Peace, be still!

 

 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was.  And other little boats were also with Him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.  And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!"  And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

 

- Mark 4:35–41 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus continued in His preaching of parables, after giving the parable of the Sower.  He said, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be reveled, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he  himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."  And with may such parable He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.   

 

  On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side."  Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was.  And other little boats were also with Him.  And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling.  But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow.  And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!"  And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.  But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"  My study Bible comments that Christ's mastery over creation is one more sign that He is the Messiah, and is divine.  Commands to the wind and the sea can only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 66:5-6, 107:29).  He was asleep because He is both human and divine, and as a man, Christ needed rest.  In the Incarnation, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, and sleep is one of those.  This image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used to illustrate the Church, my study Bible tells us.  It says that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Jesus' rebuke of the storm is also an icon, or illustration of His calming the tempests in the souls of human beings.  

 

This image of Christ and the disciples on the boat is quite an interesting one.  Again, as my study Bible commented, it functions as an icon of the Church.  The stern of a boat is at the rear, so in this scene Christ is not guiding the boat nor giving commands for where to go.  Not only is He in the rear of the boat, but He's in a place where things would be stored (such as the pillow on which He sleeps, or possibly fishing nets).  It's a particular image for us of the times we feel that God is not awake to our peril or circumstances, neither does God seem to be actively guiding us through them.  At those times, like the disciples, we might ask the same question, "Don't You care?" ("Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?")  There are those who believe that the world or cosmos was created by God but then works on its own, without influence or energies of the presence of God with us and active in our lives.  But, aside from an indication that indeed, Jesus was fully human and so needed His sleep, this story tells us quite the opposite.  It seems to say that Christ had such confidence in the directions He's given the disciples prior to their crossing of the Sea of Galilee that He must ask them, "Why are you so fearful?  How is it that you have no faith?"  This tells us something powerful about how we're to live our faith, in the confidence of what we've been taught and known, and in trusting Christ's commands given to us for how we're to live our lives.  All that we've been taught, and all that we know, from His teachings in the Gospels, through St. Paul and all the saints, the traditions of the Church, and the countless faithful who have come before us and will come after walk in a faith that is all about trust in the One from whom we've been given all things.  This isn't trust in some distant, unseeing, hands-off God we don't know.  It is trust in the One who came to be one of us, lived with us, crossed this sea with the disciples, and slept in the back of the boat through a windstorm on the sea that frightened these seasoned fishermen for whom this sea is home territory.  For Christ is God with us, in our faith, our worship and prayers, and the communion of the saints, in our liturgies and Scripture and the gospel message we're given.  In the efforts of these men who strain at rowing on the sea and who would follow in carrying the gospel message to the world, so we are carried also as we trust in the only One who may truly command peace. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Increase our faith

 

Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his  neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.  Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."  So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you.  And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?  But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?  Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?  I think not.  So likewise you, when you have done all those thing which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.'"

 

- Luke 17:1–10 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus told the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus:  "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.  But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.  Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.  The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.'  But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.'   Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'  Abraham said to him, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'  And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'  But he said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.'" 

Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!  It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his  neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones."  My study Bible comments that little ones refers primarily to children, and by extension to anyone whose heart is humble and dependent upon God.  Let us be aware that this is a teaching addressed to the disciples once again, and it speaks to the use of power in the Church to come.  In that context, little ones is a term that includes those who are in of lesser stature, including social stature or community standing.  Over the course of the past two chapters,  Jesus has been responding to criticism from the Pharisees and scribes, who complained that He received and ate with tax collectors and sinners.  His parables over the past several readings have alternatively been addressed to the Pharisees and to the disciples.  After teaching the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, directed at the Pharisees (see above), Jesus now turns once again to the disciples.

"Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."   For more on this practice, see also Matthew 18:21-35.  Seven times a day uses the number seven, a symbol of completion or fullness, here indicating an unlimited amount.  This teaching is another indication of the need for humility in leadership, not to abuse power or authority. 

And the apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."   Perhaps the apostles' request to the Lord, "Increase our faith,"  is a direct indication of the difficulty of the teaching on unlimited forgiveness for all of us. 

 

So the Lord said, "If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you."  My study Bible comments that the mulberry tree is symbolic of the devil's works.  It's on the leaf of this tree that silkworms feed.  As worms are an image of hell and death (Mark 9:42-48), so its association with the devil.  This patristic interpretation is confirmed, my study Bible adds, by numerous scriptural images of evil being destroyed in the sea (Luke 8:33; Exodus 14:27; Matthew 21:21; Revelation 20:10). 

 

"And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'?  But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'?  Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him?  I think not."   My study Bible suggests that the servant plowing is mentioned first and the one tending sheep second, showing that we must first work our own salvation (Philippians 2:12) before we can become shepherds (as the apostles will be) to others.

 

"So likewise you, when you have done all those thing which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.'"  This word translated as unprofitable literally means "without merit" or possibly "useless").  But it doesn't indicate something without intrinsic value.  It means that everything we have comes from God and is owed back to God.  Whatever we might offer to God, already belongs to God.  

We might be puzzled by the final verse in today's reading.  But it is more easily understood if we consider that our precious life -- especially the life everlasting offered to us by Christ -- is of so much more substance than we could ever offer in return to God.  In this context, we can also consider the Passion toward which Christ journeys on this road to Jerusalem, and what He will do for us, and how that compares to anything we could do for Him.  God's love and mercy, and the life more abundantly that His own "work" and sacrifice as Suffering Servant will bring to us is incomparable in value to what we as servants could possibly do for the Lord in return.  As we have discussed over the course of the past several readings and commentary, this language once again touches on terms the reflect the concept of "debt," for the Greek word translated as "unprofitable" indicates a lack of capacity to repay.  If indeed we consider that faith as a mustard seed can be so powerful, then truly the faith with which we're blessed is something we don't have the power to repay, for we haven't got the capacity to give a gift on that same order of merit or worth.  So God's love and mercy -- and the commands which lead us into the life of the Kingdom -- are things for which we can't create substance of equal quality or value.  Our sense of what is most precious must be adapted in order to correctly esteem the value of such a life, and so we are prepared to be humble and to forgive, for we receive so much more in return from God.  From where I sit, following the commands of God has only added to my life in this world as well, for to follow His truth is indeed to find freedom in the sense of finding the way to carry one's cross, and to be relieved of false burdens under a much harsher yoke (John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30).  Let us be like the disciples, and demand of the Lord, "Increase our faith."  For this is the place where we receive far more than we can ever pay in return.  

But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"

 

 "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"

 

- Luke 8:16–25 

 

Yesterday we read that, it came to pass that Jesus went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.  And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities -- Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.  And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable:  "A sower went out to sow his seed.  And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.  Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.  But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold."  When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Then His disciples asked Him, saying, "What does this parable mean?"  And He said, "To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 'Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'  Now the parable is this:  The seed is the word of God.  Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.  But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.  Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

 

  "No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.  For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.  Therefore take heed how you hear.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."  Interestingly, in this section, Christ's words are echoes of something similar He said in the Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5:14-16).  Certainly phrases and images reflect various preaching of Christ in different places and in different times.  There in the Sermon on the Mount, this image of light was used to encourage His disciples to reflect that light into the world.  But here, Christ is continuing from His beginning of preaching in parables, and especially about the necessity of our own guarding of how we hear.  He's assuring His disciples that the mysteries He brings will be revealed, but it really does depend upon our own disposition to that light.  "For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even wheat he seems to have will be taken from him" is an assurance that what we receive also depends upon our own hearts and what we nurture, protect, and desire.

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.  And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."  But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  My study Bible comments that Christ's relatives have not yet understood His identity and mission.  He points to a spiritual family based on obedience to the will of God ("these who hear the word of God and do it").  It further explains that it was not Christ's will to deny His mother and brothers.  St. John Chrysostom, my study Bible notes, says that Jesus is correcting both them and His hearers "to the right idea concerning Himself," that the family of His Kingdom "is not by nature but by virtue."  See also Luke 11:27-28.

 

Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples.  And He said to them, "Let us cross over to the other side of the lake."  And they launched out.  But as they sailed He fell asleep.  And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.  And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, "Master, master, we are perishing!"  Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water.  And they ceased, and there was a calm.  But He said to them, "Where is your faith?"  And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, "Who can this be?  For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!"  My study Bible says that Christ deliberately permits this windstorm to arise while He's sleeping in order to perfect the disciples' faith and rebuke their weaknesses.  This is so they would eventually be unshaken by life's temptations.  Here their faith is still mixed with unbelief.  They showed faith when they came to Him, but unbelief when they said, "We are perishing."

 

There is such an incredibly paradoxical image in the scene of Christ asleep in the boat while such a windstorm is raging on the lake all around Him, to the point where the boat was filling with water.  It's important to remember that a number of Christ's disciples (and indeed, they are His inner circle of Peter, James, and John, plus Andrew Peter's brother) are known to us as fishermen.  They are those whose lives were spent upon this sea working in boats and fishing from them.   So whatever this storm is, it is apparently enough to frighten even the seasoned fishermen.   But the image of Christ asleep on the boat through this windstorm isn't simply about His humanity; today it strikes me that we see Christ as human being in a position that is deeply vulnerable.  He sleeps in the boat while it is filling with water.  So Jesus asleep doesn't just portray Him as a man among other human beings, with our own need for rest amid His no doubt tiring schedule of His public ministry, amid constant travel, preaching, and teaching.  But He takes His place with us as one entirely vulnerable to the vicissitudes and patterns of human life in this world.  We're all, to some extent, at the mercy of the elements of the world, of weather and natural disasters, and Christ shares even that with us.  He comes into the world to know and to share our condition thoroughly.  Moreover, a reading of Christ's early life will give us a number of ways in which -- directly from His conception in the womb of the Virgin Mary -- His life was vulnerable and at risk.  St. Joseph had to make a decision whether or not to divorce his young wife when she told him she was pregnant.  Later when King Herod sought to kill all young male children in order to destroy this infant born a king, His life was in danger, and they fled to Egypt.  This is a vulnerable, dangerous start, right from the beginning, through the power of the state that is already against Him.  Christ's safety depended upon faithful parents responding to the call of God.  In this alone, we see the importance of Christ's statement in today's reading about our need to "take heed how we hear."  In St. Joseph's case, he followed warnings received in dreams, and so did the three wise men from the East who came to honor Christ (see Matthew 1:18-2:23).  But even from this vulnerable place, Christ teaches us that the one thing essential to us for life is the courage of our faith, the strength of our faith, the nurturing of our faith.  Christ indeed has the power to rebuke the storm, and so this is a part of the story in today's reading.  But what He teaches the disciples is not that we, as vulnerable humans, need to somehow acquire the kind of power He, the Christ, has.   Jesus' response is to chide the disciples, asking them,  "Where is your faith?"  even as the disciples marvel over His power to command the winds and water, and they obey Him.  There is a quotation from an essay by G. K. Chesterton that somewhat addresses this point.  He writes, "Christianity is the only religion on earth that has felt that omnipotence made God incomplete.  Christianity alone has felt that God, to be wholly God, must have been a rebel as well as a king.  Alone of all creeds, Christianity has added courage to the virtues of the Creator.  For the only courage worth calling courage must necessarily mean that the soul passes a breaking point -- and does not break" (from the essay, "God the Rebel").  The courage Christ calls out of His disciples, out of us, and out of Himself when He will face the Crucifixion, is faith.  This is what faith does for us; it is that upon which civilization is born and carried through the generations.  It is that which carries us through storms and terrors.  It is where we must find our courage, and it is there that He calls us ahead, with Him, to "life, abundantly."

 

 

I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!

 

 Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.  

 

Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

 

- Luke 4:31–37 

 

Yesterday we read that, after His forty-day period of fasting and temptation in the wilderness,  Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.   And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.  So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up.  And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.  And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah.  And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:  "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."  Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.  And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.  And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"  He said to them, "You will surely say this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself!  Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in Your country.'"  Then He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.  But I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.  And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."  So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff.  Then passing through the midst of them, He went His way. 

 

  Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths.  My study Bible cites the commentary of St. Ambrose of Milan, who says that Christ begins preaching and healing on the Sabbaths to show that "the new creation began where the old creation ceased."

And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.   Jesus teaches with authority; that is unlike the prophets of old and the teachers of His time, who taught in the third person ("the Lord says"), Jesus taught in the first person ("I say to you").  See, for example, the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5.  

 

 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon.  And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Let us alone!  What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?  Did You come to destroy us?  I know who You are -- the Holy One of God!"  But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!"  And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.  Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is!  For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.  Christ is careful to keep hidden His identity as Messiah, in this beginning of His ministry ("Be quiet...!").  My study Bible comments that this hidden or secret quality is foreseen by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4).  There are several reasons for this secrecy.  First, there is the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders which Jesus knows will happen (Jesus has already dealt with rejection in His hometown of Nazareth; see yesterday's reading, above).  Second, the people have particular expectations of the Messiah which are focused on an earthly, political leader quite different from Christ's own messianic mission.  Finally, the Lord's desire is to evoke genuine faith, which is not based simply on marvelous signs. 

 

The first thing we notice about Jesus is, indeed, His authoritative presence, and presentation of Himself.  As my study Bible points out, He doesn't simply teach like one of the scribes, nor does He speak as did the prophets.  He speaks from Himself.  He doesn't declare His identity to the world in proclamations about Himself, but instead His actions reflect who He is.  They give us a portrait of messianic authority.  As the people say, "For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out."  He speaks with authority and power, commanding the unclean spirit, and this is, indeed, Christ's own authority and power.  This is important for us to understand, because without such authority within Himself, He could not command us in the ways that He does throughout the Gospels.  When He speaks and teaches with authority, such as in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7) or the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20-49), we're given commands that Jesus teaches are "everlasting life," because He speaks whatever the Father has told Him to speak (John 12:50).  Elsewhere Jesus teaches that His words are spirit and they are life, because it is the Spirit who gives life (John 6:63), and the Spirit rests on Him.  Moreover, John the Baptist teaches (in John's Gospel), "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand" (John 3:35).  Everything that we know points to Christ's authority as Son, which has been given Him by the Father.  In John 16:15, Jesus says, "All things that the Father has are Mine."  Therefore, the authority in Christ is a kind of absolute, for it is conferred by the Father.  Even the sheep who belong to Christ, those who come in faith, are drawn by the Father to Christ (John 10:27-30); so therefore, Christ's authority is complete in all the ways we can think of.  Even the power of judgment is conferred to Christ by the Father (John 5:22-23).   In today's reading, Christ's actions express who He is.  In some sense, He's hidden in plain sight, but clearly, in the words of the unclean spirit, the spirit world knows who He is.  For us, it's important to understand that whatever we see in life (or think we see) there is this hidden, mysterious realm that is part of our reality.  It might not show so well to us, it might not be obvious, but Christ, the saints, the prophets before Him, and the faithful of the Church, testify that that reality amidst us.  Christ's authority is clear to the unclean spirit, and it obeys.  But we, who might not be aware of all that goes on around us, are left to discern what perhaps we cannot so clearly see.  Jesus will teach us that "every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them" (Matthew 7:17-20).  Christ speaks with authority and acts with authority, and these fruits of His early ministry bear witness to Him.  How will we know what's real and what's true?  We will follow His command, seeking His help for discernment, for His authority is what leads us and protects us from false prophets, from the darkness that rejects the light of the Holy One of God.

There is no other commandment greater than these

 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.

- Mark 12:28-34

 Yesterday we read that as Jesus was in the temple in Jerusalem, the leaders sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves is wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.  In His response to one of the scribes, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which my study bible says is the greatest Jewish confession of faith, called the shema' (meaning "hear," which is the first word of the confession).  Jesus compounds this confession with another command, Leviticus 19:18, and combines what is already present in the Old Testament in order to build a new understanding:  the love of neighbor is an expression of the love of God.  Let us note, in keeping with observations in yesterday's commentary that there are those righteous among the leaders, that this scribe asks Jesus an honest question, as he has heard He and the Pharisees and Herodians reasoning together, and perceived that He had answered them well.   My study bible also comments that Jesus' mention of the second commandment is frequently misunderstood.  It does not teach us to love our neighbors with the same measure of love we have for ourselves; rather it teaches us to love neighbor as of the same nature of ourselves, being created in God's image and likeness as are we.  This is very similar to the teaching on marriage, if we think about it -- that "the two shall become one flesh."  Thus, we find our true self in loving others, and in particular rooted first in loving God.

If we look at the fullness of the second command Jesus gives (Leviticus 19:18), it begins with the teaching, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people. . .."  This enforces the understanding of loving neighbor as oneself, in the sense in which my study bible comments, above, as we are to understand that the purpose of righteousness -- as taught by these commands -- is community.  In other words, God's teachings and intent of the law, as given through Moses, is to create community.  If we recognize that each is of the same nature, a creature of God, then we start with the understanding built in to our approach to life that we live in a world created and given to us by Creator, and each person is a fellow offspring of Creator.  Jesus puts these two commands together to give us a kind of universal enveloping understanding of how we stand in right relatedness both to Creator and to one another as creatures.  These commands do not preclude justice, but are meant to enhance justice within the fullness of an understanding of who we are and who God is; moreover, that understanding is couched in the true nature of relationship with both.  In the Greek, the word for neighbor is rooted in the word for close or near, it means the one who is nearby.  This can be understood in a very particular way from the story Jesus tells to illustrate the point in Luke's Gospel; that is, the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  In Jesus' parable, it is literally the one who happens upon an injured man and helps him who is the true neighbor, and happens to be a Samaritan, and not a Jew.  This, to my way of thinking, is a very personal way of understanding Jesus' teachings -- that so much depends upon our personal encounters with others.  This is not a grand statement of simply general ethics, principles, or abstract thinking.  It is anything but a teaching that allows us to make a political statement or slogan based on its teachings, and then treat our perceived enemies with no-holds-barred ruthlessness.  The command is all about the personal, and our personal encounters with others, even our intimate behavior, if you will.  We are called to actively love in a way that promotes peace and minimizes needless conflict and endless recrimination in a cycle of violence or hostility.  We are called to act with forbearance and prudence with others, a kind of public respect that doesn't violate certain boundaries.  It is the basis for what has rather quaintly come down to us today as "good manners,"  but in fact took root as a profound and revolutionary social teaching.   It is, in particular to my mind, a personal commitment Jesus speaks to here -- to remember God's presence within and among each of our other encounters with those who are "nearby."  And this is indeed a way to remember God, an invitation to a prayerful way of living our lives.  We remember that the commitment is first to love of God, our Creator, and that from this loving relationship to a loving Creator flows our proper relationship to neighbor, to those who are "close," whom we may encounter and with whom we interact in our lives.  That means every one.  These are the true roots of community, a personal commitment regarding our conduct to all whom we meet wherever we find ourselves.  It calls upon us to learn discipleship, even as the apostles were taught to be wise as serpents and guileless as doves.  On the page of my blog titled Prayers, I have included an Orthodox Prayer for the Beginning of the Day.  Part of it reads, "Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all.  In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings.  In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by You.  Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others."  The words of this prayer do indeed embody the teachings of Christ in today's reading, the two commandments He puts together as one in response to the scribe.  Let us endeavor to do -- to act, think, work, and live -- as He teaches.  May God's grace be with us to do so, as the prayer also includes:  "Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring.  Direct my will, teach me to pray.  And, Yourself, pray in me.  Amen."

Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect

 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

- Matthew 24:32-44

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem.  It is Holy Week, the last week of Jesus' earthly life.  In recent readings, Jesus has begun explaining to the disciples His prophecy of the destruction of the temple, the war to come in Jerusalem, and the end times.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught them, "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.  And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.  But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  And pray that your light may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.  And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.  Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it.  For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  see, I have told you beforehand.  Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.  For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.  Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  And he will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." 

 "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."  Jesus gives us an incentive for doing as He teaches before His return:  that we remain alert and awake for the times.  He also makes a solemn promise that His prophesy is good and true.  My study bible tells us that this generation refers to all believers at all times, the generation of the Church, and not merely to those alive at the time of Christ.   The generation of Christ's first disciples did heed His word, and the Church was able to escape the devastation in Jerusalem.

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom's commentary here.  St. Chrysostom says that Christ tells of the angels being unaware of the exact day of His return "so that men should not seek to learn what angels do not know."   Christ's followers are forbidden not only from learning the day, but even inquiring about it.    My study bible adds that according to Mark 13:32, and in Chrysostom's Matthew text, Jesus declares also that the Son does not know the day of His own return.  Chrysostom teaches that this isn't to be understood literally, but rather is a figure of speech meaning that Christ, although He revealed all the signs that will accompany His return, won't reveal the exact day to anyone, and that believers should not be so brazen as to inquire it of Him.

"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left."  Jesus' second coming will involve a sudden revelation of judgment.  One will be taken to heaven and the other left for eternal condemnation.  The separation of the saints from the wicked will occur at the coming of the Son of Man, and is concurrent with that event.

"Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  My study bible notes that Christ's purpose in this discourse isn't to make people experts in end time prophecy.  Instead, His purpose it to teach that we all watch and be ready, continuing in virtue and obeying His commandments.  This warning is illustrated in the parable that will follow in tomorrow's reading.

Jesus' warnings to His followers emphasize our watchfulness and preparedness for His Return, His Second Coming.  What is striking is His promise that "the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  It's a kind of tantalizing statement that teaches us just how important it is that we take on our own responsibility for watchfulness.   What do we expect that watchfulness entails?  Certainly it involves being responsible for following His teachings and His commandments.  After all, He's the Master who's simply gone away for awhile, leaving His servants in charge of His household, to watch after all His affairs and especially all of His people.  The commandments He has given us are to be good to one another, summed up in the one new commandment He tells His disciples at the Last Supper:  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another"  (John 13:34).   He has taught these disciples that those who would be great among them must be servants of all, and that the first among them must be slave of all (see this reading).  He has taught them to care for the littlest ones among them, as doing so is an act identical to serving Him (10:40-42, 18:5,10).   Watchfulness and preparedness includes following all of these commands, as His good and trustworthy servants who will always keep in mind that He will return at an hour we don't expect.  How do you meet these commands?  How do you remember to treat the littlest and humblest among us as if we were receiving Him?  Do we find ways to serve?  Service, in the right context, can be an act of grace that imitates His sacrifice, in ways that help to redeem the world.  It is a powerful and profound teaching to us just what we are capable of doing as His servants.  But we have to live the life to believe and learn; we experience the power of His grace and surely find the worthiness of all of His commands.  

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened

 "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

- Matthew 7:1-12

We are reading through the Sermon on the Mount, which began with chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel and the Beatitudes.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught:  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?  So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:  they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For after all these things the Gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

"Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Jesus repeats a theme He has expressed earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, and is a part of the prayer He gave, which we call the Lord's Prayer or Our Father.   In the prayer, He linked the practice of forgiveness with the receiving of forgiveness.  Here He links God's judgment with our judgment.  Both are related to the practice of mercy and the righteousness of the Kingdom.  My study bible says that we will be judged with our own level of judgment, because we are guilty of the very things we judge in others (Romans 2:1).  We have also failed in repentance and in fleeing from sin.  To pass judgment, it says, is to assume God's authority.  Parts of this section are also found in Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38, each in a different context.  There is no doubt that this message was repeated by Jesus many times.  To give correction to one another in the Church is viewed positively as guidance, but this is only possible for one who has been through considerable maturity in repentance and is actively engaged in self-awareness; only then can we truly help others.  Otherwise, we are blind to the plank in our own eye.  This is also related to the practice of mercy and "good judgment."

"Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  This is another call to discernment, to good judgment, and how to wisely use our capacity for mercy.  Dogs and swine, my study bible says, refer to heathen peoples (Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15), but it would also apply to Jews who do not practice virtue.  (Of course, we need to keep in mind that Jesus is preaching to fellow Jews.)  According to Church Fathers, dogs are those so immersed in evil that they show no hope of change, while swine are those who habitually live immoral and impure lives.  The pearls are the inner mysteries of the Christian faith, including Jesus' teachings (13:46) and the great sacraments.  These holy things, my study bible says, are restricted from the immoral and unrepentant, but not in order to protect the holy things themselves, because Christ does not need our protection.  Rather, it says, spiritually we protect the faithless from the condemnation that would result from holding God's mysteries in contempt.  This is also a command for understanding the nature of the work of the Kingdom and the world in which we live, similar to Christ's command to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (in 10:16).

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  In the Greek, ask, seek, and knock are used as present progressives.  That is, what Jesus is saying here is "be asking," "be seeking," "be knocking."  There is a synergy here that is important to understand:  He is commanding our effort, but never apart from the immediate help of God.  We ask in our prayer, my study bible says; we seek by learning God's truth; and knock by doing God's will.  Jesus calls man evil not in condemnation of human beings, but rather to contrast the imperfect goodness in people (our goodness is mixed with sin) with the perfect goodness of God (see 19:16-17).  If imperfect and even wicked people can do some good, my study bible says, then all the more will God work perfect good.

"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."  This "Golden Rule" fulfills the demands of the Law and the Prophets.  It is a practical application of the commandment to love one's neighbor as oneself (22:39-40).  This is a first step in spiritual growth, my study bible says.  There is a negative form of the Golden Rule that was well-known in Judaism:  "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you."  Jesus uses a positive form to imply our proactive action.  This action begins to draw us toward God.

Jesus frequently puts us in a place where we have a proactive choice to be a part of this Kingdom, to practice the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven (which is the theme of the Sermon on the Mount).  As my study bible points out about the last verse in today's reading, this is a positive form of a saying that was already well-known in Judaism.  The well-known phrase was about refraining from certain actions or impulses:  "Don't do to others what you don't want them to do to you."  But Jesus gives us an active positive form, one that gives us impetus to take an initiative.  This isn't unusual for Jesus.  In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), He teaches us to take an active role in being a true neighbor.  That proactive teaching is also linked to Jesus' teachings on mercy in the Sermon on the Mount.  When Jesus asks the lawyer in the story of the Good Samaritan, "Which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  The man answers, "He who showed mercy on him."  And then Jesus commands:  "Go and do likewise."   He gives us the means whereby we can be true neighbors.  Another common theme in Jesus' teaching is about exchange.  He tells us, "With what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."  As mentioned above, He gave us a similar formula twice in the teaching of the Lord's Prayer:  once formally in the prayer ("And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors") and again right after the prayer ("For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses").  In the latter case, we notice that there is both a positive and negative correlation to this exchange; when we forgive, we'll be forgiven -- and when we don't forgive, we won't be forgiven.  Altogether, He's giving us a positive way to approach our faith.  That is, we don't depend upon others in order to practice our faith.  We have ways, even in isolation, of being followers of Christ.  Our neighbors do not all have to agree with us.  Neither do we need to wait for others to "do the right thing" before we follow His commands.  Let us carefully note, however, His warning (and it's a negative command):  "Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces."  He wants us to be discerning in the practice of our faith; neither do we need to "enlighten" anyone who does not choose to participate in the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.  He tells us that we do so at our own peril.  Indeed, the way He puts it gives us the impression that this is impossible.  It is because this righteousness is not merely outward; it is a righteousness of the heart.  That is one more way of emphasizing the proactive nature of this faith:  it is simply up to us to put into practice what He teaches us.  We must be motivated within our own hearts.  And here is the most active command of all:  "Ask . . . seek . . . knock."  We remember the true tone of these verbs:  be asking, be seeking, be knocking.  Amidst the realities of daily life and its difficulties, these are things we can always be doing, and He commands us to do so.  They are the things that bring us a fuller faith, a deeper participation in the Kingdom, a closer communion with God.  We are not barred from seeking this Kingdom by any obstacle the world may throw in our way.  God responds to those who truly desire understanding and participation in this life.   This is both a command and a promise:  "For everyone who asks receives, and he seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."    It has also been the experience of the Church and its saints for 2,000 years.  Finally, there is one last command we have to take into account:  "First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  This is the command for a lifelong process of repentance, and the need for self-awareness.  There will always be things we need to discover about ourselves, ways in which we have to come to know ourselves and our lives, and exchange the past for the righteousness of the Kingdom.  Implications in these teachings include a sense of freedom for human beings.  We all have the plank in our own eye we may not understand; nevertheless, His commands teach us that we are free to make choices.   The question is how we will use that ability to do as He asks and teaches.

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you

 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.  You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another.

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.' 

"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

- John 15:12-27

In our current readings, Jesus is giving His farewell discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper (starting with Monday's reading).  Yesterday, we read that Jesus told them, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.  By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.  As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full."

 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."   This is the second time Jesus has made this statement. My study bible tells us that many religions and philosophies teach people to love one another.   But what makes this commandment new (as Jesus calls it in 13:34) is the measure required of our love:  we are called to love as Christ has loved us.  Christ laid down His life not only for His friends, but even for His enemies.

"You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another."  We note the use of the word friends.  But Jesus is also giving commands.   Friendship, notes my study bible, is higher than servanthood.  Servants obey their masters our of fear or a sense of duty; friends obey out of love and an internal desire to do what is good and right.  Abraham, for example, was called a 'friend of God' (James 2:23) because he obeyed God out of the belief of his heart.  The disciples and all the saints are honored as friends of Christ because they freely obey His commandments out of love.  My study bible adds that those who have this spirit of loving obedience are open to receive and understand the revelations of the Father.

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own.  Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.  But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.  He who hates Me hates My Father also.  If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father.  But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause.' "  The term the world is used in several distinct ways in Scripture, says my study bible.  Sometimes it is used to refer to all that is glorious, beautiful, and redeemable in the creation of God (3:16).  At other times, it indicates the finite in contrast to that which is eternal (11:9; 18:36).  At still other times, it indicates that which is in rebellion against God (see also 8:23).  The rebellion of the world against God is in itself a revelation of several things, as follows.  First, while the union with Christ brings love, truth, and peace, it will also bring persecution -- because the world hates love and truth (v. 19).  Second, the world hated Christ; therefore it will hate those who try to be Christlike (v. 20).  Third, the world hates Christ because it neither knows nor desires to know the Father (v. 21-24).  Fourth, the hatred for Jesus Christ is irrational and unreasonable, because Christ brings love and mercy.  Therefore, He is hated without a cause (v. 25).

"But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.  And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."  As to the working of God's salvation in the world, the Son sends the Holy Spirit from the Father.  This gives us the teaching of theology, that the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father -- He receives His eternal existence from the Father.  The Source or Fountainhead of both Son and Spirit is the Father.

Love, obedience, friendship, commandments -- and a Helper who is the Spirit of truth from the Father -- all of these things combine in Christ's words and teachings.  And hatred is here, too.  Christ's experience in giving His love to the world is not lost to His disciples, either.  This, too, will become a part of the life of one who chooses to love Christ, to follow His commandments, to be like Him.  There is a rejection to face that comes along with this love.  Therein is the great paradox of our God and the Lord whom we love.  God does not compel us to love God!  Love does not compel; it invites loyalty, emulation, esteem, obedience.  And there is something deeply important in the good news of the sending of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete in the Greek (one who "comes by our side when called" to paraphrase the meaning of the word), our counselor or advocate.  That is that He is called the Spirit of truth.  We will find that we are capable of loving many things in the world; human beings are capable of giving their preferences and favor to all kinds of things.  But here is the one thing needed, the way, the truth, and the life.  If we would be His friends, we obey His commands of love.  Not as the world gives and loves, but the peace and joy of His love.  Even in the face of hate.

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

- John 12:44-50 

Jesus has entered into Jerusalem, and Passion Week has begun.  His dialogue in the temple continues.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus told them, "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  Then He left the temple, and was hidden from them.  We remember that at this time the leadership openly seeks Him, and has given out a command that anyone who sees Him should report Jesus so that they may seize Him.  John the Evangelist tells us that though Jesus had done so many signs before them, they did not believe, so that the words of Isaiah were fulfilled:  "Lord, who has believed our report?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"  Therefore they could not believe, says John, quoting again from Isaiah's prophecy, because "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."  John tells us:  These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.  Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me."  Jesus' words teach once again of the oneness between Him and the Father.  He emphasizes the very thing the leadership wishes to put Him to death for, which they see as blasphemy.  There are two parts to this claim here:  one is that if you trust in Him, you trust not in Him but in the Father from Whom He's been sent; the second is that if you see Him, you see the One who sent Him.  What follows, logically, is that one's response to Him means one is responding to the One who sent Him.

"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world."  Jesus has spoken about Himself as the light several times in John's Gospel.  This image of light is highly important, essential to our understanding in many ways, and will be used as statements in the theology of the Church in future centuries.  In the Nicene Creed, we say that Christ is "light from Light, true God from true God."  Here Jesus makes it clear that His light is for the illumination of all.  He has come to save the world; this is the purpose for which He has been sent. His is a mission of love.

"He who rejects me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day."   Here is a powerful statement of authority.  Jesus has also said that it is not the rejection of Himself that will be judged, but the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is that which will be judged.  Here He teaches us where His speech come from, the things He says to us.  In the Greek, the single "word" here that judges is logos.

"For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."    Here is the oneness with the Father:  whatever He has been given to say or to speak, it was a command from the Father.  So the words with which Jesus teaches are eternal life, because they are the commands told by the Father.  Therefore they will not pass away.

In the Greek, we find many different words for "words" in the English.  There are words that are spoken by Jesus.  There are words that are His sayings.  There are words issued as commands by the Father.  And there is contained in Jesus' sayings the single word that came forth from the Father.  Each of these terms is used in different forms, and separated as different words in the Greek.  They, His audience, hear speech, hear His sayings.  But contained in them is the word, the logos that will judge at the last day.  The commands that are given by the Father are eternal life.  So, in the Greek we have a sense that each note in this speech is important, significant.  What do we learn about Christ?  That His words are the words given Him by the Father, and the Father's command is eternal life.  In this sense, Logos Himself has issued out from the Father, before all ages, and sent to us in love so that we may be saved by His word, given to us in the things He says.  Everlasting life is therefore here on offer.  But how we respond is something to consider deeply.  We aren't merely rejecting Jesus, He says, that would not incur judgment.  But the reality and power of the word He's given, the commands of the Father, those are the things that are eternal life.  They won't pass away when all else will.  And so it depends on what our hearts can hear and receive.  These commands are also given through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Just as Christ was sent, so is the Spirit active in our world:  grace and mercy are in all things and present to us, sent by the Father through the Son.  All are together at work in us and in our world.  Let us remember that to cultivate spiritual eyes and ears is for the living word:  present in the Scriptures from all ages, present in Christ's words, present in our lives.  How do you respond to grace?