See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  

 

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.   Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 

 

- John 5:1-18 

 

Yesterday we read that after two days in Samaria near Jacob's well Jesus departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  According to patristic commentary, this feast is considered to be the celebration of the Old Testament Pentecost (also called the "Feast of Weeks").   It commemorated the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  My study Bible says that the references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter confirm this interpretation.

 

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.   This was a double-basin pool which was believed to have curative powers.  My study Bible says that it has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  The water for this high-ground pool flowed from underground springs.  It as used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  A note tells us that this pool functions as a "type" of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  These waters were special in that they were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But this grace was limited to the first person to enter.  In the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6) without the mediation of angels.  Baptism therefore grants healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body, and its grace is inexhaustible.  

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who writes that Jesus singled out the man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us to have perseverance, and as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time. 

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Here my study Bible comments that Christ's question is relevant for many reasons. First of all, it made public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in circumstances that are seemingly hopeless.  How could a paralytic ever be the first into the water?  Second, Christ draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This is fulfilled in Christ, who became Man in order to heal all.  Finally, my study Bible adds that not everybody who's ill truly desires healing.  Some might prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain or to avoid responsibility for their lives, possibly to continue receiving the pity of others.

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath. This healing is the third sign of seven given in John's Gospel.  It manifests the divine power to restore a person to wholeness.

 

The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  My study Bible tells us that although the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22 and explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear here by His command ("Rise, take up your bed and walk") and by the man's obedience.  As is frequently the case in John's Gospel, the use of the term the Jews refers to leaders as a sort of political term, and not to the people in general.  We are asked to notice the malice of these leaders, as their focus is only on the Sabbath violation, asking the man, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but ignoring altogether the miraculous healing.  

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.   Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  My study Bible asks us to note that this man was found in the temple, for it shows his great faith, as he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure instead of leaving to someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells him to sin no more:  My study Bible notes that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), it's not always one-to-one.  The innocent frequently suffer, and often the guilty are spared earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).  Nonetheless, there are times when one's own sin leads directly to personal suffering in this world.  St. John Chrysostom writes that this was the case with this paralytic.  But Christ's warning, according to my study Bible, is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  The one hope is to flee from sin altogether.  

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  This man does not report Jesus to the leaders of the Jews in a way that is malicious, but rather as testimony to Christ's goodness.  My study Bible says that although these leaders are only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, the healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing about carrying his bed.  

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.  Jesus refers to God as My Father, and the religious leaders clearly understand that this implies absolute equality.  He will continue this dispute in our following reading.  

In Matthew 12:1-8, we can read of a similar kind of incident, in which Jesus upsets the religious authorities who accuse Him and His disciples of violating the Sabbath, as they gleaned food by plucking heads of grain to eat in the fields as they walked.  In that case, Jesus provided to them an example of a blameless violation of the Sabbath by David and his men, who ate of the showbread meant only to be for the priest.  But Christ's greater emphasis is on mercy as the very nature of God and source of the Law ("But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless" - Matthew 12:7).  In that reading, Jesus declares that "the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8), hence the relevance also for the events of today's reading.  My study Bible asks us to examine the attitudes of the religious leaders, whose zealousness for rabbinical tradition would become the source of conflict with Jesus, and also an object of His great criticism for the hypocrisy it led to on their part (Matthew 23).  Moreover, the fullness of Christ's purpose in coming into the world is revealed through this particular action of mercy, for it is necessary in order to heal.  It is not separate from faith (nor used to induce faith through "proofs") as remarked upon by my study Bible, when it notes that the man was found giving thanks in the temple, in gratitude for his healing.  This detail about gratitude is extremely significant, for it seems that it is related to Christ's admonition to the man, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." One of the ways in which we can understand this teaching given by Jesus is an emphasis on the true importance of gratitude, and its linked understanding that this is the recognition of just where the man's healing comes from in the first place.  For without proper gratitude for the healing, how would he be expressing in his life any sense of what has happened to him, and what great gift has been given to him?  How do we understand gratitude except in its proper place as recognition for the giver of a gift?  To continue to commit sin with impunity would in fact imply a complete lack of recognition of the Giver; and prove a sort of challenge to God -- implying entitlement and not gratitude or recognition of what he has been given.  One might say that to continue to sin, without a thought given to God and God's desires and teachings or nature, would be test God in some sense, to challenge the nature of our relationship to God.  For it is we who depend upon God, even as God loves us beyond what we can understand of love.  Gratitude characterizes proper relationship, a true sense of maturity even in human relations.  For without it, we do not properly recognize love or mercy, nor the care and sacrifice of others.  Neither are we able to function fully without the practice of gratitude, as in its absence we find despair, unhappiness, and blindness to the things in life that offer us goodness and richness, our own blessings we overlook.  (For modern science on gratitude, see this article and this one.)  Even these religious authorities show an extreme lack of gratitude in their blindness to the revelation of God's mercy in the miraculous sign of healing, the blessing that has come among them and within their community.  So we may conclude here the essential nature of gratitude to our lives, and the many ways we might show that.  In this case, Jesus admonishes this healed man to remember God, by teaching him to "go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  It teaches us not to take our blessings for granted, nor the mercy or kindness of others.  It also gives us a strong message about God at work in our midst, for as Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit, our own responses to God form the shape of judgment (see John 16:7-11), including the possibility of consequences to our lives even in this world.  Even such negative consequences must be seen as corrective warnings, if we are not blind to them nor to God's goodness, giving us another reason why gratitude is a necessary component of a mature spirituality and character of a person.  So let us think hard about gratitude and its central importance for us as human beings.  It centers us in the place of relatedness to God, to Christ, and to God's active work in the world through grace and the Holy Spirit.  It teaches us the proper response to love (and God is love, 1 John 4:8).  It is the hallmark of a person of a fully formed character, and creates right-relatedness within our own social groups, while its lack creates severe problems and conflicts.  Let us consider both the powerful effects of gratitude, and the depleted conditions of life without it, as we move through Lent toward the Passion of Christ, and to Resurrection.  

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light

 

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 

- Matthew 11:25-30 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His teaching regarding John the Baptist (who is now in prison) and Himself:  "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 

At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  My study Bible cites blessed Theophylact, who notes that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world, not out of malice toward God's creatures, but rather because of their own unworthiness.  That is, it is they who choose to trust in their own fallen wisdom and judgment rather than in God.  Moreover, such revelation who would scorn it out of love for them:  for to reject it would result in an even greater condemnation.  See yesterday's reading (above) and Jesus' condemnation of those places in which mighty works were done, but no repentance ("change of mind")  resulted.  Earlier in this discourse, Jesus referred to Himself as Son of Man (see yesterday's reading, above:  "The Son of Man came eating and drinking . . .").  Here Jesus adds a profound and explicit statement of authority in His identity as Son; the repentance which is lacking is the one which fails to grasp the gospel of the kingdom of heaven which He has been sent to preach.  The mysteries of God to which He refers are His alone to reveal and to withhold.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study Bible comments that Christ's yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.   A yoke could be seen as a sign of hardship, burdens, and responsibilities (1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-11, Sirach 40:1).  But in Christ, the yoke is easy, because the power of God works in each person.  Moreover, the reward is infinitely greater than any effort human beings put forth.  Gentle means literally meek (as in Matthew 5:5 in the Sermon on the Mount:  "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth").  To be meek is not to be weak, but rather God-controlled; that is, to have mastery over one's own passions, especially anger.  That is, strength directed and under control.

 

 Jesus says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."   These are indeed comforting words; they are words heard throughout the centuries by those needing refuge, help, strength, and guidance.  If we think about them, and what it means to be "gentle [meek] and lowly in heart," then we understand that these are the words of One who is like a good father, a good brother, a good leader and protector.  If we haven't had such a figure in our lives, He can be that figure.  If we need those same skills in our lives (regardless of our gender), to be a good parent, a strong sibling, a good leader in family or community, He is our role model.  These are the words of one who knows how to use His absolute authority, which He has just declared by saying, "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  We have at once a supreme claim to authority, even to the judgment implied here.  But in the very next verses we have an image of what kind of authority figure this Son of the Father is, and how He uses His authority.  For those countless followers of Christ who have been comforted by these words, the image is one of the ideal figure of the family or community, one capable of great love, great strength, and great guidance and wisdom.  Most of all, the compassion of Christ still shows through in this declaration of authority, and the open hand that is outstretched through the words.  Those who labor and are heavy laden are those already under a different yoke of authority, that of the "prince" or "ruler of this world."  The very word for "evil" or "evil one" in Greek (as in "deliver us from evil/the evil one" in the Lord's Prayer; see Matthew 6:13) has at once these meanings of burdensome toil, oppression, and pain.  Jesus is the alternative.  He is not a competitor except in our own hearts.  But when we have had enough of the ways of the world, so to speak, His is the ultimate authority to which we turn and find rest and learning.  For those of us who experience this easy and light burden, this meekness and gentleness, there is no doubt about His words, and no substitution.  For in contrast to the world which demands a kind of onerous slavery and can practice a merciless judgment, His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. 

My Father has been working until now, and I have been working

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.

The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

- John 5:1-18

 Now after the two days He departed from the region of Samaria and Jacob's well (see this reading and this one) and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  John does not tell us which particular feast this is, but patristic commentary teaches that this feast is the Old Testament Pentecost, taking place fifty days after Passover (also called the "Feast of Weeks" or Hebrew Shavuot), which celebrates the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in the chapter confirm such an interpretation.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  This was a double-basin pool, which was believed to have curative powers, and recently it has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area.  It is, indeed, near the Sheep Gate, as the text tells us.  My study bible says that the water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs and was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  It explains that the pool functions as a type of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  The waters were special, it notes, in that they were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But this grace was limited to the first person to enter.  In the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6) without the mediation of angels.  Therefore, baptism gives healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body -- and an inexhaustible grace.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  St. John Chrysostom comments that Jesus singles out this man who had waited for thirty-eight years so that we are taught to have perseverance, and as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles which last a far shorter time.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.   My study bible lists several reasons why Christ's question to this man is relevant.  First, it makes public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in a situation which is seemingly hopeless; how could a paralytic ever be the first to enter into the water?   Second, Jesus draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us -- which is fulfilled in Christ Himself.  He became Man to heal all of us.  Third, not all ill people truly desire healing.  There are many reasons why some would sadly prefer to remain infirm.

The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.   My study bible explains that although the Law itself doesn't specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, it is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22 and explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.   That Jesus is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear by the command He gives and also by this man's obedience (see also Matthew 12:1-8).  My study bible also remarks upon the malice of these leaders.  They focus only on the Sabbath violation, asking "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but they ignore altogether the miraculous healing.  Please note that in these verses, the term the Jews is used only to refer to the leadership; all the people in the story are Jews, including Jesus, the healed man, and the multitude.

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   My study bible notes that the fact that this man was found in the temple shows his great faith.  He had gone directly there to thank God for his cure, rather than to someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells him to sin no more;  my study bible says that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), that connection isn't always one-to-one, as the innocent often suffer and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings (see also 9:1-3).  Regardless, there are times when our own sins lead directly to our personal suffering in this world.  St. John Chrysostom states that this was the case with this paralytic.  But Jesus' warning here is that sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  The conclusion is that our only hope is to run from sin altogether.  We should also remember that in this context, it is possible to view additional sin as a way of discounting the grace that has been given by God in this man's healing, a refusal to recognize its action in his life.

 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  The healed man does not report Jesus to the leaders in a malicious way; rather he is testifying to Christ's goodness.  Although the leaders are interested only in the violation of the Sabbath, the healed man nevertheless emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing about carrying his bed. 

But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.   Jesus declares God to be My Father, and the leadership clearly understand the implication of absolute equality therein. 

Jesus' statement of equality with God will get Him fully into disputation with the religious authorities, who regard it as blasphemy and absolutely forbidden, punishable by death.   This particular subject and dispute will continue in the reading that follows.  But here, let us note Jesus' particular emphasis on working.  In Greek, this word for work (ἐργάζομαι/ergazomai) is linked directly to the word for energy (ἐνέργεια/energeia) which literally means "working," "action," or "activity."  It is also linked to the concept of God's grace -- God's action at work in the world.  So, Jesus' emphasis on His work focuses us in on what God does in the world.  In this third sign in John's Gospel, God's divine power is exemplified in that it can restore a person to wholeness.  Jesus teaches His followers that "you will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16).  He was speaking (in the Sermon on the Mount) of "false prophets."  John the Baptist has made similar statements about individuals.  But what is true for human persons is also true of God the Trinity, and God's work in the world.  Jesus gives us evidence, in His signs, of God's presence at work in the world -- and by the fruits of God's power and work, we know God.  This is also, of course, true of the Holy Spirit, Third Person of the Trinity.  As we are also asked in the Sermon on the Mount to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16), so the "works" that we do must be an extension and expression of the energies that are at work within us as believers.  As the Holy Spirit, Christ, and God the Father may be at work within us, transforming us and giving our identity shape through faith, so our own works -- energies -- may express also the light of God, and be cause for God's glorification in the world.  These are powerful things to think about, but they establish a direct link between God's energies, or grace, and our own energies and work and life in the world.  Our actions taken in our lives reflect who we are; therefore the joy and glory in the fullness of faith reflects out into the world.  This is, once again, a dynamic and organic process.  Faith is not something we necessarily control; its work and action in us are a product of human and divine synergy -- just as Christ has taken on human form and is both divine and human so that we may follow and be "like Him."  How do we take on this grace, this energy?  How can our works or actions take on this reflective character that glorifies God and shines the reflected light of faith?  Working within us, God's grace/energies tune us in to our own need for transformation, and give us new ways to express who we are at various opportunities in life.  Let us consider how we can live to this grace and within its energies, sharing them in our lives and reflecting the light He shines in healing this beleaguered and paralyzed man.  Those energies, like this healing, give us wholeness and help to make us "unstuck" in life.  Let us consider all the ways in which they work for good, and so that we may face our own reality and true (or not) desire for healing.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

- Matthew 11:25-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus said, "But to what shall I liken this generation?   It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flue for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

At that time Jesus answered and said, "0. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  My study bible cites blessed Theophylact, who comments that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world, not out of malice toward His creatures but because of their own unworthiness -- it was they who chose to trust their own fallen wisdom and judgment rather than God.  Moreover, out of love God withholds this revelation from those who would scorn it so that they do not receive an even greater condemnation.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study bible says that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  A yoke could be seen as a sign of hardship, burdens, and responsibilities (1 Kings 12:1-11; Jeremiah 27:1-11; Sirach 40:1).  In Christ, however, the yoke is easy, for the power of God works in each person.  Moreover, the reward is infinitely greater, it says, than any effort man puts forth.  Gentle is literally "meek" in the original Greek of the text.  It's the same word Jesus uses when He preaches, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (5:5).

Obedience to God is obedience to love.  This is submission to the Kingdom of God, in the words of my study bible.  Christ explains this yoke as easy, and the burden we take on as light, for He is not an abusive authoritarian ruler of violence; He is instead the God of love who Himself is gentle and lowly in heart.  Synonyms for this include "meek" as indicated above, and also "humble."  Let us consider what it means that we worship a God who describes Himself as having the personal characteristics of gentleness, meekness, humility.  It stands the reality of worldly power on its head.  It gives us a sense that what we worship, and what we seek to learn from, is all love -- a different way of being, a different kind of enterprise to learn about when Christ speaks of those who are meek who shall inherit the earth!  He stands what we "know" on its head, and in that light justifiedly tells us that it is a blessed thing, something to be thankful for, that God the Father, Lord of heaven and earth, has "hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes."  So much so, that Jesus adds, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight."  In our worldly ways, we tend to confuse the language of obedience, submission, discipline, and sacrifice with that of the power of violence demanding submission.  But when we speak of God -- and in particular God the Father whose attributes are all shared with the Persons of the Trinity -- we are speaking of love.  The Lord of the universe is one who describes Himself as meek, gentle, humble, lowly of heart, and it is to these attributes of leadership in His sight that we submit in order to learn from Him.  For the graciousness of God is so overwhelming that all of our reaction should be as St. Peter's was when Jesus declared that He must wash the feet of the disciples:  "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!" (John 13:1-17).  The Lord of the universe is a Lord of love, who washes us in His love and prepares us to serve in that same spirit and, maybe most importantly of all, to learn that love and to practice it.  This we are not capable of doing for ourselves.  It is the "wise and prudent" who trust themselves to know what only God can reveal to us.  In service and submission, we find the healing and correction we need to become "like" God; it is in this Kingdom that we seek to participate and learn and grow in that love and to share it with one another.  Let us consider which yoke and burden we prefer, as we look around ourselves and find the abuse of power hidden among so many, regardless of the compassionate masks they seek to wear.  It is in God's truth and authority that we can trust instead.

Do you want to be made well?

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.   For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 

- John 5:1-18

Yesterday we read that after the two days He departed from Samaria and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in His own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they had also gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  This feast is considered to be the Feast of Weeks, or the Old Testament Pentecost.  It is a celebration of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  The references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter confirm this interpretation, my study bible tells us.  It notes that the double-basin pool referred to here, which was believed to have curative powers, has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  The water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs and was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  One understanding is that it functions as a type of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  The waters were special in that they were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, as the animals were washed in the same water.  But the grace was limited to the first person to enter.  However, under the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6), and is done so without the mediation of angels.  Baptism therefore grants the healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body.  Its grace is inexhaustible.

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.   St. John Chrysostom cites that Jesus singled out this man, who had waited for thirty-eight years, in order to teach all of us perseverance, and also as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time.  Jesus asks the man, "Do you want to be made well?" for possibly several reasons.  First, it makes public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in a situation that seemed hopeless.  How could a paralytic ever be the first into the water?  Christ draws attention away from the water and toward the need that we have for someone to help us.  This is fulfilled in Christ Himself, my study bible says, who became human in order to heal all.  My study bible also notes that not everybody who is ill truly desires healing.  Sadly, some may prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain, or possibly to avoid some particular responsibility, or to elicit the pity of others.  This miraculous healing is the third sign given in John's Gospel.

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Although the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, my study bible says, it is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:27, and also explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear by His command ("Take up your bed and walk"), and also by the man's obedience.  We make note again that, as is most often the case in John's Gospel, the term Jews here is used as a sort of political term, and refers to the leaders and not to the people in general.  All of the people in the story are Jews, including Jesus and the healed man (and John, the author of the Gospel).  The malice of the leadership is noteworthy; they focus only on the violation of the Sabbath, quizzing the healed man only about who told him, "Take up your bed."  They ignore altogether his extraordinary healing.

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   My study bible tells us that the fact that the man was found in the temple shows his great faith.  He had gone there directly to thank God for his cure, rather than departing to someone's home or to the marketplace.  To sin no more is an admonition which we can take on several levels.  First of all, this man is the recipient of the grace of God; to further sin would be like a rejection of the gift, an unawareness of where his healing comes from.   My study bible notes that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), it's not always a one-to-one event, as the innocent often suffer, and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings (see in addition 9:1-3).  But there are times when our sins do lead to our own suffering in this world.  According to St. John Chrysostom, such is the case with this healed paralytic.  Christ's warning here seems to be suggesting that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  In any case, our great hope is to flee from sin altogether.

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.   For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.   The man doesn't report Jesus to the leaders in a malicious way, but rather as a witness to Christ's goodness, my study bible says.  Even though these leaders were only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, the healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing about carrying his bed.   To declare that God is My Father implies that Jesus is equal with God, which the leadership clearly understands.

 Elements of today's reading give us a sense of some responsibility in terms of our own lives and healings.  That is, Christ seems to indicate to this man in various ways the responsibility that he bears within his own condition, and even within the relationship to Christ.  He is first of all asked, "Do you want to be made well?"  It might seem rather obvious in the context of the story that the man wanted to be made well -- he'd been waiting there presumably for decades for someone to help him into the water.  But, as my study bible points out, it isn't obvious at all.  There are all kinds of ways in which we may somewhat paradoxically benefit (perhaps in "hidden" ways) from remaining in an unhealed condition, whether that be spiritual, mental, physical, or emotional.  There are hidden perks to situations that are seemingly impossible to reconcile with well-being.  The question itself conveys a kind of responsibility for making up our own minds what we truly want, and for asking that of God.  It is a way to be shaken into taking inventory, to be made conscious of where we stand, so to speak.  After Jesus heals the man, He next finds him in the temple.  This conveys another kind of responsibility:  the man has gone to the temple to thank God for the gift of his healing.  He knows where grace has come from, he knows what dependency he has upon God.  This is another stage of responsibility; had he not been in the temple, Jesus would not have found him again.  It is a level of acknowledgement of the reality of his circumstances that this healed man has come there to the temple.  But Jesus also builds on that choice and responsibility by telling him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  There is a level of spiritual responsibility that Jesus conveys to this man, that he is in a place where he must take responsibility for actions and choices -- and even for his own health and well-being.  In some sense, to continue to sin would be to flaunt God's help and grace, to slide into a place of forgetfulness and apathy about his condition.  The grace of God -- Jesus' help and healing -- should have a way of waking him up to the urgency of the time, of the moment, and the need to stay awake and focused.  We could liken it to the consciousness required in recovery for all kinds of issues and problems.  Jesus' words are not just an idle warning.  He never wastes words, and certainly not commands such as this one.  They are a call to awareness.  Have you had a wake up call?  Do you know when grace has been active in your life?  Have you ever been given a second, third, or fourth chance?  May we all awaken to His warnings and commands, and take our lives as seriously as He indicates we must.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

- Matthew 11:25-30

In Friday's reading, John the Baptist's disciples had come to Jesus with a message from John (who is in prison).  After John's disciples had departed, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John, vigorously defending him (Saturday's reading).  In yesterday's reading, He continued His criticism, both against those who now judge John and those who fail to acknowledge Jesus' ministry, particularly among the leadership:   "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes."  My study bible cites Blessed Theophylact, who comments that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world, not out of malice toward God's creatures, but because of their own unworthiness.  It was they who chose to trust their own fallen wisdom and judgment rather than God.  Moreover, it is out of love, my study bible says, that God withholds this revelation from those who would scorn it so that they do not receive an even greater condemnation.  (See yesterday's reading, above, and Jesus' pronouncement about judgment upon those who witnessed mighty works and still rejected His ministry.)  

"Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Jesus attributes all things in the surprising unfolding of this ministry to God the Father.  There is a particular relationship here that expresses our faith and that which will infuse the Creed and Councils to come in the centuries that follow.  Jesus states His direct relationship to the Father, but also how revelation works to human beings. 

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study bible notes that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  A yoke could be seen as a sign of hardship, burdens, and responsibilities, it notes (1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-15).  But in Christ, the yoke is easy, because the power of God works in each person.  Moreover, the reward is infinitely greater than any effort human beings make.  The Greek word translated as gentle means power or strength under control, without undue harshness.  To be lowly in heart means to have a humble heart.  The same word is also translated as "meek" in 5:5:  "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." 

 It's my belief that notions of courtesy and "gentleness" (as in a gentleman or gentle lady) come to us from the life of Christ and His teachings.  Or perhaps one might say that He sets an example to aspire to imitate.  This word in Greek that is translated as "gentle" or "meek" means, as noted above, a type of strength under control, one who does not lose his temper nor act with undue harshness.  This is in great contrast to the examples of power or "lordship" in Jesus' time, particularly in the great kings and rulers of the world.  He Himself notes the contrast between the power and authority of His Kingdom and that of worldly kingdoms, when He tells the disciples, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.  And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many" (20:25-28).   Throughout the reading of the Gospels, and over the time of His ministry and preaching, Jesus "fleshes out" for us what it means to be meek and lowly of heart, to be gentle on His terms, to possess the kind of authority and strength that is of the Kingdom.  He lives the life He wishes to show us, from the beginning and to His death on the Cross.  He gives us an image of what that means.  To be humble and meek ultimately means that one serves God just as Jesus sets the example of total loyalty to the Father, a complete and powerful faith -- where even in the midst of rejection and what He knows is coming in His ministry, He accepts it all as given by the Father.  His is a "strength under control."  While He criticizes deeply those who reject both John the Baptist and Himself, and indicates the depth of judgment to come (especially regarding those who know better), His is the type of image we endeavor to follow, of strength under control.  He will do what He is commanded to do, to the death that awaits Him, for the greater good and the salvation of all.  The paradox here is that this understanding is given to the meek and humble, to "babes" rather than those given titles of understanding and education and knowledge of the Scriptures.  The wise and prudent have failed to grasp this ministry, and the knowledge they would possess is revealed to those who are like "little children" in their lack of formal education.  The Kingdom reaches where it will reach, and all is in the hand of the Father, and the Son who knows the Father, and those to whom the Son desires to reveal His Kingdom and His work.  The depth here is in the revelation of humility as the key to this Kingdom.  He seeks those who have the humility to serve His authority,  those who are like Him, "lowly of heart" and willing to live the kind of meekness He teaches.  This will inform the monastics to come, those whose discipline (as "disciples" or "learners") is to attain the heart that is capable of receiving Christ and that which Christ wishes to reveal to His children.  Let us remember, in this world of vast social media and the pressures it brings to us, what true strength is in Christ's sight, and how far humility goes to take us into the Kingdom.  Those proclaimed the "wise and prudent" of the age remain with us, and His easy yoke remains for those who know the value of the One who is gentle and lowly of heart.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

- Matthew 11:25-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued speaking to the crowd regarding Himself and John the Baptist.  He said, "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; We mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  The "wise and prudent" would be those experts such as the Pharisees who can't "see" nor accept Jesus' message in the signs of His great works performed in their midst.  My study bible cites Theophylact as noting that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world not out of malice, but due to their own lack of receptivity:  there is a choice to be made between what one already "knows" and judges and the things God pulls us toward to reveal and to open up and expand our understanding.  Out of love, therefore, revelation may be withheld from those who would scorn it (7:6), so they don't refuse what would result in an even greater condemnation (see Luke 8:10).

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  My study bible tells us that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  A yoke can be seen as an image of hardship or burdens and responsibilities imposed, especially by a harsh ruler or king (see 1 Kings 12:1-11, Jeremiah 27:1-15).  But in Christ, the yoke is easy, because the power of God works in every person.  Moreover, the reward is infinitely than any effort a human being puts forth.  Gentle here means literally "meek"  (see "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth," Matthew 5:5, in the reading of the Beatitudes).

Christ promises rest in learning.  "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me" is a promise of growth into new things, gifts, mysteries.  We don't do this journey alone, and He shares His yoke with us.  A yoke gives us an image of two things put together:  two oxen pulling a plow under one yoke, for instance.  Christ promises that He is with us, and gives us rest in this place where we take on the yoke He offers.  All of it seems utterly paradoxical, especially given the typical traditional image of the yoke.  And yet, with Christ, this is the life He offers to us.  It is those who refuse it who lose out; they are the ones who are "wise and prudent" in Jesus' words, the worldly who seem to know the wisdom of the world, who go out of their way to scorn what He offers.  And yet He does choose "babes" to carry His message; the apostles do not come from the classes of those educated in Scripture.  What we come to understand is all about acceptance.  Do we accept His help, His guidance?  Are our minds open to what He offers?  Everything seems to come down to two things:  humility and the capacity to desire the kind of love He offers.  This is a love that invites us in to His world, His Kingdom.  It invites us in to learn from Him, to take on the yoke He offers.  It's not the yoke of a worldly king, but of one who is "gentle and lowly in heart."  It's not a yoke that invites our pity, but one that asks for our capacity for love and learning from Him.  It asks us for relationship and emptying, and it will take us to places we never imagined going, to challenges that stretch us out of our own "knowing."   It is in this learning and coming to know what He offers that our joy may be full.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light

At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

- Matthew 11:25-30

In yesterday's reading, Jesus continued His response to those who scornfully look upon John the Baptist (who is now imprisoned) for his ascetic and rough life, and who have also criticized Him for eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners:  "But to what shall I liken this generation?  It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions, and saying:  'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;  We mourned to you, and you did not lament.'  For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  But wisdom is justified by her children."  Then He began to rebuke the cities in which most of His mighty works had been done, because they did not repent:  "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.  But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."

 "At that time Jesus answered and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for it seemed good in Your sight."  The wise and prudent are those who criticize Christ and John the Baptist for their different ways of bearing the Kingdom into the world, their holiness that is not in conformity with the wisdom of the world, but strange and different -- each for different reasons.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus criticizes particularly religious leaders and compares them to playing children, who are dismayed equally that John is too ascetic and rough, and Jesus has sat at table, eating and drinking with tax collectors and other sinners.  So the wisdom and holiness of the Kingdom that is present goes unrecognized by the "wise and prudent."  Instead it has been revealed to babes.  My study bible quotes Theophylact as noting that God has hidden the mysteries from the wise of the world, not out of malice, but because of their own unworthiness.  They are the ones who trust their own wisdom and judgment rather than God.  God withholds this understanding from those who'd scorn it so they don't receive a greater condemnation:  to understand and refuse is to encounter a deeper judgment.  Jesus praises the wisdom of the Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for the surprising ways in which Jesus' ministry is unfolding.  He is emphatically pronouncing it good.  Other commentators such as Origen tell us that the "babes" are the Gentiles, unwise in the ways of the God of Israel.

"All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."   This is a profound theological statement, an understanding of Logos, the Son.  Whatever His mission, Christ has had it fully placed into His hands by the Father, and it is He alone who reveals the Father.  It is, in fact, Christ alone who decides to whom the Father will be revealed.

 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Who are those to whom this great mission will be revealed, by whom it will be received?  Jesus invites those burdened with toil and struggle, and those who suffer.  What He emphasizes here is His own humility, an offering to the "babes" who are perhaps buffeted by the world.  My study bible says that Jesus' yoke is submission to the Kingdom of God.  A yoke, it says, could be seen as a sign of hardship, burdens, and responsibilities.  But Christ's yoke is different, it's easy because it conveys the power of God at work in each person.  And the reward is much greater than one's personal effort.  Cyril of Alexandria has commented that this offer is to everyone:  to the Jews who struggle in bearing the demands of the Law, and to the pagan Gentiles, who struggle with idolatry and the kinds of worldly power and sin it brings.  A yoke and burden also characterize language of kings in terms of the tax and tribute they levy on their subjects.

The harsh criticism and harsher reception that both John the Baptist and Jesus will receive is addressed in Jesus' speech here.  He speaks of being gentle and lowly of heart.  This sort of gentle is the type of "meekness" that doesn't engage in aggression for its own sake -- the ideal of strength under control and grace.  Christ's authority is complete, as He's also stated, but it's the authority of grace, of the Kingdom of God, of love.  To take on this yoke is very different from the worldly sort of power that demands adherence to its expectations.  Both John and Jesus will be murdered at the hands of the state, but both offend in particular the religious authorities and leaders of the temple who jealously guard their places.  I think there's a very canny and deep wisdom in Jesus' statement that He's gentle and lowly of heart, and that He calls to those who labor and are heavy laden.  This is not a call to the power brokers, the ones who call the shots.  It's a call from One who is gentle and lowly of heart to the others out there who are the humble of the world.  What He offers isn't something that appeals to those enamored with a kind of worldly power and status that will always have contempt for what is humble.  Jesus brings a Kingdom into the world that stands the values of worldly kingdoms on their head -- that offers a kind of love and grace that is inherently at odds with the "ruler of this world."   He will teach His disciples that to lord it over others is the opposite of His hierarchical structure.  Jesus' power is to heal, it's for community.  It draws in the excluded and seeks to repair.  It calls those by faith and by adoption who don't belong because of worldly status.  It's a voluntary kingdom, and does not coerce.  This is an entirely different sort of power to manipulative power.  It's the power of love.  It's not the power of shoulds and musts and political sloganing, and it's not the power of the crowds or mobs.  It's the power that comes through "gentleness" and humility, the wisdom that manifests through "outsiders" like Jesus and John the Baptist, and it calls to those who can see past the false promises of power that binds and manipulates and burdens for the self-glorification of others, and misses the glory of God who is love and truth.  It's in the contempt for the humble that worldly power is exposed, and Christ's life -- and death -- will surely play this out.  Have we got the heart to receive Him?  

Rise, take up your bed and walk

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

- John 5:1-18

Yesterday, we read that after two days He departed from Samaria and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

  After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  My study bible tells us that the Fathers teach this feast is the Old Testament Pentecost -- also called the "Feast of Weeks."  It celebrates the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  There are later references in this chapter to the Law of Moses, which corroborate this interpretation.  Interestingly, it's also a "firstfruits" festival celebrating the spring wheat harvest.  We recall Jesus' words in the town of Samaria, when the townspeople were coming toward Him (in Tuesday's reading), "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" alluding to the wheat harvest.

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.   My study bible explains that this double-basin pool, which was believed to have curative powers, has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.   It says, "The water for this high-ground pool came from underground springs and was used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  The pool functions as a type of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  The waters were special in that they were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  Yet the grace was limited to the first person to enter.  Under the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6) without the mediation of the angels.  Baptism thus grants healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body, and its grace is inexhaustible."

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.   My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom's commentary here, suggesting that Jesus singled out this man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us to have perseverance, and as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time.  It also seems plausible that there is analogy here to the Old Covenant, in which the people of God awaited their Messiah, under all kinds of suffering.  The thirty-eight years is just two short of the time Israel wandered looking toward the promised land, the time in which the Law was given; the time in which Moses led, but did not survive to see the land itself.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  My study bible comments on Jesus' question to the man, "Do you want to be made well?"  It says that Jesus' question is relevant for many reasons.  First, it makes public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in a seemingly hopeless situation.  How could a paralytic ever be the first to enter the water?  Second, the Lord takes away attention from the water and toward the need we have for a man (a person) to help us.  This is fulfilled in Christ Himself, who became human to heal all.  Third, not everyone who is ill actually desires healing.  Sadly, my study bible notes, some may prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain, to avoid responsibility for their lives, or to continue exciting the pity of others.   What we also see here is an initiation of the One who is the Son Incarnate, who comes to us out of love, "for God so loved the world," as John's Gospel has earlier told us.  Just as with the Samaritan woman at the well, it is Jesus who takes the  direct action in encounter with a needy humanity.  But, we could also say, it is God who is responding to the thirty-eight year petition of this man.

And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."    He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.   My study bible says that although the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-27 and is explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.    It suggests the fact that Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear by His command and by the man's obedience.  My study bible also notes that as is often the case in John's Gospel, the term Jews here refers to the leaders and not to the people in general.    We notice the malice involved -- they're focused only on the Sabbath violation, asking the man who told him to take up your bed and walk, but ignoring his miraculous healing.

But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."   This man has gone to the temple after his healing, which shows a great faith.  My study bible suggests that he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure rather than departing to someone's home or the marketplace.   It adds, regarding Jesus' remark to "sin no more," that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), this connection isn't always one-to-one.  The innocent often suffer, and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings (see 9:1-3).  My study bible says that nevertheless, sometimes our sins directly lead to our own suffering.  According to Chrysostom, this was the case with the paralytic.  However, Christ's warning here is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  One must flee from sin altogether.  We also presume that having been visited by such a great gift of grace, and the presence of Christ, to sin deliberately following this is to turn one's back on a much greater gift and understanding than the man had previously had available to him.

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who made him well.  My study bible tells us that this man doesn't report Jesus to the authorities maliciously, but rather as a witness to the goodness of Christ.  Even though the leadership is only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, this man emphasizes that it was Jesus who made him well, saying nothing about carrying his bed (the literal violation).

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath.  But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.  My study bible says that when Jesus declares God to be "My Father" these authorities clearly understand that the implication is absolute equality.  Tomorrow's reading will give us the further revelations of Jesus' statement to them here.

In today's reading we have a miraculous healing, something instantaneous that happens even after thirty-eight years of waiting on the part of the man who's a paralytic.  We really get a picture of his suffering, given that his only chance was to make it to the pool when the waters were stirred up -- at times which were unpredictable -- and be the first into the water.  An impossible task.  The only way is with God's help.  But with God present, in the form of Christ, it's not necessary to get into the water.  He's the one with the "rivers of living water" (see again His statements to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well) that open up for people.  He is the healing, the One who confers the gifts of grace and power and truth.  He's the One who's come in the cause of love, "for God so loved the world."  We picture this man waiting, and waiting, and waiting.  Thirty-eight years!  We imagine his life, waiting, needing help from others that didn't come.  How did he survive but possibly by the kindness of strangers or family?  Out of this crowd comes Christ, who singles him out, and asks him directly the question, "Do you want to be made well?"  One might ask, thinking it's possible that he's used to this life he's led for so long by now!  But what the story seems to suggest to us is that God breaks in on us suddenly.  The power of God isn't given by measure - we recall these words of John the Baptist about Christ as Messiah:  "God does not give the Spirit by measure."  When God breaks into our world, or our lives, it's not something that works in a "worldly way."  It's not like taking a class and getting a hint of something that builds on what's familiar.  God's impact is different, startling, a quality that remains different although the journey itself to God gains in its fullness and the depth to which we give ourselves to God.  But the quality of love is something distinctive.  We may immaturely look at this story and suggest to ourselves that love is about a kind of indulgence of our fondest wishes.  But love is really so much more than that.  Love is wanting what is truly best for us.  Love is about true health and wholeness.  When Jesus tells this man, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you," it may strike our modern ears as something strange.  How does this fit in with the Man who just healed this paralytic, a man who'd been suffering for thirty-eight years already!?  If we think of love as mere answering of our whims or wishes, or indulging whatever we deeply hope for, then we're missing the mark, as is taught by Christ.  What God wants, in that love, is really whatever is truly best for us.  By warning this man about future sin, Jesus is taking care to see that this wholeness, and thereby true health of the whole human being, remains with the man.  We must take it quite literally that Jesus doesn't want a worse thing to come upon this man.  He wants his healing and wholeness to be a part of something big, that grows, a start, a journey toward God and the good that grows more full through time, and the man's compliance with that grace.  This paralytic shows how he takes his healing by first going to the temple, giving thanks to God.  It's not a sort of lottery prize, in which he's just lucky and has struck it big.  (Indeed, any windfall in our own lives offers us the same sorts of temptations to "sin" and not to understand what a gift is, as we can see from some of the sad histories of real life present day lottery winners.)   It's in this valuing and preservation of the understanding of the gift that a great secret lies, the great key to this love and to our healing and wholeness.  How do we value the love? Do we take it in a selfish way, or do we accept it as it is given, with the grace as something that invites us in and asks us to journey forward, to learn more in relationship to the presence of God?  This is the real key to the passage, as there is good and evil mixed in here, as with so much that happens with Jesus.  There's the malice of the authorities who suffer with envy of Christ, and can't see the good that has come.  And there is the testimony of the healed man, who's taking his gift appropriately, and gone to the temple in worship and prayer and thankfulness for the grace of God.  Let's ask ourselves about the good and the bad in our own lives, and how we take them.  Is the grace of God there for you?  How do you pursue it, encourage it, value it?  What can you say about it?  If you give love to others, how do you want it to be valued?  And what does it mean to truly want what is best?  What is really whole and healing, the start of the journey to God?   The whole question of the Sabbath rests on this understanding, on what is best and what God's love asks.  Carrying burdens in the command in Jeremiah quite obviously seems to be indicative of doing trade, making business and profit happen -- that's what seems to be set aside in order to make time for God and keep the Sabbath holy.  But what of healing and wholeness on this day (and any day), and what of God's love?  This man waited by the Sheep Gate for the pool of living water.  As sheep to the Shepherd who has saved him out of love, he will follow Christ's command.