Is this not the carpenter's son?

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?  Is this not the carpenter's son?  Is not His mother called Mary?  And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us?  Where then did this Man get all these things?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

 

- Matthew 13:53–58 

 

St. Matthew's chapter 13 is famous for the beautiful yet simple parables Jesus gives which are recorded in it.  These are parables of the kingdom of heaven, described by Jesus as illustrating what it is "like."  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us the final parables of this chapter.  He said, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." 

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?  Is this not the carpenter's son?  Is not His mother called Mary?  And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us?  Where then did this Man get all these things?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  Once again we witness the encounter of Jesus as one who speaks with authority among His own people, so to speak.  This time, Jesus is in His own country, which is Nazareth in Galilee.   My study Bible notes the frequent double response to Jesus; they are both astonished and offended at Him.  These are the neighbors He grew up with, the people who knew Him as the carpenter's son, one of the members of the family they know.  This is not a prominent family who were members of the ruling council, not Levitical priests, not authorities in the synagogue.  So, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?"  Let us remember that to even own a book (or a scroll) is a rather extraordinary thing in Jesus' time, as books were prohibitively costly, time-consuming, and expensive to make.  My study Bible comments that Christ's rejection in His own country fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elijah (Luke 4:23-27), and foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  

 

Jesus goes to His hometown of Nazareth, and He doesn't just rock the boat.  He demolishes the foundation of the social order of the town by being simply "the carpenter's son" and member of this family they know, and yet filled with extraordinary wisdom and making mighty works.  He has burst the bubble of the family order they know, and has become -- made manifest -- the Christ they didn't know.  Perhaps only His mother was truly aware, and had faith in, the person that Jesus always was (Luke 2:18-20; John 2:1-5).  But the world, the general public, would not know anything of His identity as Christ until He began His public ministry, which occurred when He was thirty years old.  So for the neighbors and townspeople, this particular Jesus is one whom they did not know.  He is new to them now.  But Jesus' wisdom and mighty works, and their astonished and offended response to them, in some sense confirms all of Jesus' parables of the kingdom of heaven.  For, if this was not such a rare treasure, would they be so astonished -- and would they be so offended at Jesus' rare possession of such prized treasure in this society?  One thing Jesus' rejection teaches us -- and also in the sense that it echoes the rejection of the prophets who came before the Son came to us in human form -- is that if we prize this treasure of the kingdom of heaven, so we will also face rejection.  We'll face rejection from the envious and those who cannot understand, who expect us to be someone quite different than we are in Christ and through the effects of faith and the working of grace.  The true treasure of the kingdom is that pearl of great price from yesterday's reading, and like the treasure in the parable, it is hidden to others.  In that is our joy.  But in our joy, Jesus has taught us, we will also have tribulation.  "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world"  (John 16:33).  So essential is this lesson in today's reading, that this saying appears in all four Gospels:  "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house" (see also Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44, 1:11).  Let us remember that this treasure of great price is worth every cost, and every effort. 

 

 

One thing you lack

 

 Now as He 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."

 

- Mark 10:17–31 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus 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.

 

 Now as He 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.'"    My study Bible notes that this man, unlike the Pharisees in yesterday's reading (above), does not come to test Jesus.  He comes to seek advice from one whom he considers no more than a Good Teacher.  Jesus' response doesn't deny that He is God, but it's designed to lead this rich young ruler to this knowledge.   

 

 And he answered and said to Him, "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth."  Here my study Bible reflects that formal observance of commandments does not make one righteous before God.  This man had an earnest desire for eternal life, but he sensed that he still lacked something.  So, he continues to press Jesus for the answer.  

 

 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.  To be perfect, my study Bible notes here, one must willingly sacrifice all and follow Christ.   But nothing is gained except that such sacrifice is given freely.  Importantly, it adds that the specifics of how one follows Christ will be different for each person.  In this case, wealth had a great grip on this rich young man, and so his only hope was to sell and give away all his possessions.  According to St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible reports, to give away possessions is the least of Christ's instructions here.  To follow Him in all things is a far greater and more difficult calling. 

 

 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."    My study Bible comments that there have been various interpretations suggested for this impossible image of a camel going through the eye of a needle.  One suggestion is that the word wasn't "camel," but that there is an Aramaic word for "rope" that sounds alike.  Another is that the "eye of a needle" was actually the name for a city gate that was so small, a camel might barely squeeze if it were first unloaded of all its baggage, which thus symbolizes wealth.  In the Talmud there is the expression "for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."  Whatever the phrase refers to, according to my study Bible, it expresses the impossibility of salvation for those who are attached to riches.  Note the word "attached" for therein lies the significance.  The disciples clearly understand this, for they ask, "Who then can be saved?"  But by God's grace, even what is impossible with men is possible with God.  

 

 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."  My study Bible says that Christ not commanding that believers divorce spouses and abandon children here.  It cites the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, who says that this refers to keeping faith under persecution even if it means to lose one's family.  It also means to accept that unbelieving family members may cut of ties because of the believer's faith (see 1 Corinthians 7:12-16).  The promise to believers of a hundredfold of houses and of relatives is not meant in an earthly sense.  Rather, we gain the fathers and mothers of the Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, and houses of worship and fellowship.  

 

How do we approach today's lesson in this story of the rich young ruler who goes away disappointed in what Jesus is telling him?  (We know that he is rich from this story, which appears in the other Synoptic Gospels as well.  St. Luke tells us also that he is a ruler, meaning he belongs to one of the religious ruling classes in the temple, as well as young; see Luke 18:18-29.)  It's first of all very important to understand that when Jesus tells him, "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," that Jesus is speaking out of love.  St. Mark has gone to particular lengths to tell us this plainly, that Jesus, looking at him, loved him before He spoke.  This is not a penalty, and it's not meant as sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice.  This particular sacrifice is meant out of the love Christ has for him, to save his soul, and so that he might become a disciple and find the eternal life with Christ that he seeks.  This wealthy young man has come to Christ in sincerity, asking Him explicitly, "Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" And Jesus gets very particular in responding, telling him exactly what he must do.  First of all, to follow the commandments known from the Old Testament Scriptures.  This the young man has done.  Jesus, loving him, then tells him there is another thing he must do:  "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."  What does his wealth have to do with his capacity to follow Christ, to have treasure in heaven, take up the cross, and follow Christ?  In this case, we are given to understand, even through such great figures of the early Church as St. John Chrysostom, that this is particular advice for this particular young man and his own spiritual state, in the context of his own life and circumstances.  We know he's rich, and he's a ruler.  Jesus is in Judea, so he is likely from a powerful and well-known family.  Equally possible is that his wealth is inherited, and he belongs to what was understood as an aristocratic background within the Jewish community of the temple in Jerusalem.  So his identity as a person, we may assume, is bound up in his possessions.  But the real problem here is not those possessions; it is his attachment to them.  And we see that; we read in the story that even the prospect of eternal life, held out by Christ, cannot take the place of that wealth for this young man.  In our modern world, especially those of us in the West, but truly all of us connected to the world wide web, live in a context of consumerism.  We see objects before us that we would like, we read of delicious foods, we look at images of people we call stars who live in glamorous homes and with great wealth.  The images we choose to watch and look at on social media also form a part of the things which we consume.  And if identity was bound up in wealth and possessions for this young man, it is equally bound up and sold to us as consumers in the modern marketplace, which is now everywhere.  People may buy a type of sneaker because a famous person wears that shoe.  A priest in one of my local parishes once told me he was in the United States Air Force stationed in Iceland, when he realized the power of sales and the worldwide reach of social media.  At that time, the American basketball star Michael Jordan shaved his head.  All around him in Iceland, he immediately saw young men with shaved heads in response.  This is the power of the consumption of images and products with which we choose to identify ourselves; we seek images that convey something to others, and in the world of media in which we all live, such images are often sold to us as products.  Even in choosing a church, many people approach the problem in a kind of consumerist mindset; we decide what we want and don't want, what features we'll accept and not accept.  But Christ presents the opposite.  He presents sacrifice.  Perhaps the ancient world, before the type of development existing in our world today, understood sacrifice better than popular culture does now.  But sacrifice remains essential to our formation as Christians.  We learn to do without the things that tempt us, that harm us spiritually because -- like this rich young ruler -- we become too dependent upon them even if they harm our souls because of this attachment.  We place them before God, before what is actually better for us.  The whole notion of holiness, of what is sacred, comes from the context of being set apart from the world, consecrated for God's purposes.  There are things we need to keep away from in life because they jeopardize our relationship with God, and through God our relationship with the rest of the world.  Addictions of all kinds (including to shopping or gambling, for example) come to mind.  Toxic relationships that take us away from the things God wants us to focus on also are things we might have to sacrifice, just as my study Bible points out above.  In fasting, we learn what we can do without, that we can make disciplined choices to seek God first before other things we might think we simply can't live without.  We learn to resist temptation, and the delusion that tells us we need a particular thing outside the purposes of God in order to be whole.  Fasting teaches us to focus on an internal life, and be filled from the depth of consecration to God, first, and then all things can be added to us (Matthew 6:33).  We learn to refrain from acting out, to master our impulses, for strength under control is the true gentleness and meekness Christ describes, what we need to understand as grace and gracious behavior.  Here is where patience and humility are things we cultivate in order to better follow Christ and expand the true feeding of our souls and our communities.  The disciples recognize where Jesus has led them, saying that they have left all behind for His sake, and He promises a hundredfold of return of what they have left behind.  So it is with us, but that life as an exchange means we have to be willing to grow, to learn His discipline, to find His life that He has in store for us.  Temptation may sometimes seem as if all of this is simply impossible, a too-difficult struggle.  But, as Jesus says, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."  There will always be new ways God calls us forward.  Let us look to that call for the better things of life He offers, and the freedom to be found in His teachings. 

 

 

 

 

 

How can Satan cast out Satan?

 

 And they went into a house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house. 

 

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

 

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

 

- Mark 3:19b–35 

 

Yesterday we read that, as the open hostility of the authorities has begun to grow (Mark 3:6), 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.

 

  And they went into a house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  There are some who have commented that all of the attention Jesus is drawing is focusing unwanted public scrutiny on the family, and is to some extent scandalous in and of itself.  Perhaps they desire simply to have Him withdraw from so much public attention, and especially the by now open hostility of the religious authorities, who plot together with the Herodians (supporters of Herod's dynasty which rules for Rome) to destroy Him.  Perhaps they're making excuses for Him for the same reason.  Additionally, as St. John's Gospel tells us, in the midst of His public ministry His brothers (extended kin or perhaps stepbrothers from an earlier marriage of St. Joseph) also did not believe in Him (John 7:1-5).

 

And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house."  Beelzebub was a name used by the Jews for the god Baal. In Canaanite practice, Baal was used to mean "lord" and so it's based on a name for the local god of a particular city.  This name is likely meant to ridicule this god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  It means prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Here, this god is called ruler of the demons.  My study Bible says that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus.  

 

 "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  My study Bible identifies blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit; that is, blasphemy against pure goodness.  These religious authorities, thoroughly versed in Scripture, know well the divine activity of the Spirit, and this type of blasphemy will not be forgiven because it comes from a willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  Moreover, my study Bible notes that Church Fathers are very clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin and neither does Jesus call it "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Christ makes this declaration, my study Bible says, knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and they are beyond repentance by their own choice.

 

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."  My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  Jesus points to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of God.  Here my study Bible further explains that in Jewish usage, brother might indicate any number of relations.  In the Scriptures, Abraham called his nephew Lot "brother" (Genesis 14:14); Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his brother in Ruth 4:3; and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (2 Samuel 20:9).  In Christian tradition and understanding, Jesus Himself had no blood brothers; Mary had only one Son.  These brothers mentioned here (as we said above) are either stepbrothers (sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  When Jesus commits His mother to the care of John at the Cross (John 19:25-27) it must reasonably be understood that this would have been unthinkable in the context of contemporaneous culture if Mary had other children to care for her.  

 

 Jesus asks, "How can Satan cast out Satan?"  He frames this question within an image of competing kingdoms and the warfare between them.  He says, " If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house."  Here, "house" indicates a dynasty, a lineage, a ruling family, even an empire.  Everything within the sphere of that "house" belongs to it.  We should take this very seriously that Jesus frames the action of Satan in this way, for He gives us a picture of a spiritual battle that is always going on, and in so doing, makes a mockery out of the accusation that He casts out demons (practices exorcism) by the power of demons, or the power of Satan.  He is the "stronger man" in the image of His parable about kingdoms and strong men.  He is the one who can bind and plunder Satan's goods and his house.  This will be the effect of the Cross, of Christ's Passion, death, and Resurrection; His ministry is one of liberation and deliverance for humankind, and for the whole of creation.  I watched an interesting video on making the sign of the Cross, by Fr. Mesrop Ash, a priest of the Armenian Apostolic Church (video link here).  Father Mesrop makes it clear that for our earliest Christian ancestors, the sign of the Cross was a kind of seal.  Seals have always been associated with "houses," as in the sense of a dynasty or reigning family.  When we make this sign upon ourselves, we're sealing ourselves with the sign of Christ, that we are Christians, and that we belong to Him and to His house.  We should consider carefully in this light Christ's words in today's reading, as we think of ruling houses, lineage, and seals:  "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."  When we make the sign of the Cross over ourselves, we seal ourselves with His seal, with the seal of our faith, His house, as Christians.  A "sign" is also in traditional and historical use another name for a flag, as in the flag of a nation, a clan, a house, or ruling dynasty.  Armies go to war under particular flags for this reason.  A flag works in the same way that a seal does, to indicate that a person or any other thing belongs to that house, clan, country, ruling government.  We are of the kingdom of Christ, and in today's reading, it is Jesus Himself who gives us clear indication just how important it is that we identify or seal ourselves with a particular sign of a particular ruling  power.  We belong to His house, and His house is opposed and "throws out" the troops of Satan, and plunders his goods, taking back souls and freeing them.  Let us remember with what seal we seal ourselves, and find meaning in being His family, under the rule and protection of His house.

 

 

 

My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready

 

 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.  Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  

 

But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.

 

- John 7:1-13 

 

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

 

  After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.   As we begin chapter 7, we open up a section of the Gospel of John which includes chapters 7, 8, 9 and part of 10 (John 7 - 10:21).  This is a section that covers Christ's visit to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles.  The entire section covers an eight-day period.  At this festival, taking place during the final year of Christ's earthly life, Jesus taught in the temple and He attracted a great deal of public attention.  (This is already understood as something Jesus is aware of and wary about, as we're told He did not want to walk in Judea, for He's aware the religious leaders now seek to kill Him.)  Some of the people thought Jesus was mad (verse 20), some believed He is the Messiah (verses 31, 40) -- and others, such as the Sadducees and the Pharisees considered Him a threat (verses 32, 45-52).  The Jews who sought to kill Him refers to the religious leaders, and not the people in general.  At the approximate time of the writing of this Gospel, followers of Jesus had begun to be persecuted in the synagogues (and by the Romans), and the term "Christian" is first used.  The author of the Gospel, Jesus and His followers, and all the others in the stories of this section are Jews.

 

 Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.  The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Sukkot, is an eight-day autumn harvest festival.  It commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai.  During that time, the people lived in tents, or "tabernacles."  Together with Passover and Pentecost, my study Bible explains, this was one of the three most important festivals of the ancient Jews.  It included many sacrifices and celebrations (Leviticus 23:33-43).  In later times, the final day included drawing water from the pool of Siloam, to be mixed with wine and poured at the foot of the altar, both as purification and in remembrance of the water flowing from the rock struck by Moses (Exodus 17:1-7), and we will read this significance in Christ's acts and preaching.  Moreover the lighting of the great lamps in the outer court of the temple provide a backdrop for Christ's discourses and images of light invoked.  See also 2 Maccabees 10:5-9.

 

 His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.  For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.  If You do these things, show Yourself to the world."  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.  Then Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.  The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.  You go up to this feast.  I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come."  When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee.  Christ's brothers are either stepbrothers from an earlier marriage of His earthly guardian Joseph, or they are other extended family such as cousins.  In Middle Eastern usage, then and now, the term "brother" can mean all of these.  As we can see, His relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission (see also, for example, Matthew 12:46-50).  For examples of the use of the word brother to indicate any number of relations, see Genesis 14:14 in which Abram's nephew Lot is referred to as his "brother"; Ruth 4:3, in which Boaz speaks of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother"; and 2 Samuel 20:9 in which Joab calls his cousin Amasa "brother."  Christ had no blood brothers, as Mary had only one Son:  Jesus.  This is the witness of the Church and the Gospels.  My study Bible mentions that Christ commits His mother to the care of John (the author of this Gospel) at the Cross (John 19:25-27), which indeed would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her. 

 

  But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, "Where is He?"  And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  some said, "He is good"; others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people."  However, no one spoke openly of Him for fear of the Jews.  My study Bible explains that not openly means not with a grand, public entrance, such as on Palm Sunday.   That will initiate the events of "His time" to which He refers above (verses 6, 8).

 

 In all things, we seem to read about Christ's discernment.  We might think that, in His identity as Son of the Living God (see St. Peter's confession from yesterday's reading, above, John 6:69) Jesus can simply do anything He wants.  While He speaks truths quite valiantly (again, as in our recent readings in which He speaks of eating His Body and Blood), and accepts the consequences -- such as many of His followers leaving Him, Jesus is also always discerning.  He does not simply come out and conquer.  Neither does He force.  Rather, in the words of St. Athanasius we quoted in yesterday's commentary, Christ speaks and acts in ways not to compel, but to persuade.  So it is in today's reading when He chooses not to go up to this festival "openly"; that is, not in the way He will enter Jerusalem to initiate His final week on earth, His Passion, and Holy Week.  Notice the attention paid to time, and to the proper time.  Each moment has its own importance.  At this time it's important for Christ not to go to Jerusalem openly, but "in secret."  At the time of the next Passover Feast, He will go with a very public awareness of His travel to and entrance into Jerusalem.  So we should learn from Christ about discernment, about a prayerful life.  What God has prepared us for is one thing, but to confuse what may be proper at one time with what is proper at another is a mistake that may lead to an unfortunate conclusion.  Christ lives a prayerful life, always in obedience to God the Father, always seeking the correct way to live His ministry at each juncture and development.  Now it is not the proper time for an open or flagrant conflict with the religious authorities.  But there will come a time when it is proper to go to His Passion.  Let us learn from Him and from His discernment.  As we observed earlier (and in commentary on yesterday's passage), Christ seeks to persuade, not to compel.  Both His words (as in yesterday's reading) and His actions (as in today's) speak of this need in His ministry for a conduct that indeed fulfills all righteousness (Matthew 3:15).  In His loyalty and love of the Father, Christ's ministry unfolds as it is fitting and right, with prayer and discernment, always seeking the Father's will.  So it should be in our own lives, as imperfectly as we might be discerning in comparison to Christ.  But this is the image He gives us of the way to serve, and to live our faith.  So let us be faithful to it as He is. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Behold the Lamb of God!

 

 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."  And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.   I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."

 

 Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).

 

- John 1:(29–34) 35–42 

 

Yesterday we read the beginning of Christ's public ministry, which begins with the testimony of John the Baptist.  Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."  And they asked him, "What then?  Are you Elijah?"  He said, "I am not."  "Are you the Prophet?"  And he answered, "No."  Then they said to him, "Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us?  What do you say about yourself?"  He said:  "I am 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  "Make straight the way of the LORD," ' as the prophet Isaiah said."  Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.  And they asked him, saying, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"  John answered them, saying, "I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know.  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose."  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 

 

 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!  This is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.'  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."   My study Bible comments that John's declaring Jesus as the Lamb of God recalls Isaiah's "Servant of God" who dies for the transgressions of His people (Isaiah 53:4-12).  Christ is the true Paschal (Passover) Lamb, and He offers Himself for our deliverance from darkness and death (1 Peter 1:18-19).  According to my study Bible, St. John Chrysostom teaches that Jesus came to John this second time in order for John to make this declaration, and thereby stop anyone from thinking that Jesus needed baptism to wash away sins. 

 

 And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him.   I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."  That the Spirit remained upon Him, my study Bible says, was a sign that Christ possesses the Spirit in His fullness from all eternity.  Christ did not receive the Holy Spirit at His Baptism; this vision which John saw was a revelation of the truth that the Holy Spirit has always rested on Christ.  This completes the second day given in St. John's Gospel; as John the Baptist declares that Christ baptizes with the Holy Spirit, which is greater than John's own baptism of repentance, which was performed with water on earth.  This is a parallel to the separation of water above from water below on the second day of creation in Genesis 1:6-8.

 

Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciples.  And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, "Behold the Lamb of God!"  The two disciples heard him, and they followed Jesus.  Then Jesus turned, and seeing them following, said to them, "What do you seek?"  They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which is to say, when translated, Teacher), "where are You staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see."  They came and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day (now it was about the tenth hour).  One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).  And he brought him to Jesus.  Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah.  You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).  Here we are given the third day in St. John's Gospel, in which John the Baptist sends two disciples to Christ whom Christ gathers to be His own, one of whom Jesus declares to be the foundation of the Church (see Matthew 16:18).  This parallels the gathering of the waters and the establishment of growth on the land on the third day in Genesis 1:9-13.  These first disciples now called by Christ had been followers of John.  They are Andrew and Simon (also known as Peter, or Cephas).  On the following day (in our next reading), there will be two more disciples called by Jesus.  There is yet another disciple who is unnamed here; according to some patristic commentary he is John the Evangelist himself, author of this Gospel.  My study Bible explains that it was a common literary device for a writer not to give his own name (see Luke 24:13).  

 

St. John the Evangelist begins his Gospel with the words "In the beginning," paralleling Genesis and the creation story. What follows his Prologue, so far in this first chapter of his Gospel, is a day by day account of Christ's public ministry.  In so doing, St. John gives us a glimpse into the building of this ministry, and what we notice, just as the Gospel builds this story by approaching it day by day, is that nothing happens simply by fiat.  That is, Christ starts small, and goes step by step.  He doesn't immediately declare the establishment of His Church, although one would consider that Christ, as Second Person of the Trinity and Son, can do anything He wants to.  Instead, just as the story of the Incarnation is essential to our understanding of Christ, Jesus' building of His Church and His public ministry is part of the Incarnation, and, we can extrapolate, the "work" of the Incarnation.  In understanding the purpose of Christ, as God, becoming a human being, the theology of the Church teaches us (notably according to St. Athanasius of Alexandria) that Christ was meant to assume all aspects of humanity in order to bring healing to all aspects of our lives.  This would include the things by which all human endeavors are bound, such as time and space, the communication necessary between people, and perhaps most notably the interpersonal connections shaped in the reality of Creator to creature as manifested through the Incarnation.  Christ, as the Good Shepherd (as He will call Himself) calls to His sheep, and knows them all by name, as they know Him.  See John 10:1-6.  Ironically, when Jesus makes this statement about Himself in chapter 10 of this Gospel, the religious leadership has no idea what He is talking about, but their expectations of the Messiah are all to be confounded in those who lack faith.  But we, through the benefit of the understanding in the mind of the Church, can appreciate that Christ's work in this world is, in particular, the specific work of the Incarnation, meant to take on all aspects of humanity even as Christ remains fully divine, in order to heal the world and fulfill all righteousness.  So, as we readers seek our own understanding of our faith, let us take heart that for our Creator, all aspects of the human experience and the building of His Church are crucially important to assume, and so this teaches us as well that our perfectly human endeavors also may shine with the light of Christ, even as we build what is good in our lives, bit by bit, person by person, drop by drop (so to speak).  Let us hastily admit here that it remains to be seen throughout the reading of this Gospel just how imperfect even these chosen disciples can be in their understanding and reception of His teachings.  When we question our own capacities to build up something in our lives, let us not be impatient with ourselves and with the reality of the nature of life in this world, for even our Lord has done the same, started small, and through His grace and presence enshrined and made holy even the smallest of endeavors.  Let us continue in all ways in our lives to seek to embody the things which Christ teaches us, acting and calling upon His name, His light, to guide us and help us.  Let us remain in His peace, and grow in patience and strength, as we are able (see also Galatians 5:22-23).  May the grace of our Lord inform all our endeavors, even those which don't always work the ways we wanted them to (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

 

 

 

 

A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?  Is this not the carpenter's son?  Is not His mother called Mary?  And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us?  Where then did this Man get all these things?  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

 

- Matthew 13:53-58 

 

In our recent readings (beginning with Tuesday last week) Jesus has been preaching in parables.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered  the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."

 

  Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?  Is this not the carpenter's son?  Is not His mother called Mary?  And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us?  Where then did this Man get all these things?  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  Jesus' own country is Nazareth in Galilee, where He was brought up.  His old neighbors are both astonished and offended at Him.  This double response of both marveling and rejection occurs frequently in those who encounter Christ, my study Bible notes (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's being rejected in His own country fulfills the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha (see Luke 4:26-27), and it foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  

 

What is prophetic witness?  What is the role of a prophet?  It is to call people back to God.  It's intriguing that this story about Jesus' rejection in His hometown at Nazareth appears just after we're told about all of His marvelous parables He's been preaching.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave us parables of treasure:  a pearl of great price, a treasure hidden in a field.  He ended with the statement, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."  This treasure is the Old and New Testaments, and so much of the scriptures that existed for Christ and His contemporaries consisted of the books of the prophets.  Let's recall also that yesterday's reading included yet another stark warning about judgment.  So, this episode in which Jesus visits His hometown and presents Himself as a Teacher in the synagogue is cast in the light of those teachings and that reminder of judgment.  But His prophetic voice isn't heard in His hometown.  They're not impressed with His gifts of beautiful speech, His wisdom and His mighty works.  Somehow He has violated the social order in acquiring these things, in becoming the Person they see before them now.  So they are both astonished and offended at Him.  They ask, "Where then did this Man get all these things?"  And here is the real complaint.  They're not valuing the treasure He offers them; but they're resentful that He has it to offer.  Jesus says to them, " "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  This statement is so significant, it is found in all four Gospels (see also Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44).  So long as Christ's messianic secret was kept, His fellow townspeople knew Him as the carpenter's son,  the son of Mary, brother to extended family James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, with sisters they all know.  So "where did this Man get all these things?"  It tells us about the prophet role, in that the things Jesus offers were always things within Him.  The word He speaks were always treasures which stand the test of time, in the long lineage of the prophets who've come to call the people to God, ostensibly what the people attend synagogue to honor.  Jesus has come out in His public ministry in the appointed time, and that time is now for them, but they reject Him.  It teaches us about things we may live with, things that are true, but which for one reason and another, we simply don't want to hear or recognize.  For this is the prophetic role, to call people out of their complacency with the limitations of what they think they know, the accepted order they don't want disturbed.  The truths revealed by prophets call us to question ourselves and our lives; they call us to change, they call us to return to God.  And this is repentance, this turning to God to find where God wants us to go, what God wants to open our eyes to, how God wants us to go forward and move "closer" to Him.  Jesus' words of treasure call us to this reality all the time.  Let us not be so complacent that we don't want to be rudely awakened to Him and to the truth He brings us.  Let us meet the challenge of today with acceptance and not rejection, for there is always treasure that might be hidden in a field, or a pearl of great price to acquire that we simply don't see, but it's there in His word for us.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them

 

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And may hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. 

 

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.   He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  

 

- Mark 6:1–13 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side (returning from healing the Gadarene demoniac), a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the  crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that  was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.  

 

  Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue.  And may hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Christ's own country is Nazareth, the place where He was raised.  My study Bible comments that this double response of being both astonished and offended occurs frequently with those who encounter Christ (Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Christ's rejection in his own country is a foreshadowing of His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  In Near and Middle Eastern usage, then and today, brother can be used as a term for any number of varied relations.  Jesus' brothers and sisters are either children by a previous marriage of St. Joseph, or other relatives such as cousins and extended family.  Mary had only one child, her Son, Jesus.  Christ's saying, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house," is so significant that it is found in all four Gospels (Matthew 13:57; Luke 4:24; John 4:44).

 

 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.  My study Bible comments that Jesus could do no mighty work there, not because He lacked power, but because of the unbelief of all but a few in Nazareth.  While grace is always offered to all, it notes, only those who receive it in faith obtain its benefits.  Let us note here that in the Greek, the word translated here as mighty work is the same word translated as "power" in yesterday's reading, above.  In yesterday's reading, Christ's power went out of Him in response to the faith of the woman with the years-long bloodflow; here there is no faith to respond to.

 

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.   He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.   After choosing the twelve (in this reading), the time has come that He has prepared them to be sent out on their first apostolic mission (in the Greek, the word for apostle means "one sent out" while disciple means "learner").  Here, once again, we encounter the word power in English, but in the Greek of this particular verse, this word is more akin to "authority."  This kind of power that He has given them is a conference of strength that comes out of His substance, His identity as Lord.  So, in a sense, Christ has made them His ministers of a sort.  He has given them authority over the unclean spirits, to command them as He does.  My study Bible comments on anointing the sick with oil.  It notes that this not only has medicinal value but also sacramental value.  As God's healing power is bestowed through creation, it says (Mark 5:27; Numbers 21:8-9; 2 Kings 13:21; John 9:6-7; Acts 5:15; 19:11-12), so oil is also a vehicle of God's mercy and healing in the Church (James 5:14).  

 

 Power plays a strong role yet again in today's reading.  We compare and contrast this with the role Christ's power played in yesterday's reading.  Yesterday, as noted above, we read that power went out from Jesus in response to the woman who touched His clothes from behind Him in a crowd.  But in today's reading, that holy power to do "mighty works" has no faith to which to respond in Christ's hometown of Nazareth.  The people there are too clouded by their own memories and assignments of identity to Christ in terms of His social position as One who grew up among them as one of them, and their perspectives on His own family and their place in the town.  Their sight is clouded by their own opinions, worldly experience and assumptions, and possibly prejudices.  They believe that they know what they know, and so they are both astonished and offended at Him.  But they cannot accept the Christ who now stands before them as He is revealed to be in His ministry.  So there is a lack of faith in Him.  But this shows us also how holy power works, for it often does so through the least likely and most unassuming in terms of our own expectations and worldly notions.  This is exemplified in God's words to St. Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (see 2 Corinthians 12:9).  This, too, is related to faith and prayer, for this was said to St. Paul after he had prayed three times for a certain affliction to be removed from him, and it was not.  Here is the paradoxical (to us) nature of holy power; in this case, God's strength would be perfected in the affliction itself, in the "weak" vessel of St. Paul, conveyed to the world even through that weakness and, according to human judgment, imperfection.  Yet there was no greater advocate for Christ than St. Paul in terms of his ministry's impact upon the founding of the Church, and so God's strength was made perfect.  This is one of the great paradoxes of our faith, the transcendent usurping power of God through all things, turning all things to the power to serve holiness and beauty.  If Christ is perhaps the "least likely" according to the judgment of His fellow townspeople of Nazareth, so we get a taste of how God works in the world.  For, as my study Bible notes above, so it would be at His Crucifixion.  The apostles themselves are sent out with authority -- Christ's authority which He has chosen to confer upon them.  They are hardly images of human perfection or even at this stage the disciples they would grow to be, yet Christ invest His power in them and places His own faith in them as carriers of His message and ministry, as ambassadors of the His Kingdom.  When the prophet Samuel was sent to anoint a new king of Israel, David seemed the least likely of all the possibilities.  But Samuel was told by the Lord of the one who seemed to look the part of a king, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (see the story at 1 Samuel 16:1-13).  So it is that Jesus sends out the apostles on their first mission, with instructions which in all ways proclaim that they are humble, yet they are invested with the authority conferred by God over the unclean spirits.  Their weapon is the gospel; their rebuke to shake the dust off their feet where they will not be heard.  St. Paul writes, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty" (1 Corinthians 1:27).  Grace and power, and even authority, work through those whom God chooses, through things we least expect, through all things regardless of the views of the worldly-wise.  For this is how our faith works, and as it is yet still working.  

 

 

 

 

By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons

 

 And they went into the house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house. Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" --  because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

 

Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."  

 

- Mark 3:19b–35 

 

Yesterday, we read that Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea, after a confrontation with the Pharisees.  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 the 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.  

 

  And they went into the house.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  By now Christ's ministry has expanded so that a "great multitude" follows Him.  His popularity has spread all around not only His home territory but has expanded beyond that.  Perhaps because of the opposition of the Pharisees and scribes, who now plot against Him, His family tries to claim Him for safety, saying that He is out of His mind.  In some sense, in a culture that elevated modesty as a virtue one could say there is a type of scandalous notoriety for the family in all the public attention.

 

  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house.  Beelzebub was a name used by the Jews to ridicule the worship of the pagan god Baal.  Typical in places where Baal was worshiped (widely in this region of the Middle East at that time), altars and place names heralding Baal were myriad.  Baal means "lord" or "prince," and this particular name means prince of "the dung heap" or lord of "the flies."  Baal was a god worshiped by the Philistines (2 Kings 1:2-16).  Here he is called ruler of the demons.   My study Bible comments that the impossibility of demons fighting against themselves illustrates the irrational pride and envy of the Pharisees in their opposition to Jesus.  

 

 "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" --  because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  My study Bible explains that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is blasphemy against the divine activity of the Spirit, blasphemy against pure goodness.  A sin against the Son of Man is more easily forgiven because the Jews did not know much about Christ.  But blasphemy against the Spirit, whose divine activity was known from the Old Testament, will not be forgiven because it comes from a willful hardness of heart and a refusal to accept God's mercy.  In patristic commentary, it's clear that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not an "unforgivable sin"; nor does Christ ever call it "unforgivable."  According to St. John Chrysostom, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would be forgivable if a person were to repent of it.  Jesus makes such a declaration here knowing that those who blaspheme the Spirit are calling pure, divine goodness "evil," and they are beyond repentance by their own choice.  

 

 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."   My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points to a spiritual family which is based on obedience to the will of God.  In Jewish usage of the time, and across the Middle East today, brother may indicate any number of relations.  Abram called his nephew Lot "brother"; Boaz spoke of his cousin Elimelech as his "brother"; and Joab called his cousin Amasa "brother" (Genesis 14:14; Ruth 4:3; 2 Samuel 20:9).  As for Christ Himself, He had no blood brothers, for Mary had but one Son:  Jesus.  These brothers who are mentioned were either stepbrothers (that is, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage), or cousins.  My study Bible cites Jesus committing His mother to the care of St. John at the Cross (John 19:25-27), which would have been unthinkable if Mary had had other children to care for her.  

In today's reading, Jesus says that he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.  Let us remember that this is in response to the scribes who came down from Jerusalem, who claimed that Jesus cast out demons by the ruler of demons.  My study Bible states that to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to label the good as evil.  In other words, what Jesus does by the power of the Holy Spirit, in effect casting out demons and healing, is blasphemed by calling it demonic or saying that His power is from the ruler of the demons.  In the tradition of the Bible, Satan is known as the accuser, the one who accuses people before God.  The Holy Spirit, by contrast, is called the Paraklete, which can mean "counselor," or more literally the one who comes when called to be by one's side.  This word in Greek was the common word for what we'd now understand as a lawyer, someone to help us present a defense.  But such work -- to call pure good "evil" -- goes beyond mere accusation and into a frame of mind that is itself very evil.  To do so knowingly is to pervert the truth, to participate in a very heinous lie, and to seek to manipulate a circumstance or appearance in order to, in fact, harm or disable the good.  This  in itself is likely a far worse intent than we'd like to contemplate.  But, unfortunately, not all motivations are good.  In this case, Jesus is growing many followers, He speaks with His own authority, and is now a well-known figure who has opposed the scribes and the Pharisees in some public contexts.  In healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, Jesus not only openly opposed these important figures from the religious establishment, but He showed them up openly and spectacularly by healing the man in clear opposition to them.  In Wednesday's reading, we were told that the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.  (The Herodians are those who collaborate and support the Herodian dynasty, which ruled for Rome.)  So to call good "evil" is a type of ultimate manipulation, and it's akin in some sense to seeking to kill the good.  It's a deliberate lie that invokes and uses the concept of truth to pervert the truth, for to make such an accusation assumes posing as both true and good.  When we consider Christ's attitude toward hypocrisy, we begin to understand the deeply perverse nature of this type of blasphemy, and how much damage is done to those who might be persuaded, or the innocent and naive who would follow.  To blaspheme the Holy Spirit is to hinder the good in the world, to help that which opposes God, opposes Christ.  In today's reading, Jesus also speaks of those whom He calls His brother and sister and mother -- that these are whoever does the will of God.  In pondering Christ's words, we must consider that the One who speaks isn't simply Jesus the human being, but also the divine Christ, the Creator, the Lord.  Today's reading asks us to think about the creation of the world, and its purpose.  In reading the Bible, we begin with Genesis, in which God creates the cosmos, all created things seen and unseen, including us.  In the creation story, Adam and Eve are set in a walled garden (Eden), a place where they commune freely with God, and given a purpose to be "like" God in also bringing the world out of chaos, to put into order and to fill with creation.  In Genesis 1:28, we read, "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' "  But to blaspheme the Spirit is to seek to subvert this essential will of God, not only to act in opposition to it, but to call God's works and God's grace working in us "evil."  One must consider Christ's mission of salvation, and our cooperation with that mission in this context, for the world was not created without purpose or intention. Will we cooperate with grace and seek God's will for ourselves?  Or will we oppose it?  The Pharisees do so today with selfish motives, and Jesus names clearly what they are doing.