For of such is the kingdom of God

 

 Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And he answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

 

Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And he took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

 

- Mark 10:1–16 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus taught (following upon His teaching in this reading), "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.  If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.' And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.  It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire -- where 'Their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'  For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt.  Salt is good, but if the salt loses flavor, how will you season it?  Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

 

  Then He arose from there and came to the region of Judea by the other side of the Jordan.  And multitudes gathered to Him again, and as He was accustomed, He taught them again.  The Pharisees came and asked Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" testing Him.  And he answered and said to them, "What did Moses command you?"  They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.  But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'  'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."  In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter.  So He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."  The basis for the Pharisees' question is Deuteronomy 24:1-4.  My study Bible comments that, in contrast to the easy access to divorce under the Mosaic Law, and because of the misuse of divorce in His day, Jesus repeatedly condemns divorce (in St. Matthew's Gospel, He does so both in the Sermon on the Mount, and later in a setting similar to this one; see Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:1-12).  He emphasizes the eternal nature of marriage.  Jesus quotes from Genesis 1:27; 2:24.  My study Bible comments also that God's condescension, or allowance for human weakness, does not override the original principle of monogamous marriage as revealed in Genesis 1 and 2.  With authority, He adds His own clear prohibition against divorce.  See also Malachi 2:15-16.

 

 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.  But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."  And he took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.  My study Bible cites Theophylact, who comments that the disciples rebuked the mothers for bringing little children to Christ both because their manner was "unruly" and because they thought children "diminished His dignity as Teacher and Master."  But Christ rejects this thinking, and even sets little children as an example of those who inherit the kingdom of God.  Therefore, in the tradition of the Orthodox, children are invited (even as an example to adults) to participate in the Kingdom through prayer, worship, baptism, chrismation, and Communion.  In Christ's context here, little children are the standard of faith by which adults receive the kingdom of God, and not the other way around.  Theophylact writes, "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.  He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity."

 

 If we think about the sacrament of marriage as a holy institution (Holy Matrimony), then we begin to understand the perspective here.  What is holy is eternal, and that touches upon not simply our material lives, but our souls -- the deepest part of who we are as creatures of God.  It seems clear that we must see things from Christ's perspective and knowledge of the things that are eternal in order to understand what this union making "one flesh" really means, and what His teaching implies to us.  This eternal nature of marriage also extends to His illuminating statement in response to a question by the Sadducees regarding the life of resurrection, which we'll read later on in Mark's Gospel (Mark 12:18-27).  They test Jesus, posing a scenario of a woman married successively to seven brothers, and asking whose wife she is in the resurrection.  There Christ responds to describe this eternal life of the resurrection as one in which "they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven."  From this illuminating glimpse of eternal life, it seems that we might infer that marriage itself extends to life even in this entirely different context and reality, and it gives a perspective on who we are in terms of the possibilities that God extends to us beyond our lives in this world.  Therefore we might consider the eternal quality conferred by holy sacrament as that which changes and transforms even the nature of human beings, making the seemingly impossible possible -- such as two becoming one flesh.  There is further commentary on divorce in my study Bible regarding it as a concession to our imperfect worldly life.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus cites the possibility of divorce based on sexual immorality (Matthew 19:9).  My study Bible adds that the permissible reasons for divorce were expanded in the ancient Church to include threat to a spouse's or child's life and desertion, in all cases acknowledging the spiritual tragedy of such a situation.  Importantly, it shows us that like so many other things, marriage can be destroyed by sin.  The quality of the little children praised by Christ in today's reading adds a poignant note to our consideration of issues of divorce, especially its impact on children and their importance and precious value in God's sight.  It may be surprising to learn that the Pharisees actually viewed divorce more closely to Jesus' perspective than their counterparts did, due to the abuses of divorce for financial gain in their time.  But any way that we look at today's reading, this eternal sense of the preciousness of life and the soul, and our own possibilities for resurrection and salvation, add to a deep sense of the transcendent nature of relationships and the depth of love brought to us by Jesus Christ.  For He is the true icon of marriage in His role as Bridegroom wedded to His Church, and this is particularly true in the sacrifices He will undergo for union with all of us.  What He considered to be worthy of every sacrifice we should take as microcosm for how love and marriage work, how relationship in its deepest sense is worthy of the mutual sacrifices we are prepared to make for what is precious -- and perhaps even priceless. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you

 

 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.  

 

Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.  Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  

 

 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple and blessing God.  Amen.

 

- Luke 24:36–53 

 

Yesterday we read that, after the report of the women telling the apostles about the angel at the tomb and the announcement that Christ was risen, Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.  Now behold, two of them were traveling that say day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.  And they talked together of all these things which had happened.  So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.  But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.  And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"  Then one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there these days?"  And He said to them, "What things?"  So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.  But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.  Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.  Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.  When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.  And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."  Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!  Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"  And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.  But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent."  And He went in to stay with them.   Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.  Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"  So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"  And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.  

 

 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you."  But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit.  Christ's resurrectional greeting, "Peace to you," is proclaimed by the priest or the bishop frequently in Orthodox worship services, as well as in many other denominations. 

 

 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself.  Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.  But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, "Have you any food here?"  So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb.  And He took it and ate in their presence.   My study Bible notes that Christ eats not because He in His resurrected body needs food, but to prove to the disciples that He is truly risen in the flesh.  The spiritual significance given to the fish is active virtue, and in the honeycomb is seen the sweetness of divine wisdom.  

 

 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me."  And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.   My study Bible comments that it is partial faith that one believes either in a Messiah who only suffered or one who would only reign in glory.  Complete faith sees both, for this, as Jesus indicates, is what was foretold in the Law and the Prophets.

 

Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things."  Jesus teaches the disciples the Law and the Prophets and all that they have said about Him which was fulfilled.   Remission of sins, according to my study Bible, refers to the putting away of sins in baptism, which is preached by St. Peter at Pentecost (see Acts 2:38).  

 

"Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  My study Bible tells us that are endued with is literally "have put on," as in putting on clothing.  The same verb found in Ephesians 6:11, which indicates the complete protection of spiritual armor.  Tarry is literally "sit down" in the Greek.  It's an instruction not only to stay in place, but also to take rest and to prepare attentively before a great and difficult task (compare Mark 14:32).   The Promise of My Father, my study Bible explains, is the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:4).  

 

  And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them.  Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up to heaven.  And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple and blessing God.  Amen.  My study Bible comments that the Ascension of Christ is celebrated forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1:3).  This event fulfills the type given when Elijah ascended in a fiery chariot (2 Kings 2:11) and marks the completion of Christ's glorification and lordship over all creation.  At the Incarnation, my study Bible says, Christ brought His divine nature to human nature.  In the mystery of the Ascension, Christ now brings human nature to the divine Kingdom.  There He reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit in His glorified body.  This reveals His glorified human nature -- even human flesh -- to be worshiped by the whole angelic realm.  In the Orthodox Church it is sung at Vespers of Ascension, "The angels were amazed seeing a Man so exalted."  In some icons of the Ascension, Christ's white robes are tinted red in order to indicate the shedding of His blood for the redemption of the world, and the ascent of that life-giving blood into heaven (Isaiah 63:1-3; see also Psalm 24:7-10).

 

 In today's reading, we're told, "Then He said to them, 'These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.'   And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."  Let us note that right from the beginning -- in the sense that life after Christ's Resurrection has begun here at this point in the journey of the disciples -- Jesus offers wisdom.  And the way that Jesus offers them wisdom is not like anyone else teaches us wisdom.  The Gospel tells us that He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.  We have wisdom in the Scriptures, there is wisdom in Christ's teaching, what He literally says to the disciples.  And yet, He also opened their understanding, that they might comprehend.  It takes something more to have understanding, to truly comprehend, than to be told words, than to seek to grasp something intellectually.  Oftentimes, we might hear something and be unable to take it in, to comprehend.  With bad news, this is certainly often the case.  It's also true of news we can barely believe, or things that startle us out of our normal expectations, even exist in contradiction to what we've hoped or assumed.  We need that something different to truly understand and comprehend.  And here is the Promise also mentioned by Jesus, most importantly, in conjunction with His gift of understanding and comprehension:  "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."  This Promise is the Holy Spirit.  In John 14, Jesus tells the disciples at the Last Supper, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you" (John 14:15-18).  A bit farther along, Jesus explains, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you" (John 14:26).  This is the Promise of His companionship, His dwelling within us together with the Father and the Spirit, and the One who will "teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."  This is the One who helps us to know and to understand, to have wisdom, and to comprehend what we need to know as we prayerfully seek His guidance, and the ways in which we are to understand and to follow His commandments in our lives.  Let us consider the communion we have with God, this great, even staggering Promise of such full communion dwelling within us, this indwelling of love:  "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23).  And there is another part to this Promise, that they will be endued with power from on high.  Let us gratefully rejoice in the Promise He offers, and have the hearts to receive, and to cast all aside that conflicts with this great treasure, the Promise, His gift.