and as they return to Him they will be forgiven.  So Judas' betrayal has the effect of striking the Shepherd, and scattering the sheep, as it says in the quotation from Zechariah.  The effects of betrayal are a falling away of trust, as the disciples with few exceptions will go into hiding, and even St. Peter will turn away through his own denial of Christ, as prophesied also by Jesus in today's reading.  Simply from its immediate effects, we can see that one sin leads to others in its effects and the hardship and broken relationships and communion it brings to others.  We know the crowds will be induced to shout for Jesus' death, another sin made possible because of Judas' betrayal, and a rather notorious murderer will therefore be freed in Christ's place, despite Pilate's efforts at His trial (Mark 15:11-13).  Judas himself, of course, will in turn be betrayed in a sense by those whom he has served.  He will commit suicide as a result of his act, unable to find repentance and forgiveness in his remorse without Christ (Matthew 27:3-5).  These are simply the immediate effects of Judas' sin of betrayal.  Of course, the long-term effects are far-reaching and even continue with us until this day.   The most significant  thing to remark upon is perhaps that God takes all things and turns them to God's purposes, in that the spectacular failure of the Crucifixion is in His Resurrection and victory over death for all of us.   As St. Paul writes, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).  But we cannot say that this extraordinary outcome of salvation for all the world is the effect of Judas' sin, but rather it is the effect of the work of God that turns all things to God's purposes.  When we think about committing any kind of sin, taking a short cut, thinking that somehow our plans might work better than seeking God's way, or that we can manipulate our way into a better world or outcome, we should consider the effects of sin we cannot control nor predict.  Outcomes are seldom under any person's full control.  For this reason, we seek God's will in all things, we try to grow in discipleship and discernment and prayer, we put all things in the hands of God -- and we know that forgiveness comes with repentance, and a return to our Lord is the way to salvation even midst those negative effects.  Jesus advises the disciples, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  This is the way through extreme difficulties.  Let us face all things with Him.  St. Paul will come to write, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).  Let us follow in our own struggle for faith.